Dry eye syndrome

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trailgumby
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Dry eye syndrome

Postby trailgumby » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:35 pm

I have an apparently genetic condition called seborrheic dermatitis, whereby my skin produces insufficient oils to protect itself from irritants. I need to use moisturiser and barrier creams, otherwise I get red flaky areas on my face and scalp.

Sometimes this hits me in the eyes, and when it gets acute I need to use steroid eye drops to settle the irritation down. Flare-up symptoms include acute photosensitivity - pain and being unable to see in bright sunlight. Unfortunately long term use of these drops can lead to glaucoma.

Usually I can manage the eye symptoms by using lubricant drops. However, windy conditions, low morning glare and long rides at speed (read: road bike) can make it blow up.

So I'm looking for recommendations for sunglasses or other suitable eyewear (preferably photochromic) that will keep the wind out of my eyes. Unfortunately the expensive prescription Oakley Flaks that I have no longer cut the mustard. :( I realise that wind-proof means having to deal with the glasses misting up in damp conditions, but it's a matter of juggling competing needs.

If possible, I'd ideally like to be able to trial a pair before committing to buy. Thanks for your help. :)

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby Dr_Mutley » Sat Jan 24, 2015 12:51 am

Do u use tears again? Have puntual plugs?

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trailgumby
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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby trailgumby » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:58 pm

I'm doing the eye lubricant drops. I'm using the preservative free Bion Tears, which is a bit thicker than the normal eye drops.

I tried on some Shimanos and Rudy Projects this morning at a local bike shop. Both were an improvement over the Oakleys that I have, and the Rudys were the better of the two. I just need clear-to-mid-brown photochromatics. Prescription would be nice as well, but that can come later.

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Tim
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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby Tim » Sat Jan 24, 2015 3:39 pm

Can't help with the eyes but I stumbled upon a remedy for my case of seborrheic dermatitis.
Especially bad in winter but summer too at times.
Anti dandruff shampoo. Selsun Blue works wonders at clearing dandruff, which is seborrheic dermatitis but also works on facial dermatitis. I get dry, red flaky patches on either sides of my nose and on the chin.
I'm not sure it's a recommended use but in the shower I rub a little of the shampoo on my face let it sit for a minute or two, rinse, repeat.
Bingo, dry skin clears up within 2-3 days.

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby Dr_Mutley » Sat Jan 24, 2015 5:18 pm

Try tears again spray from the chemist... It's also available on the pbs... Should help a lot....

http://m.pbs.gov.au/medicine/item/5545W-9448G.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby ValleyForge » Sat Jan 24, 2015 5:26 pm

trailgumby wrote:I'm doing the eye lubricant drops. I'm using the preservative free Bion Tears, which is a bit thicker than the normal eye drops.

I tried on some Shimanos and Rudy Projects this morning at a local bike shop. Both were an improvement over the Oakleys that I have, and the Rudys were the better of the two. I just need clear-to-mid-brown photochromatics. Prescription would be nice as well, but that can come later.
I used to use some Bolle saftey glasses which were $20 and did the job. They were close fitting and so fogged badly. I stopped them fogging with some antifog solution that is left over from work.

I now love my photo-chromatic Rudys. They sit well away from my face and seldom if ever fog.
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thamete
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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby thamete » Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:17 pm

My eyes have become extremely wind and cold sensitive after surviving pneumococcal sepsis.

The solution turned out to be Oakley Wind Jacket glasses. They have a gasket that seals the wind out in most situations and only rarely fogs up in my case. They were not cheap but certainly did the trick when others such as adidas evil eye and safety glasses failed.

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby trailgumby » Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:58 am

thamete, they look excellent. My existing Oakley Flak prescription lenses may even fit.

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby marks » Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:03 am

Same deal for me.

I use Cocoons Photochromic over my prescription glasses. Optimel Manuka Honey eye drops work the best for me although they sting a bit at first. Long term steroid eye drops are dangerous. I found this out the hard way.

Cheers,

Mark

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby find_bruce » Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:43 am

Oakley wind jackets are popular with skydivers so should be good at keeping the wind out

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby trailgumby » Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:36 pm

Went to the George St Oakley store today to buy replacement nose bridge rubbers for my Flak Jackets and enquired after the Wind Jackets.

It looks like they are no longer made. :(

However, the Split Jacket has an optional windproof rubber gasket I found on the web, so that may be an option. Further to that, it seems I get a 40% discount on Oakley product via my MTBA membership. :)

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby trailgumby » Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:38 pm

@marks, I've found and bought a small bottle of Optimel Manuka eyedrops. I tried them for the first time last night. Stings like blazes when you first put them in, but they seem promising.

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Dry eye syndrome

Postby Dr_Mutley » Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:16 pm

Use the spray with the drops and the drops will last a lot longer in your eyes... It's only $14 over the counter if u don't get your doctor to write a script for it...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17199193/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby wombatK » Fri Feb 06, 2015 9:37 pm

I found I get excellent wind protection from a pair of Arnette's Easy Money 4190 41/81 polarized sunglasses I bought from Myer's Jan 2014 sale for about $89. Can get them cheaper than that on ebay etc.,. but you can't test whether they are a good fit to your face. They fit my face beautifully. Sunglasshut have them too.

I sought them out when trying to figure what was irritating my eyes on rides ... in the end, I concluded that it was the sunscreen getting sweated into my eyes and claratyne seemed to prevent the reaction. But it's so much nicer not getting wind in my eyes, I kept using them.
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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby Dr_Mutley » Fri Feb 06, 2015 9:45 pm

wombatK wrote:I found I get excellent wind protection from a pair of Arnette's Easy Money 4190 41/81 polarized sunglasses I bought from Myer's Jan 2014 sale for about $89. Can get them cheaper than that on ebay etc.,. but you can't test whether they are a good fit to your face. They fit my face beautifully. Sunglasshut have them too.

I sought them out when trying to figure what was irritating my eyes on rides ... in the end, I concluded that it was the sunscreen getting sweated into my eyes and claratyne seemed to prevent the reaction. But it's so much nicer not getting wind in my eyes, I kept using them.
I wear hard contact lenses, so been thru these issues+++, keeping sweat out of your eyes is essential, and I religiously use the halo head bands which do a great job of this. I used to get a combination of sweat, sunscreen and grit in my eyes, then it'd be game over... So keeping tears in your eyes is obviously paramount importance, so wind protection, spray, drops, and punctual plugs have made cycling with hard lenses tolerable..,

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby trailgumby » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:58 am

OK, so I'm not so sure about these Optimel Manuka eye drops. The benzoic acid preservative is a killer, stinging like razor blades and making my eye more inflamed than before. Do they have a preservative free version?

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby marks » Fri Feb 13, 2015 1:19 pm

Yikes!

Mine are preservative free. Looking at their website it is confusing as they have both preservative and non preservative formulations bu yhey look very similar. Mine don't mention "Blepharitis" on the box just "For Chronic Dry Eye".

Description is:

"Melcare's Optimel Antibacterial Manuka Eye Drops contains a standardised antibacterial Manuka honey developed from Leptospermum sp. and is preservative free for moderate to severe dry eye."

Good luck!

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby trailgumby » Sat Feb 14, 2015 12:13 pm

Thanks, I'll contact the seller and enquire before I give him bad eBay feedback. It looks like this particular seller is the manufacturer/agent as his only product is Optimel.

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby crazioldjane » Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:33 pm

i thought i had metal or glass in my eyes after weeks of agony but it turned out i have dry syndrome and went onto small doses of antibiotics the Lions Eye Clinic put me on for 12 months and a shorter dose of steroid eyes drops which worked really well but lead to higher risk of glaucoma so i had to stop.. the antibiotic side effect is supposedly the body producing more lubricant but it didn't seem to do anything... i have tried and tested every eye lubricant product i could find over the last 5 years or so and find that systane ultra works the best for me... it has preservatives and i can tell the moment its met its use by date which is well within the recommended period but by then i have pretty much used up the bottle.. i find the bottle much easy to manage than the little plastic thingys...and heaps cheaper too... no respect to the recommendation about using stinging stuff but in my experience if it stings stop using it... anyway i use a pair of uvwraps jf 263 glasses which i found while out riding and they are magic.. i even use them on my motorbike.. http://www.uvwraps.com.au/safety.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and they are good up to 100 km/h when i asked why i suddenly got dry eye syndrome the 12 year old eye specialist doctor put down his action man doll and said "because i am over 50 and female" cheeky sausage i nearly put him over my knee..
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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby OnTrackZeD » Sun Feb 22, 2015 10:05 am

I use Poly Visc ointment it lasts longer than drops but blurs vision for the first few minutes.
Meant for night time use but I get great results for daytime use in combination with drops.

Before using Poly Visc ointment I'd need drops every 15-20 minutes, now I'm good for 60 plus minutes.

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby find_bruce » Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:34 pm

Have you tried watching Ghost, Titanic or maybe Bambi is more your thing. Perhaps sing along to Meatloaf while you are riding.

Sorry Trailgumby as (1) this is a serious issue for you & (2) my jokes are terrible

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby Dr_Mutley » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:09 pm

If anyone's interested...


Image

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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby sogood » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:42 pm

Not easy. You'll just about need to go to googles to fully keep the wind out. How about one of those low profile eyes only goggles with a foam surround, made for skiing and other outdoor activities?
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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby warthog1 » Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:37 pm

find_bruce wrote:Have you tried watching Ghost, Titanic or maybe Bambi is more your thing. Perhaps sing along to Meatloaf while you are riding.

Sorry Trailgumby as (1) this is a serious issue for you & (2) my jokes are terrible

:lol: I liked it anyway.
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Re: Dry eye syndrome

Postby Dragster1 » Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:59 pm

Can I ask about the seborrheic dermatitis, what do you do to tame it? I cant even shave with anything that has chemicals in it, 2 days later it breaks out like wild fire. The Doctor gave me some steroid cream and it disappeared only to come back worse.

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