Hi!

I was wondering if any of you have tried or know anything about the effect of taking allergy shots or drops and the result it would have on dry & allergic eye.

I have dry eyes that prim are the result of allergies and I recently visited an allergy specialist who said that he was a bit reluctant to try immunization since he wasn't sure how it would effect my dry eye problems. He said that perhaps it wouldn't have much effect since he believed that I had more of an "over-sensitivity" case rather than pure allergy...? I don't think that it would worsen the symptoms myself...he is probably not experienced when it comes to treating dry eye patients. As usual you need to turn to this trusted board for advise.

Regards

Dani

I have dry eyes and allergies. I frequently get allergic conjunctivitis in addition to my dry eyes. My eyes are constantly gritty and I have a lot of white stringy mucous in my eyes. I also get red eyes and crusting over when I wake. My dr. says that the antihistimines I am on make the dry eye even worse. To the best of my knowledge, the immunotherapy shots don't make a difference in the dry eye.

Refresh natural tears eye drops have been my friends for years. I also recently started on Restasis. After 3 1/2 months, I am just starting to see some difference there.

Thanks for your feedback. I was hoping that immunotherapy would give me some relief for my allergies and then I could focus on treating the dry eye. I usually feel good in very cold climates because the air is purier. Then the allergies are less noticable. The dry eyes however always feel better in more humid climates. :(

Are you constantly on antihistamine eye drops? I have been the last 1,5 months but would prefer not to be since, as you mentioned, it makes the eyes even dryer. I also tried Restasis for a couple of weeks but it made my eyelids very dry and irritated. I have heard that you should use it for quite some time to see the effects. Did you experience the same thing?

Are antihistamines the only way to combat allergies?

As far as medication goes, yes (to the best of my knowledge). Apart from that one could try immunotherapy and also vitamins such as anti-oxidants etc but I haven´t experienced a big difference with vitamins. Would be nice to hear if someone has got any ideas