Crystals formimg in eye

Question

I have small cryslals forming only in my left eye. They are about 1/64 to 1/128 of an inch and look very much like a grain of salt or sugar. These granules are hard but can be crushed into smaller granules. This situation is quite painful. I've been to quite a few opthamoligist over the past 35 years but they either don't see crystal, I think the thick liquid that is put in my eye may wash it out.  Or I'm told they are calcium deposits but as far as I understsnd it calcium deposits form a flake not a granule similar to salt or sugar. I hope you have some info on this..............

Chris737 · Answer

I developed dry eye in my left eye a few years ago. Then last year I started having pain in both eyes in the a.m. with tiny crystals in the corners. I started taking Life tones for my fibromyalgia pain.  Lifetones not only helped relieve my fibromyalgia pain it also eliminated the pain in my eyes. As long as I take it, no more crystals! I think it’s something to do with a uric acid problem. Hope this helps.

jarymokin · Answer

I have the same thing only it's not painful. Nomatter the time of day when i rub the corner of my eye at my tear duct crystals come out.  It is annoying and it has made my tear duct huge. It is 3 times the size of my other eye.  I also have the same stuff in my other eye but not as much.  It never fails, if i rub my eye, those crystals come out.  What is it? Why did it swell up my tear duct so much that is is so huge now. It looks terrible and unattractive.  only on one side. my right eye.   My eye's constantly water also. I've been told to wash my eye's with a warm wash rag. Put heat on it.  wash them with baby shampoo. Take omega 3's.  fish oil. Use eye drops.  Doesn't explain what is causing it.  It started about a year ago. I'm 58.

Shi1212 · Answer

Have you ever had a night of good, hard sleep, then you wake up, rub your eyes and discover a crusty substance in the corners of your eyes? Or have you noticed a funny discharge in your newborn’s eyes? Our eyes are constantly producing tears to help lubricate and protect them. In adults this discharge tends to be from causes other than our tear ducts, whereas newborns often get blocked tear ducts within the first few weeks after birth.

The causes of this discharge in adults could be due to several different factors. The most common cause of morning eye crusties is simply tiny pieces of matter and bits of bacteria that try to get into your eye from makeup, oily skin, and other sources of dirt or it could be from tiny salt crystals left after tears evaporate. Another common cause of discharge is conjunctivitis, which sounds scarier than it actually is. Conjunctivitis can either be infectious (known commonly as pinkeye), or it can be sterile, meaning that there is no infection, but rather the eye is irritated is due to allergies or foreign matter that got into the eye. If the pinkeye is viral the body typically fights it off within a week to ten days. If it is bacterial, however, medication is likely to be needed to prevent the infection from worsening. With conjunctivitis, the eye discharge can be so prolific that your eyes feel like they are glued shut when you wake up. If this happens, simply use a warm, wet washcloth to gently rub the discharge off.

Using old contact lenses can also cause discharge. Old contact lenses and dirty contact lenses can have a build-up of bacteria and viruses that may cause an infectious discharge. Also, with old contact lenses, oils from the eye have built up on the lens surfaces, and the immune system may stop recognizing these oils as being from the body and instead begin attacking them with an inflammatory response. Make sure to only use your contact lenses as directed; do not wear them for longer than they are meant to be worn, and clean them well.

Ath314 · Answer

I had the same thing happen to me precisely what the original poster described. A flat rectangular 1/64 inch crystal that is hard but you can break it. I found this attached to my contact and it had scraped the contact. I had a bad scratch to my cornea in my left eye where this was found.

Josh2211 · Answer

Definitely NOT psychological! I'm actually searching right now for answers to the same problem. This is the second page I've tried and so far I haven't figured it out. I thought I just got something in my eye, but about hour into trying to remove it I felt little grains of "salt" under the skin and in my tear duct. If I push a little on my tear duct I can feel them and they hurt horribly. I thought I had gotten the original irritant out but it seems like every time I get one removed there's another to replace it. It's almost as if I'm crying salt! It's so painful. Now about two hours in my eyes are secreting a thick off white mucus. I have no idea what would've caused this, it started out of nowhere. It has to be something my tear ducts are producing though, as I said the tiny grain are literally coming from them. They remind me of a morning eye crusty, I have been removing them the same way. So it's definitely not a psychological thing! But if anyone has an EDUCATED answer I'd love to figure what this is too. Thanks

Spaught1 · Answer

I get the same thing in the corners of my eyes near the tear ducts, I think it has something to do with the immune system, as I'm afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, to suggest this is psychological seems completely out of touch to me.

seroma · Answer

Morgellans is also not a psychological disease. I have seen moving "things" under a microscope of people with "morgellans" disease. Some speculate it is caused by something in the chemtrails being sprayed all over the world.

AAO-MD-JH · Answer

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jj1334 · Answer

As I stated in my original post, "They are about 1/64 to 1/128 of an inch and look very much like a grain of salt or sugar. These granules are hard but can be crushed into smaller granules." These crystals were viewed under 10X magnification, it is a crystal not Mites. They evolve under the upper eye lid near the tear duct, I originally thought they were salt but salt would desolve. Calcium can also form under the eye lid but as it breaks free forms a flake. So I'm still looking for an answer............Thank you.

AAO-MD-JH · Answer

The only thing that remotely comes to mind is Demodix infestion which are very small mites that resemble crystals. You can probably use Google images to see a photo of what they look like or do a literature search on it. 

There are a few people that report it is much more common than generally believed. 

JCH MD

jj1334 · Answer

I wish it was psychological, when I've gone to the ophthalmologist they have found irratation to the inside of the eye lid and "NO" I don't rub the eye, I put a few drops of eye lubricant which helps relieve the pain. If it was psychological as you stated ""crystals" all over their body", I would most likely have it in both eyes.

The interesting thing is of people that have seen these granules, three  are very dear friends of mine, an MD (pain pills), a psychologist ("That comes out of your eye!") and an ophthalmol surgeon (advised seeing a lid specialist). When I've asked the ophthalmologist about seeing a lid specialist they prescribe eye lubricant.

I thought I'd try MEDhelp thinking that there maybe a large database of info and some investigation into the subject, but anyway thank you for your time............

AAO-MD-JH · Answer

It is unlikely that over that long of a time that that many ophthalmologists would have overlooked anything serious.

People that find "crystals" all over their body that no one can see except them have Morgellan's Disease which is a psychiatric disease.

JCH MD

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