dry eye syndrome

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Hi all after some advice for DH. For weeks now he has been suffering (and I mean genuinely suffering - not just man type suffering! ;-)) with dry eyes. Its started in January and he has been to the optician and GP twice all of whom have given him a variety of different drops to try and none of which have solved the problem. The optician advised him to steam his eyes and use sterile lid wipes which he has been doing. I've got him to start taking an eye vitamin supplement with Omega 3 and lipids in and he's tried various things like not drinking wine etc. None of this has helped and some days its so bad it feels like he almost can't drive to work. He's made another appt with the GP in just over a weeks time but what should he be asking the GP to do? He has medical insurance through work so I reckon he should push for a referral to an Opthamologist - can anyone recommend one or tell me how to find a good one?
thanks I can tell its really starting to get him down.

Oh, that's awful. I have been diagnosed with dry eye syndrome too and use Celluvisc eye drops on prescription. They won't 'cure' it (and I don't know about your DH but IME the NHS is not concerned with looking into root causes), but for me, used four times a day, they do keep it just about under control.

I'm also prescribed Lacrilube ointment, which you use at night only because it's thick and blurs your vision. It's basically like Vaseline. Again, not a cure but it helps a bit.

For an opthalmologist, I don't know where you are but I'm in London and was referred to Moorfields Eye Hospital. They were OK but again didn't seem interested in root causes or long-term solutions (apart from plugging my tear ducts, which sounds crude and downright barbaric to me). But it did at least set my mind partly at rest as it ruled out serious damage/disease.

Best of luck and best wishes to your DH!

I would second trying Celluvisc - it's the only thing that worked for me. You can get it on or off prescription, but it is kept behind the counter at the chemist's. They have it in 1% and 0.5%. 0.5% is too thin and 1% a bit thick (hard to blink it over your whole eye, I found), but I found one drop of each in each eye about four times a day worked very well for me when my eyes were very dry. If your dh is OK with the 1% on its own, then obviously that's cheaper! Although the packaging says to dispose of the vial after one use, the opthalmologist told me that it's fine to put the cap back on and use it again as many times as you want within 12 hours, then dispose of it (it's preservative free, so you don't want to keep it open for too long).

The pharmacist told me that once each vial is open, you should keep it in the fridge and then you can use it again. I use the 1% one after the 0.5% proved too thin.

I never kept mine in the fridge (I wasn't necessarily anywhere near a fridge when I wanted to use it - eg in the car halfway through a long journey, or otherwise out and about) and wasn't advised I had to, although the opthalmologist I saw said he liked to keep his in the fridge because it soothed his eyes more if he put it on when it was cold! Letting the vial get hot and dirty would be a bad idea, though, as you wouldn't want bacteria to get in an multiply, so somewhere reasonably cool, or the fridge if possible.

thanks so much both of you for all your advice. I've passed it on to DH and we'll get some of those drops - think they are one of the ones he hasn't tried. Hopefully he will find a combination that works soon!!

Hi sorry to hear about your DH. I have severe dry eye and really he needs to be referred on. There are plenty of other eye drops he can have/try but his eyes need to be looked out by an opthalmologist if he is not getting any relief from the GP's prescribed eye drops. And to see what is causing it. There can be various problems that are gathered under the umbrella term of 'dry eye'.

His GP will just prescribe the cheapest versions to start with in the hope they work! The thicker celluvisc is (relatively) expensive so I only had that when prescribed by the hospital but it wasn't enough for me and I have had my lower tear ducts plugged which helped (a bit) and wasn't at all horrific! I have something called Hylo-Tear and Hylo-Forte at the moment.

Hi just an update. DH saw the GP on Monday and went to see a private opthamologist yesterday night. THe specialist said he does have dry eyes, but the eye that is causing most trouble actually has recurrent corneal erosion syndrome - which probably explains why on occassion it has been so painful. So he has some more drops and a clearer idea of what he needs to do so hopefully that will help. If not he has to go back and at some point they may need to do some laser surgery or something. Hopefully these new drops will work. Thanks again for all the advice.

Sorry your DH has got cornea problems, OP, but at least it's been diagnosed now so he can be treated.