Dry eye syndrome or? Only *one* eye affected

Hello everyone,
I wear soft cibavision standard contacts. I'm having a problem with only
*1* eye(my right eye), that seems to be unaffected by removing my contacts
for days at a time. From researching on the net, I'd say that it is "dry
eye" syndrome, or possibly chronic conjunctivitis. Let me elaborate...
over the last several months(honestly cannot remember how long it's been),
I've noticed a slight irritated feeling in my right eye under the upper
eyelid(from the center & towards the nose). It's not *always* there, but if
I stop to acknowledge it, the feeling is there. Sometimes it is worse,
sometimes it is better. I am constantly working on the computer, and as I
already stated, I wear contact lenses. I have tried staying off of the
computer for a couple days at a time (never longer, since my work involves
being on the computer), and I've tried wearing my glasses for a few days at
a time hoping to eliminate the problem. Neither of these experiements
eliminated the feeling.

Over the last few days I've decided that my diet may be involved as well (if
not the main culprit, at least a contributing factor), so I've started
taking multivitamin supplements that included A and have decided to start
taking flax seed oil. I haven't noticed any difference yet, but it's only
been 2 days (obviously no difference will be notable yet).

The eye in question does not experience any vision change, discharge,
redness or anything else, -just the discomfort similar to an eyelash being
in the eye, or the eye being dry. I need to add though that about once a
month (for as long as I can remember), the eye in question will get red/pink
in the bottom right corner closest to my nose. The problem goes away after
about a day and a half(I usually wear my glasses for a day or so). I have
mentioned this to my optometrist before, and he said that by removing the
contact for a day or so, I was doing the right thing and that it was
probably just related to my constant work on the computer. The "redness"
problem is part of what has led me to believe that it may just be chronic
conjunctivitis in only one eye.

So can anyone possibly diagnose this problem any further? I really don't
want to spend the money going to my optometrist about this problem if I need
to see an opthamologist.

Also, I'm not on any prescription medications, and I have no other health
issues that I'm aware of. I'm thirty years old and have been wearing
contacts since I was about sixteen with no issues. Please post or email me
if you can help out, Thank You,

-paul

 

You may have CLPC (Contact Lens Papillary Conjunctivitis)... or you may
have dry eye. Try some artificial tears (non preserved unit dose) every
few hours for a few days. If that solves the problem, keep doing it. If
not, go & get it checked.

If it's CLPC you will need to change to daily disposables. Or RGPs.

Chronic conjunctivitis... has to be caused by something specific -
environment, bacteria, virus, allergen, dirty contact lenses, etc... it
doesn't just happen for no reason.

Be careful of self-diagnosis via the internet, very easy to be wrong.
Also be careful of taking advice from others via the internet, who have
not looked at your eyes (me)!

Why don't you wear disposables? Much more hygienic & safer. And convenient.

 

convenient.

Thank you so much for the post! I've been watching every day since I
posted, waiting for an insightful reply! My condition is somewhat the same
(have been taking the flax oil & A supplements for about a week now). The
condition *does* seem somewhat lessened at times, but just when I think it's
getting better it acts up again

I'll look into CLPC (I haven't heard of that before). The main reason why I
wear extended wear lenses is because of the price. I'm not sure how
affordable or un-affordable daily disposables are...I'll have to check into
that. I've just always worn the extended wear lenses(lenses last about a
year) without a problem since I started wearing contacts about 14 years ago.
Thanks again for the reply, I really appreciate!

-paul

 

Daily disposables are more pricey than two-weekly or monthly disposables,
and also healthier, but both types are MUCH healthier than non-disposable
contacts. It's worth the extra dollars.

The phrase "extended wear" actually means worn overnight on a continuous
basis. If you keep your lenses for a year (or whatever) but remove them
before sleep they are just called "non-disposable" or "conventional"
contacts.

BTW, CLPC is also known as GPC (Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis)... there is
a subtle (pedantic) difference between the two but they are pretty much the
same thing. Just in case you're googling for it.

Not sure that the diet would have much effect on your problems.

Re: the money you've saved over the last 14 years by not using disposable
lenses: spend some of it on a quality eye checkup to have your problem
diagnosed properly! Go to someone who is experienced with contact lens
fitting.

Good luck

Dom

 

Thanks again for the reply! I did find that most places refer to CLPC as
GPC more commonly. Your point about using saved money for a quality checkup
is well taken. I just need to find a competent ophthalmologist in the area.
Thanks again,

-paul