My eyes were fine a few months ago...but one day they just started burning for no reason at all. I would wake up and they would feel fine and look clear. But as the day went by it just got worse.

Now, when I wake up, my eyes still burn and look red. They are never clear and they hardly ever feel comfortable...it's like they're always dry. This has been going on for almost 4 months. I've used those thick oil eye drops, but they don't even help anymore. My eye doctor told me it would go away eventually (he said it was just the weather), but it's still just as bad.

Is there anything I can do? my eye doctor said it was uncommon for people of my age group to experience this...i'm 17.

this sucks.

Is the M.D. currently treating you an ophthamologist? If not, ask your family doctor for a referral.

I'm familiar with two different diseases that can produce recurrent red-eye: conjunctivitis and Sjogren's Syndrome.

This is the link for Sjogren's Syndrome, which is a type of auto-immune disorder:
http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/sjogrens/index.htm

Conjunctivitis:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001010.htm

Even if your family doctor has mentioned conjunctivitis to you, you may want to read this article. Most family docs treat conjunctivitis as a viral infection or an allergic reaction, whereas it can also be caused by bacteria and fungus.

Good luck,
Jay

thanks for the reply, Jay...

I think i'm gonna go to my doctor to check things out. Maybe i'll have him recommend an eye doctor for me also...

My eyes aren't burning, but last night my eye lids were itching and burning so much, that I had to get up and put some aloe vera on them. It was such a relief, after I put the aloe vera on them. While I was sleeping, I kept rubbing my eyes. It made sleeping so difficult and troublesome.

This time of year, when I open up the window, I start sneezing like crazy. Then my eyelids start burning too. I'm pretty sure it's allergies. It's like I don't want to go outside for a while.

I thought that I would mention it, in case that you might have some allergy too. It may not be the case, but at least you can investigate it further with your doctor.

Be very careful putting aloe vera on your eyelids. You don't want to be putting anything on your lids or around your eyes that is not meant for the eyes, cause if it gets in the eyes you could have worse problems. If your eyes or eyelids are burning, try wetting a clean washcloth with cold water and laying with it on your face for a few minutes. Here's a little tip: If you want the washcloth to stay cold (usually by the time you get it back to the couch or the bed to lay down, it's not cold anymore), wet it, put it in a zip-loc bag to avoid contaminating it, and stick it in the fridge for about half an hour, or the freezer for 10 minutes or so (if you freeze it for too long it will get hard as a rock and form icicles!) I am also very young - 21, and I have severely dry eyes. I use tear drops 20-30 times a day, as well as several other allergy drops, and I use a tears ointment at night before I go to sleep. I also use something called "Tears Again Gel Drops" These are wonderful, because they stay in your eyes longer thann regular tears, but are not as thick as ointments so they don't blur your vision for more than a minute or two. You should definitely see an Opthalmologist. General Practicioners are good for a lot of things, but they know very little about eye problems. When you do see an opthalmologist, you may want to ask about putting "plugs" in your tear drainage ducts. I have had this done (although now mine have been surgically closed). This prevents your own tears from draining out of your eyes through the lacrimal ducts. By preserving your own tears, they can help prevent the dryness. This procedure takes about 5 minutes and is painless except for a tiny little pinch you will feel upon insertion of the plug. Also, one more thing. If you are using tear drops more than a few times a day (I use them 20-30 times a day), you should make sure they are the preservative free kind, because sometimes too much preservatives can actually irritate your eye. Some good preservative free tears are Tears Naturale Free, and Bion Tears, both manufactured by Alcon Laboratories. Hope this extremely long message was helpful! Sprry for running on so much! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif