Hello.

I just started taking Optivar for my eye allergies. I've always had asthma and seasonal allergies but I have never been to an allergist. An eye dr. prescribed Patanol several years ago but then I couldn't afford it and he told me that there were no generics at that time. I was never aware that this was why I could not wear contacts and I just thought it was an eye sensitivity.

I started taking Claratin for my itchy ears. It seems my sinuses were draining in my ears or something and at times I couldn't sleep they itched so bad.

I tried contacts again and got two yellow bumps on the white area of my eye toward the inside corner. They went down after discontinuing the contacts but have not gone away. I get itchy, dry eyes so severe that I can not wear eye makeup and can barely open my eyes around sunlight. I just tried to deal with it and didn't attribute it to allergies even though, I had forgot the eye doctor incident from years before.

I was looking for an answer for a cosmetic problem, I started noticing my black circles getting worse to the point that I could not cover them anymore. That's when I heard about allergy shiners. I received a prescription and sample from my general doctor two days ago and have noticed my eyes are less irritated and less red. I also seem to be able to open them wider, I guess because they light doesn't hurt as much.

Has anyone else taken this medicine? How do you feel it has helped or hurt?
Also does anyone know if this will reduce the allergy shiners. It's too early to tell if they have faded yet since I just began taking the Optivar.

Thank you for any and all answers - sorry so long winded.

Jkitty