Eye allergies are a very common and a horrible thing to deal with if you are unlucky enough to have this problem. Unfortunately there is no cure unless you can remove the allergen from your lifestyle. Fortunately there is an efficient and effective way to control it.
Needless to say I developed a very uncomfortable case of eye allergies a few years ago. It went occasionally annoying to almost unbearable fairly quickly. I had spend a lot of time trying to pin point the reason for my watering, insanely red, and dry eyes with no luck. I did research, went to several doctors and ophthalmologists, spent countless hours searching the internet, and trying every remedy or treatment I came across. I still have not exactly figured out what was the reason for the allergic eye outbreak but after much trial and error, I have been very successful as of late in terms of controlling my dry eye allergies and not letting it ruin my life. I hope that by reading this I can help others who are in need of a solution.
Medical Definition
I’m sure if you are reading this for educational and personal purposes you already know what dry eyes and allergic conjunctivitis are but just in case here are definitions from a few medical sites.
Dry eye: A deficiency of tears. The main symptom is usually a scratchy or sandy feeling as if something is in the eye. Other symptoms may include stinging or burning of the eye; episodes of excess tearing that follow periods of very dry sensation; a stringy discharge from the eye; and pain and redness of the eye. Sometimes people with dry eye experience heaviness of the eyelids or blurred, changing, or decreased vision, although loss of vision is uncommon
Allergic conjunctivitis: Inflammation of the whites of the eyes (the conjunctivae) with itching and redness of the eyes and tearing, due to allergy.
Symptoms
My eye problems started out were very mild but quickly worsened and in no time at all I was in trouble. I wasn’t able to put my contacts in without pain and redness and I’m pretty sure my tear glands had stopped working. I began only wearing glasses and still my eyes worsened, ruling out contacts as the problem.
Here is a list of the eye problems I had:
- Blood shot red lines running through my eyes
- Dry, scratchy, itchy eyes
- Excessive watering and tearing
- Swollen and red eyelids
To say the least, it was a miserable time. I spent countless time researching cures or solutions, went to see three different ophthalmologists, and spent an excessive amount of money on eye drops, all with no avail. The two main diagnoses were that I had dry eye which apparently is very common in Arizona, and/or that I had allergic conjunctivitis.
Treatments that I tried with little or no luck
Here is a list of treatment options that I was either prescribed or tried with not much luck.
Steroid drops - Brought down the eye lid swelling but did very little in helping me out with the other symptoms and the prescription costs were about $150 with insurance.
Temporary Tear Duct Plugs - Did not notice anything. They came out in about 10 days and did not help while they were in.
Eye drops - Provided temporary relief but I found I was putting in drops about every half hour and this was getting very expensive quickly.
Restasis - I wish I could say this helped since they love advertising but I cannot recommend this product since it did nothing for my problem and the average cost is about $25 a week with insurance and unaffordable without. I took Restasis for 3 months as directed with the only result being that I was down over $300. It may work for some but I personally had no luck with the product.
Flaxseed and Fish Oils - I don't doubt that my body enjoyed the vitamins but I did not notice any results.
Eye Lid scrubs and Eye wash - Provided only temporary relief.
Allergy medication - Worked wonders for sinus allergies but alone did not solve my eye problems.
I tried many other things as well but these were the main directions from the doctors and medical websites. Oh yeah, not forgetting the best advice: Move out of Arizona to a less dry climate. Moving was not exactly an option atleast until i can afford a nice beach house.
I dealt with these eye problems for about 10 months trying everything possible and by that time, I am sure that my eyes were about as unhealthy as they come. My dry, allergic, red eyes pretty much ruined my life for those 10 months not to mention the money that was spent trying to find a solution.
My Diagnosis and Treatment
On a positive note, I did come up with a solution that worked for me. Mind you, I am not a doctor but may have about as much knowledge and definitely more first hand experience than a doctor when it comes to eye allergies (allergic conjunctivitis) and dry eyes.
My personal diagnosis to my allergy and dry eye problem is: I have an allergy to something yet to be determined which caused swelling and irritation that inhibited my tear ducts causing severe dry eyes in turn causing redness and discomfort.
After trying about everything the doctors said and everything I could come up with online, the answer finally came in the form of a TV commercial of all things.
The ad I saw was for Claritin Allergy Eye Drops. Unfortunately both Claritin and Zyrtec Eye Drops have been recalled but the solution ketotifen fumarate ophthalmic solution is still available.
Here are the best 2 allergy eye drop available OTC in my opinion.
I personally prefer Alaway for the reason its significantly cheaper and I feel the results are better. Also I notice that prescription strength significantly weakens after about 30 days so I would recommend getting a new bottle every month.
For use I used one to two drops every morning and another at night if necessary and within minutes my eyes felt so much better. I would say it took a few months for my eyes to become almost 100%. I try to avoid using the night dosage if I can.
I also combined the eye drops with an OTC allergy medication (Claritin or Zyrtec or off brand) a few times a week as needed. This made a huge difference as well. Also using regular eye drops when needed provided some extra relief.
I hope this information can help those with allergic conjunctivitis, redness, dry eyes, or anything closely related. Please leave a comment if this has helped you out or if you have any other solutions to eye problems.