my eyes are a mess..they are red (worst in morning) itch when I wake, puffy, and have stuff in the corners..I have been to the eye doctor , I have left my contacts out and am using patanol the last week and nothing is helping..how long for allergic conjunctivitis to clear up? when I try to wear my contacts now my eyes feel like they have grit and get worse..any suggestions please?

Patanol took a week or so to work for me.

But my eyes were so inflammed that before I could use Patanol I had to use steroid drops (like Lotemax) and not wear my contacts.

Hey Ashpie,

I've been notcing your posts and it seems he have a very similar problem. I to had this dryness (maybe allergy) problem come up out of nowhere and i can't seem to shake it. I recently tried contacts (about a month ago) but ditched them because of the exact same sensation you described. I was taking alocril for two weeks or so but it didn't help. My doctor had me stop everything and we're focusing on just dry eye symptoms now. It's so hard because my other very slight allergy symptoms come and go but my eyes are always sore (on the outside of the eyelid even, and around the eye). So it's hard to say whether it's definitely allergy related. Are you having other allergy symptoms besides your eyes?

Hi, i always have allergy symptoms infact I get shots everyweek but other than itching I've never had a problem with my eyes like this..they itch badly esp. when I wake up and they are always bloodshot..I have been leaving out my contacts, using the patanol and still I am suffering..are your eyes bloodshot aS WELL?do you have crusties in the corners when waking up?

ashpie, preservative free artificial tear drops may help with the gritty feeling.

My eyes aren't bloodshot, but the docs do tell me i have a redness associated with allergies. Also, i've never had any kind of eye trouble (or allergy trouble) up until this. It just hit me over the course of a day and hasn't died down since. I tried Alocril and Alrex but that didn't seem to help at all (except with the slight itching). When I wake up in the morning my eyes are so puffy that they are almost closed. And if i wash my eye i usually have goopy white stuff come out of the corners..

But i'm just as frustrated as you though. It doesn't seem like anything helps and often when I stop doing what the doctor's tell me, it will feel a little better. Definitely use preservative free drops though. Not stuff like Systane. That really bothered my eyes.