Sore Eyelid

[GarethB]

I use leratadine which helps with the the dry throat, I sometime sneeze but only in the broning or late evening but never have a streaming nose. For the dry eyes I use systane eye drops, a drop in my eye when I get up and another drop in the lens when I put it in. That lasts me all day until I take my lenses out last thing at night. I laso make sure I drink lots of watre to and this combinatio has worked well for the past 2 yeasr when I started to get dry eye problems.

My hayfever is likely to be oil seed rape as my suseptability to dry eyes has increased as the amount of oil seed rape grown in my area has increased.

I rarely have the urge to rub my eyes and the only time I done so in June i woke doing so and instantly stopped, got up and put the eye drops in and all was fine again.

[Anna Mason]

Very Interesting I'll try the Systane Drops and yes same here Oil seed Rape. The fields next to us are on a rotation and last year there was hardly any this year its planet yellow!!

[GarethB]

Andrew uses a different eye drop so if there is no benefit from Systane after a couple weeks use, give Andrews eye drops a go.

I found when I started on Systane, put a drop in every couple of hours and it was best if i popped my lens out and put the drop on the back of the lens as if i were wetting it to put in my eye. I know people with sclerals who pop a drop or two in the scleral before the salin and pu the lens in. Over the next couple of days I found I could put the drops in less frequently, it was if they eye was going through a recovery period from all the irritation which was exagerated by the contact lenses.

With RGP's I couls still only get 12 hours wear at a push and they were only comfortable for 5 - 6 hours, the Kerasoft 3 and Kerasoft IC lenses make life even better as I can wear them comfortable for all my waking hours and have done so for six month now.

If you drive a lot I find keeping the inside of the windscreen clean, Autoglym car glass polish is best, also helps reduce glare from night driving to and if your car has a polen filter don't belive what the garage says when they say they have changed it. WHne I service friends cars I rarely find any evidence the filter gets changed. Most cars this is to be done every couple of years, i do my cars anually mid to late autumn and that has helped with dry eyes in the car. Another trick I use is emptying the perfume from the liquid air freshners that clip on the air vents and have a fan that draw up the scent. Replacing the perfume with water so when I use the air conditioning the dry air from the vents picks up moisture from the air freshner.

Works for me and others have said they'd try it, no one yet has come back to say it worked or not so entirely up to you if you try this.

[rosemary johnson]

Sorry to ask a stupid question.......
did you clean the lens thoroughly when it came back from the lab?
I had a problem once iwth a new lens straight from the lab that had some sort of "stuff" on it still, and it stung like mad when I first put it in.
Yanked it out, gave eye a bit to recover, scrubbed lens thoroughly with good dose of fairy liquid, rinsed, dried, put away,and tried again a bit later once tears had stopped
Absolutely fine then.
SOunds like yours wasn't marked, but never hurts to clean them thorougly when they arrive, even if you'd think they should be pristine.
Ofc ourse, this could be nothing to do with it.
Good luck with the hay fever! - I tried cetirizine last year, and gave up after first packet as out on my feet with exhaustion! It felt like they'd put a stimulant in to counter the "drowsy" feeling of the earlier types, and after a few days had impression I was dropping with tiredness and trying to keep going on black coffee, then couldn't sleep a wink. Hope it's better for you.
Been trying loratadine this year; doesn't feel like that, though not convinced how much difference it's making to hay fever.
Probably find out when I stop.....!
Rosemary

[Graeme Stevenson]

Spot on Rosemary! The polish used to polish lenses must be removed prior to wear otherwise it will irritate like crazy and attract many deposits from your tears. This can spiral and induce an allergic type response made worse by hayfever.
Are the lenses PMMA or Gas Permeable? PMMA or traditional hard lenses are easier to polish and re polish again so in some ways it is easier if that is the lens type you have.
Have you considered any hayfever eye drops specifically for the inflammation in the eyelid?

[Anna Mason]

Thank you Rosemary its not a stupid question. Yes I gave it a blooming good clean. I was once in Bristol being fitted with the crappest lenses of my life (Rose K they and I were incompatible it was like marrying Hannibal Lector but worse) when the so called expert put a lens in my eye without cleaning all the Miraflow off!!

And Gareth did you say you have Kerasoft lenses - I currently have a Softperm in my Right - Good - eye and a Scleral in my Left - Rubbish - eye.

I am due for a check up next Monday and feel that my vision is not as good as it was. I didnt have enough vision to drive until I was 40 and would hate to lose it now so I am just wondering what you swapped to kerasoft from ??

Graeme = no I havent even looked at hay Fever Eye Drops my Sclerals are RGP what drops are there ???? I have always been very wary of sticking stuff in my eyes the only drops I use are Refresh contacts from Allergan.

[Graeme Stevenson]

If it is definitely a hayfever type reaction sodium cromocglycate can be used prior to after contact lens use. Also very useful to keep the drops in the fridge or to use a cold compress to help soothe the eyelid and also to reduce any inflammation.
Yes you should be wary of anything you put into your eye but that doesnt mean you cannot use anything. By all means think about it seriously and ask advice that way you are less likely to do something silly.

[GarethB]

Quite correct Anna, I have Kerasoft IC in my left eye and a Kerasoft 3 in the right.

Now my eyes have undergone major demoulding from the RGP's lenses which medically were an excellent fit my eyes are getting easier to fit with these soft lenses for KC. If you were look at the K readings from the original topographies for my right eye in 2004 you would say I have KC. Now my corneas have undergone so much demoulding and become flatter, now if you were to look at the K readings you'd say I don't have KC, the change has been that marked.