About blurred vision...

[unpat]

Hello everyone.
10 days ago I woke up with a itchy eye and I thought hairspray got in my eye. The next day the eye was red and very itchy . My workers said it was pink eye. The next day I woke up and I couldn't see anything on my right eye. The eye was all red and there was no discharge. The pupil was very grey. All I could see was white clouded moving floaters. I went to the ER and the doctor gave me erythromycin and told me I rubbed my eyes too much. The next day I went to the eye specialist and he told me I had an eye infection and it was there for a while. He took the eye pressure and put me on these medicine. Prednisolone 1%, 1 drop every hour and homatropaire 5%, 1 drop twice a day. I have been using this for the past 10 days . My vision has improved (on a scale of 1-10, I am now at 6. At 10 I was not able to see) but it's still cloudy and I can't see properly. I am very worried. When I ask the doctor he says he will do the best he can and doesn't tell me much. I don't have health insurance and I am unemployed. Will my vision be better or it is done permanently. I have a stiff neck doesn't that have to do anything with it. My whole family had never had any eye issues.
After the ER I have seen the eye doctor twice. On the first visit he prescribed me the above mentioned medicine. Then I went to him the second time and he told me to continue the medications. I have an appointment with him tomorrow.


I am really scared. Please share if you have anything important I should know about.

[Mike Bartolatz]

iritis is inflammation inside your eyes causing the white blood cells, floaters that you see along with protein given off by them causing the fog that you are looking through. when this is in the front part of the eye it is called iritis or iridocyclitis both also known as anterior uveitis. there are many causes for iritis. it is often linked to forms of arthritis when a pathogen isn't the cause your neck stiffness could be a symptom of an underlying form of arthritis. if you have skin rashes or irritable bowel disease it could be linked to them as well. the first line of treatment is with corticosteroid eyedrops and a dilating drop. the dilating drop is used to keep the iris from sticking to the lens. it also relaxes the muscle that opens and closes the iris which can go into spasm if the iris is sticking to the lens.

the type of steroid eyedrop you are on requires very vigorous shaking to get the steroid mixed into the solution. you must shake the bottle for at least three minutes before putting in the eyedrop. there is a correct way to put drops in, with your head tilted back, put in a drop. blink a couple of times and close your eyes and press in over the inside corner of your eye to plug off the drain for the eye. this allows the drop to be absorbed by the eye and tissue surrounding the eye. you won't have the terrible aftertaste from the drug either.

if the symptoms worsen get in right away to the ophthalmologist. often it takes a few weeks to get a bout of iritis under control. if it returns the doctor will do some blood tests to see if it could be linked to an inflammatory condition, arthritis etc.

if the inflammation is only in one eye, do you have a history of canker sores? sometimes this is linked to the herpes simplex virus in which case an antiviral medication is needed to keep the virus quieted down.

it can also take a week or more for the dilating drop to fully get out of your system once you stop using it. so your vision can continue to be blurred once you stop using the drops. once everything is controlled, your vision should return to about normal for you.

I hope this helps,
mike

[unpat]

Thank you for your reply. I went to the doctor today and he did a visual test and said it has improved from last week and it is at 20/50 and said it was 20/220 last week but he changed my medication.
I am still using homotropaire twice a day but told me to discontinue the prednisolone and prescribed me dureZol difluprednate 0.05% ; 1 drop every hour. My vision is still the same.
I will keep all of you posted how this new drops will work.

[Mike Bartolatz]

Durezol may well stop the inflammation. but make sure you get in for a pressure check up in a couple of weeks as it can cause elevation of pressure inside the eyes. this can have no symptoms at all. sometimes one can get a very upset stomach as the only symptom.

wish you the best,
Mike

[unpat]

Thank you for your reply.
I have an appointment with the doctor next week. I heard dureZol is stronger. The doc said I was improving . If I was improving why would he put me on strong medications ?
I am confused .
Thank you
Pat

[Mike Bartolatz]

because he wants the inflammation quiet in the eye. a lot of inflammation can make the iris stick to the lens even in an open position and depending on the amount of adhesion it can cause pressure inside the eye to increase, glaucoma to occur. the cells can also block the drains for the eyes and this too is a form of glaucoma. everything has a 'risk benefit' analysis. Durezol does seem to quiet inflammation very quickly but it is to be used for short periods not months etc.

wish you quiet eyes,
Mike

[unpat]

Hello
Thank you for your reply. Now I have been using dureZol for the past 3 days.
After I started to use my vision has improved significantly but the eye is still itchy. I don't know why.
Also today I noticed the eye was kind of red. Is that normal. I don't have any allergic reaction. But are those the minor side effects?

[Mike Bartolatz]

the itchy eye could be related to preservative in the eye drop. wait about 15 minutes after putting in the Durezol and then use a preservative free lubricating eye drop available at any drug store. they come in single use vials.
you could also have an infection so get in to the doctor first thing Monday morning.

if you are developing severe dry eyes that too can cause the itchiness and the red eye but don't just assume it is from dry eyes as an infection can occur easily while you are using the steroid prescription eye drops as they down regulate the ability of the immune system to fight off bacteria, viruses etc.

wish you the best,
Mike