OCuSOFT Rash

I wanted to do an update on OCuSOFT Eyelid Cleanser since I have stopped using them for exactly one week. The rash on my upper right eye lid and lower left eye lid have almost completely disappeared. They were great at cleaning but I find that now, my eyes feel fine with or without cleaning them with this product. If anything, I just clean my eyes with a splash of water to the face and feel great.

OCuSOFT Lid Scrub Plus

I've been using OCuSOFT Lid Scrub Plus Eyelid Cleanser since November and about a little under a month now there has been a rash over my right eye. Today as I was cleaning my eyes with the lid scrub, I notice there is a rash formulating under my left eye. The only other things that I am currently taking are the TheraTears Omega 3 capsules, TheraTears eye drops, and applying warm compresses twice daily so I have a feeling that the eyelid cleanser might be causing the rash. I must look more into this.

Thus far, the lid scrubs seemed to be a great product (I would scrub my lids once in the morning and once at night and occasionally once midday) but I think starting tomorrow, I will stop using the lid scrubber for awhile and see if the rash disappears.

Red Eye

About 2 days ago, my right became became unusually red. I have no idea how this has occur since I have done nothing new to my daily routine. I have also noticed that there has been discharge in my eyes for the past several days now. Yesterday my eyes were extremely dry but they seem a lot better today. Maybe a humidifier/dehumidifier would help? But I am currently reluctant to purchase one. I never thought I'd be wearing glasses for this long but you have to do what it takes to help preserve your vision.

TheraTears & Restasis

1/09/10

I've completely finished my second bottle of TheraTears Omega-3 Supplements that everyone raves about on amazon.com. I had many high hopes for the product but I feel a bit indifferent thus far. The bottle states that you should take 3 capsules a day and continue use beyond 4 to 8 weeks which I am currently doing. I will comment on after this third bottle is finished. There website states that the omega-3 capsules assist in providing the fatty acids needed in a healthy diet and furthermore, "TheraTears Nutrition provides the omega-3s your oil glands need to make the healthy oil that coats your tear film to reduce evaporation.* This healthy oil protects and moisturizes the eye and supports healthy tear function.*" I guess we'll see what happens in another month.

01/07/10

I finished my supply of restasis. I'ved used the product since November 19, 2009 for a little under 2 months. I'm also indifferent about this product since I'm not sure if it helped my condition as much since I used it in conjunction with Theratears eye drops. I wish I could comment more on the product; a part of me wants to say the drop of restasis in the morning the the drop at night did help but it could just be the hopefulness inside of me just wanting to believe.

6 Hour Trip

Before I was diagnosed with dry eye, my eyes never really felt that dry. There was just the annoying stringy discharge in both of my eyes. However, about a month ago I went on a trip and drove for about 6 hours from northern California to southern California and truly felt the effects of this condition. My eyes were dying to dive into a deep oasis. The drive back was quite unpleasant also, to say the least.

Dry Eyes

On my arrival back to the states, I did vast majority of research about my eyes and read about using new types of eye solution such as Clear Care to using Theratears (non-preservative eye drops) to using hot compresses. I tried different types of eye drops and decided to try Systane Contacts (for soft and rgp lenses) but that did not help much. Furthermore I tried Rohto V. Ice eye drops but they did nothing for me (the soothing sensation feels great but doesn't help my condition).

I decided it was time went to seek out an optometrist/ophthalmologist that was well qualified and knew what they were talking about. On my immediate visit, my eyes were thoroughly examined and the optometrist stated that I have a condition known as dry eye. Something that no other eye doctor informed me of. I went for several check up's and was given samples of restasis and theratears.

On November 19th, 2009 I started using restasis 1 drop in the morning and 1 at night. My drops ran out on January 6th, 2010. I also put warm compresses on my eyes for 5 minutes, 1 time in the morning and 1 time at night. My eyes lack the nutrients needed so I have also been taking theratears omega 3 supplements. During this time, I stopped wearing contacts and rely on my glasses even though I am not a huge fan of glasses.

End Result:

I can not say that the discharge is gone but it has started to become under control. I see clear discharge maybe twice a week and they are quite small in length than before.

Currently:

I have been wearing only glasses for about 2 months now.

I am almost done with my second bottle of Theratears Nutrition Omega 3 Supplements.

Theratears eye drops are used every so often.

OcuSoft Lid scrubs are also used to clean my eyes in the morning and at night (give these a try, they seem to be good at cleaning my lids)

I will do a review on the used products in a later blog. Till next time!

Internship Abroad

During the summertime, I had a chance to intern abroad and my eye condition was still present but the condition progressed. I would never sleep with my contacts in my eyes but would wear them for 8+ hours a day, and would rarely wear glasses. One day I woke up with a huge pressure in my right eye and I went to wash it out and it hurt immensely. There was obvious discharge and it finally woke me up to start taking better care of my eyes. I googled this condition and came across a blog that helped with this ordeal:

http://blog.gordaen.com/2007/10/12/acuvue-oasys-lenses-cause-red-eyes/

I have to say, I read about every single comment on that blog and is the reason I switched over to Acuvue 2's. I also took some time to visit an optometrist abroad and they stated my left eye was infected even though my right eye was the eye that felt the pressure. I was prescribed TobraDEX (5ML) (Tobramycin+dexa), that of which I used 4 times a day for about a week. However, The optometrist could not state why there was discharge coming from my eyes. I was also told to stop wearing contacts and I did so for about 1 month so that my eyes could breathe.

Central Valley

This blog is LONG overdue but I am finally finding the time to write about my eye condition.

About a year and a half ago, there was a clear stringy discharge that developed from my eyes. It was quite persistent and would be in my eyes every morning. It would not hurt, and my eyes were not dry, frankly it was just irritating. I never thought much about them because I was too focused on school and I had no time to think about such a 'minute' problem. During this time, I was attending college in the central valley and my 'weapon of choice' were the acuvue oasys w/hydraclear plus. Before I moved, I lived in the bay area and wore frequency 55 contacts. So let's see what I used in the past:

2004-2007

Contacts: Frequency 55 by CooperVision

Lens Type: 1 year / soft contacts

Solution: ReNu by Bausch & Lomb (There was a recall/lawsuit in 2006)

Location: Bay Area

2007-2009

Contacts: Acuvue Oasys by Johnson & Johnson

Lens Type: 2 week / soft contacts

Solution: Opti-Free RepleniSH

Location: Central Valley

Recently

Contacts: Acuvue 2

Lens Type: 2 week / soft contacts

Solution: Opti-Free RepleniSH

Location: Bay Area

(I am in no way saying certain contacts or solutions are better than another, depending on the contacts, they are made from certain materials that affect your eye differently.)

Many optometrists prescribe Acuvue Oasys simply because of their breathable material. It is stated that oxygen can pass in and out of the lenses quite easier than the older generation of contacts such as the Acuvue 2's.

As I was saying before, this stringy discharge started when I was living in the central valley where the air pollution is abundant; wikipedia states "The San Joaquin Valley now has the worst air quality in California, along with the highest asthma rates." Am I making a correlation with where I live and how the discharge developed? I'm just trying to state all the variables. I also spent a vast majority of my time on my laptop and many individuals should remember to blink and allow the tears to move around the cornea. I digress.

I finally had some time to visit an optometrist about my eye condition and they did not know what the clear discharge was. I was given a bottle of Alcon Naphcon A since the optometrist believed the discharge was due to allergies. I used up the bottle and it did not help reduce the amount of discharge present in my eyes.

2010: My Eyes!!

Hello World.