One more!:) Sorry so many questions but does anyone have a problem with the whites of their eyes constantly red? Mine have been that way since January... I use eye drops, but fear it is not good for my eyes. I have also been to an eye doctor as mu Rheumy instructed me to go get tested before she put me on Hydroxychloroquine.
I have that same problem...but I have sjogren's....it causes decreased tears and decreased saliva....my eyes are really red and horribly dry....I use restasis and sterile saline eye drops in my eyes constantly.... It is common to have a secondary autoimmune disorder with Lupus...Did the eye doctor say anything about if your eyes were dry??
As far as eye drops go, the ones to get "red out" made mine worse...
I put gel drops in at night....The brand I use is Systane in the vials (during the day) and then the gel in a bottle at night. You want preservative free Hope that helps.
Yes recently the whites were completely red for 4 days straight. Scary looking.
It sounds like episcleritis or scleritis and you want a doctor to help with that though there is not much they can give you other than eye creams with steroids. You can find more on those conditions information here:
http://www.healthcommunities.com/red-eyes/scleritis-episcleritis.shtml
My eyes were doing this very severely and with great pain, to the point that I caught myself digging with my nails into my eye socket. VERY painful and gave me terrible headaches behind my eyeballs. It was difficultly painful to move my eyes or use them in any way. Bright light causes extreme pain and low light makes them strain until they are in pain. I somewhat fixed it before my eye doctor appointment by resting them from all activity (use a vacant glaze if you can't keep them closed), using UV protection sunglasses (sometimes even indoors) but most importantly by avoiding sunlight and staying mostly indoors ... so he couldn't find anything wrong with them or my vision other than the light sensitivity.
I use Naphcon A daily and that clears it up but I have read that daily use is not good.
I used eye drops for a brief minute long ago but it burned way more than having dry, red eyes so I stopped pretty darn fast. I would think that daily use of any over-the-counter medication would be inadviseable without a doctor's approval. You really need to see an eye doctor as, if you do have either of these conditions, it can be quite serious and you can lose your sight. I think it swells and weakens the wall of your eye and your eye slowly collapses as the swelling goes down so it's not something you want to take chances with. Even if you have a non-serious issue, it could become serious when overusing any product so please, see the doctor for a thorough exam. BTW-What does the label say?
I am just gonna call my eye doc as he did not see anything serious before. I was needed ammo to see if anyone else experienced red eyes. Just needed support to see if this indeed is a typical Lupus symptom. Thanks All!
You can give him the information on episcleritis and scleritis and insist that he investigate. If he doesn't, get a second opinion. They are conditions usually associated with Type I Diabetes (insulin dependent) but can also occur with auto-immune disorders, such as lupus.
I have constant problems with red eyes that don’t respond to anything. The ophthalmologist tried allergy drops then steroid drops, neither helps. My eyes always hurt, too. Can’t wear my contact lenses any more either.
Hi! Don't ever be sorry for asking questions...we are all in this together. I also have a problem with red eyes, and one eye is constantly running/tearing. I have Sjorgren's, and the eye doctor initially diagnosed me with an infected tear duct in my right eye. Antibiotics cleared up the infection, but I have been left with red, runny, goopy eyes (especially my right eye) and there isn't much they can do. I have been on a few courses of antibiotics since that initial infection, plus prednisone, but no luck. I use Restasis and artificial tears, but they don't seem to help. I just got my Plaquenil dose raised again. I know how frustrating it is. I can't give you any advice, except maybe warm compresses. Are you having any pain or soreness? See what the eye doctor says. I'm probably going for a second opinion; my eye doctor just says it is Sjogren's and sends me on my way. I hope you have better luck than I do. Please keep us posted.
Yes all the time. I just deal with it. My ophthalmologist says it’s from the dry eyes. It’s worse when I wear eye make up. If it’s on longer than a few hours I look really bad. I’ve started hiding behind the sunglasses
Thanks all! This information is extremely helpful and supportive! :)
Yes, I have had episodes of episclaritis since I began having lupus symptoms. Dr. Petri, at the John Hopkins Lupus Center states it is related to lupus. Luckily mine are painless and disappear on their own after a few days. I usually have some redness in my eyes all the time.