Any eye specialists? Eye pain

[TaigaSno]

What is wrong with my eye - any advice appreciated!

This is not all of the time, but is frequent. I would say, more often than not.

I have a dull ache feeling in my left eye, it's very uncomfortable. It feels perhaps muscular, and perhaps is actually behind the eye. But at the same time, the eye at times is so dry it really hurts to blink and at its worst, I sit with my hand over the eye holding it closed because reflex wants to open the eyelid but it's so dry and painful to do that.

I have no problem at all with the right eye.

I went to see an optician who found no problems. Nothing wrong with the vision, and I haven't observed any changes in ability to see. I had a phone appointment with a GP (frustrating that I still cannot have a face-to-face!), who couldn't come up with any suggestion other than to take regular screen breaks.

For context, I am desk/screen based for work. I'm perimenopausal and on HRT. Otherwise fit and healthy.

I've had this going on for several months now and it's causing me distress. Any eye specialists on here able to suggest something?

Go back to GP, say you followed advice, it's no better and actually worse to point you need to keep it closed to avoid pain.

Ask for Ophthalmology referral.

Thanks Anna, I will be doing that. Am looking for suggestions of what might be wrong or causing it, any idea?
I feel I'm going to make more progress with the GP (who are frustratingly disinterested) by going in with something more specific to discuss.

You need an optician. They can then refer to an ophthalmologist

Go back to optician but make sure your appointment is with the head person. And if still nothing detected or symptoms remain back to GP and insist on face to face appointment.

How long has it been going on for? Is it getting better or worse or staying about the same.
What drops are you using at the moment?
How often does it feel really dry and what time of day, is it after you've done anything specific?
Do take any medications at the moment or have any other health concerns - high blood pressure etc
Do you wear contact lenses.
Have you had a injury to the affected eye in the past?
Is the white of the eye more red than the other one?

I’ve had eye pain in one eye and have been told it is blepharitis which can cause very dry eyes. I was told to use particular eye drops, improve eyelid hygiene and I’ve got an appointment at an eye clinic. I went to the optician first to rule out anything obvious. They tested for glaucoma, amongst other things, then my GP referred me.

My son was diagnosed with dry eye and blepharitis when he had similar sounding symptoms. You can get an ointment and drops that might help . Cigarette smoke, allergies and excess screen time all seem to make it worse. I hope you can get to see an optician soon and get to the bottom of it

Probably would say it's been going on for about six months or so. I don't think the pain/discomfort is getting worse, but it's definitely more frequent.
I'm using non-medicated eye drops that say they hydrate tired eyes, which help a little.
The extreme dryness happens from when I first wake up, but can continue for days then. I sleep on both sides and on my back but it's only one eye affected
I'm on HRT now, gel and tablets, but that's only in the last few months - eye problems came before this, and HRT has not affected it better or worse that I've noticed. No other health problems.
No glasses or contacts, always wear sunglasses when bright, no injuries.
The white of the eye is more red, but not the eye lid. I looked up blepharitis that someone suggested but my eyelid doesn't look sore like the pictures of that. This definitely feels more in the eye than on it.

I will be going back to GP. It's just such a battle to even get a phone appointment (which seems useless for an eye problem!) and then they seem generally disinterested so I thought going back with a more specific suggestion would help.

GP is duty bound to see you in person to give you a diagnosis or refer you on. It's not for you to gather suggested diagnoses, your job is to impress on their gatekeeper receptionists that you need a face to face appointment.

Don't be fobbed off, a telephone appointment isn't appropriate at all for an eye problem.

It sounds as if you have some kind of recurrent corneal erosion, which is not uncommon.

You need to apply a thicker ointment before you go to sleep in that eye (they make your vision blurry, so just before sleep). Good brands are Hycosan night and Hylo night. You can also try a cheaper brand such as lacrilube.

During the day the best thing you can get is this:
https://hylo.de/en/products/hylo-care- it's expensive, but does the job. Use three times a day.

If you sleep in the same bed as someone, also just get them to check to make sure that you're not sleeping with that eye lid partially open. If you are, the ointment will help, but you may need to tape your lid shut.

The condition sometimes is associated with epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (which is not serious, but the early stages are quite subtle and the optometrist may just not have looked close enough).

See how you get on with the drops I've suggested, they should solve the issue, but if you're still getting it, try and get an appointment for immediately after you get that initial sharp pain in the mornings.

Londoners would simply head to A n E at Moorfields. I did that years ago as my vision was blurred and it turned out I had a serious problem. Hope you get it sorted.

Seconding this. You can just show up, no referral needed, and see some of the best eye doctors in the world.

All major hospitals should have an eye A&E department but your optician should be able to spot anything serious. I'm on my second bout of scleritis, slightly red and painful more at night, got my optician to check as I've had it before and got sent straight to the hospital, it's a serious sight threatening deep inflammation. I would go back to the optician for a second opinion and if they can't see any problems it's probably ok to leave it, they might suggest eye drops for dry eyes and see how you get on.

Thanks everyone for the replies, I have not managed to get a GP appointment yet, only phone appointments available currently.
But I am in London and had no idea moorfields was somewhere I could just go into. I will look that up now!

Could be optic neuritis. Definitely needs checking on.

OP go to an optician they can refer you

@TaigaSno you do not need to go to A&E. It's neither an accident nor an emergency and you'll wait for hours and not get seen by anyone even vaguely senior.
@Ididntknowuntiliknew optic neuritis doesn't present like that, it's a painless vision loss and the OP has intermittent pain and no vision loss.