I've had this terrible problem for about 2 years now and I hope someone out there can help. I've been to several doctors and ophthalmologists and none have been able to shed any light on the situation.
This may be a coincidence, but I think it began with a weird cold I had. I had a terribly sore throat and even lost my voice, with a slight cough. This resolved itself within a week. I usually never get sick, so this was unusual. In any case, after a day or two of perfect health I woke up with one eye (my left) severely red. This was limited to the corners of that eye on the side closest to the ear.
I thought nothing of it at the time and waited a few days and it began to get worse. At which point I went to a local ophthalmologist who diagnosed it as conjunctivitis and prescribed Tobradex. Initially it seemed to get better, however after about a week the medicine seemed to have no effect and the redness began to get worse again. At this time the right eye also began to get redness in the corner (closest to ear again). After taking a shower the redness would subside somewhat (the heat, hot water/steam?). The healing effects brought on by taking a shower began to diminish over time and have now disappeared and causes no change in this condition.
I went back to the ophthalmologist and he says, "Hmm perhaps it is an allergy" and prescribed Optivar. This seemed to irritate my eyes further and had zero effect on the condition. The lower lids of my eyes seemed to be getting red also, though I cannot recall exactly when this began. Tried patanol also to no avail. I went to two different doctors, who tried bleph-10, cortisporin to no effect. Went to a different ophthalmologist who prescribed a steroid, fluorometholone, which had no effect.
I notice the redness becomes much more pronounced when I yawn. My eyes will become teary and completely bloodshot, and I get a film of very small gritty white particles along my lower lid margin (meibomian gland material?) My eyes and my eyelids turn a bright red color when yawning, and also when my eyelids are exposed to water they swell and turn a bright red. However, the ophthalmologists did not think this is blepharitis.
I've never had any type of problem with my eyes before this, and I am utterly desperate to resolve the problem. No one can seem to give me a straight answer as to the cause. Now bordering on hypochondria, I had my doctor do blood tests for several diseases/conditions, which none of the results being abnormal.
If anyone out there can help, I will be eternally thankful. Could it be a local eye condition like blepharitis or MGD? Rosacea? Eyelid Eczema? Diabetes? Fungal infection from Mars? Food / Environmental Allergy?
I don't know what is causing this, maybe allergies is as close as you will get, but what are you doing to soothe your eyes? Use some soothing packs on them to diminish the redness. I don't know where would be best to get this, but maybe a pharmacy or natural health store.
I understand what it's like to be desperate for answers when you're dealing with red eyes. I don't know if my situation may pertain to yours...there are some similarities... but there are things about your situation that also throw me a bit. I have pingeculas in each eye which cause eye irritation and redness. These are small yellow/white calluses on the whites of the eye that are caused usually from prolonged sun exposure and are usually harmless. They are fairly common and are more common in older folks but can occur in younger people as well. They do not go away on their own but can be removed if they cause excessive irritation and they sometimes grow overtime which is why irritation or redness can seem to get worse. They often appear in the corners of the eyes and can be associated with a lot of visible red veins and eye redness/irritation. The pingeculas themselves can usually be seen if you look at your eye closely and may appear as a small area of yellowish discoloration on the surface of your eye. The only reason I thought you might have this is because you said the condition gets a bit better with the steam of a shower as it probably would since this condition can often cause dry eye and since it can prevent tears from smoothly covering your eye surface....thus, the steam can temporarily clear it up. Also, you said you have some type of film that collects in your lid...this could be do to dry eye...or your tears drying up and becoming rather sticky. Well just a thought and maybe something for you to look into. I know I had red eyes for a long time before my Eye doctor verified this condition and it was only after I asked him about it. Well if you look into it and you think you may have this...let me know and I will post some more info. for you as well as info. on surgery options. The only thing that doesn't make sense to me is about your eye becoming bright red with sneezing and in water? Well, maybe this info will help...good luck P.S you can also look up Pterygium which is the same as pingecula except Pteryguim is usually a little bit larger and is covering or touching surface of the cornea. You should be able to find pictures on-line.
Have you considered that it could be dry eye, which can cause red eye? In which restasis might help with inflammation. You may have inflammation caused by MGD as you said you have some white stuff in your lid margins.
I have pingeculas in each eye which cause eye irritation and redness. These are small yellow/white calluses on the whites of the eye that are caused usually from prolonged sun exposure and are usually harmless. They are fairly common and are more common in older folks but can occur in younger people as well. They do not go away on their own but can be removed if they cause excessive irritation and they sometimes grow overtime which is why irritation or redness can seem to get worse. They often appear in the corners of the eyes and can be associated with a lot of visible red veins and eye redness/irritation. The pingeculas themselves can usually be seen if you look at your eye closely and may appear as a small area of yellowish discoloration on the surface of your eye.
Christy, my lasik eye doctor said I have sun damage in my eyes too. And that's what's causing my chronic red eyes.
But he said this condition cannot be cured. The only way I can prevent it from getting worse is to wear sunglasses all the time.
So right now my eyes are always red and dry. Did your doctor say there's a way to cure it? Please let me know because my red eyes are killing me. I have red eyes 24/7. Even if I put lubricant drops, the red eyes don't go away.
Hi Holland...well you said your laser surgeon told you you have sun damage in your eyes...I'm assuming that's in the form of Pingecula or Pteryguim. These are synonymous terms except for Pteryguim means the sun damage or Pingecula is covering the cornea...sometimes affecting vision. Pingeculas can turn into Pteryguim overtime as they grow.
Well here's the scoop as far as I know it: Most eye docs and surgeons are pretty conservative and will tell you there's nothing you can do other than wear sunglasses and use lubricting drops and will only advise surgery if your vision is being affected. But obviously, cosmetically, the redness can be dreadful to live with. My eye doc. doesn't think I should have my pings removed because it would be mostly for cosmetic reasons and in the past, when you'd get them surgically removed(involving cutting them out of your eye), they would often grow back and sometimes grow back with a vengeance...also you could be left with a scar that looked worse than the pingeculas. And this is what a lot of eye doctors still believe. But now, there are improved surgical techniques that often eliminate re-growth and minimize any scarring and from what I hear, many people don't scar at all. The surgery is usually not covered by insurance unless it's for a legit medical reason...my understanding is that Pterygium removal is often covered but not pingecula removal.
Now...the newest and latest procedures are only done buy a limited # of eye surgeons...I know of one place in California that does it and two in Florida.
You can read more about this on the Boards under Pteryguim surgery. Very quickly the new procedure involves cutting the pingecula or pteryguim out and covering the area with an amniotic graft to help the area heal and also, instead of stitches, they use a glue to hold the graft in place as the eye heals. This, supposedly minimizes any scarring, allows the area to heal quicker , minimizes pain and helps to prevent regrowth. Harvardeye.com in Orange county,CA area does the surgery and it sounds like they have great results. M ost people on the boards seem to have gone there. The surgery sounds like it ranges anywhere from $2,000 to 5,000 per eye depending on the size of the growth so it is quite expensive.
There is also a surgeon in Jacksonville, FL .
If you consider surgery...I'd really do your homework first. It sounds like most people who get the surgery are glad they did. I have heard of outcomes that were not all that positive. It sounds like people who had the surgery done with the graft procedure almost never have any pingecual regrowth and the redness and irritation is greatly reduced. Some say there eye still isn't perfect but others seem overly pleased. Also...some find the healing to be just mildly uncomfortable while others find it to be extremely uncomfortable but from what I know...it's supposed to be less painful if the glue is used as opposed to stitches. They say not to expect your eye to look completely normal until 3-months post-op.
Best of Luck.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-19-2007 at 09:34 AM.
Reason: posted doctor website
Christy, my lasik eye doctor said I have sun damage in my eyes too. And that's what's causing my chronic red eyes.
But he said this condition cannot be cured. The only way I can prevent it from getting worse is to wear sunglasses all the time.
So right now my eyes are always red and dry. Did your doctor say there's a way to cure it? Please let me know because my red eyes are killing me. I have red eyes 24/7. Even if I put lubricant drops, the red eyes don't go away.
I used to frequently do indoor UV tanning, without the eye goggles. Could this be the cause of the redness, and if so, are my eyes be permanently damaged from this?
Christy, the doctor didn't say what kind of sun damage I had. He only said I had sun damage and it was not treatable. I would like to do surgery, but it's so expensive. I don't have that kind of money.
Johnny, I also went indoor tanning without goggles before. And yes, that really damaged my eyes. I'm only 30 but the eye doctor said the sun damage was equivalent to a 40 year old's!
I guess I have to live with the dryness and redness right now. I tried all sorts of eye lubricants, none of them help. I only put Visine during special occasions, since they make the redness worse if I use them too much.
