Visine & Corneal Exhaustion?

[MagicMadcap]

Hello, I unfortunately used visine redness relief drops for about 2 weeks straight 1-3 times a day because I was having some eye irregularities.  Now, for the past few months my vision has not been what it used to be.  I get glare/starbursts/ghosting especially on lights.  It's not really all that noticeable when looking straight ahead but when my head is tilted back or I'm looking around peripherally it is very annoying.  I've been to an ophthalmologist and an optometrist and they both said that my eyes looked very healthy.  They recommended artificial tears but they don't really help with the vision problems.  I read online that visine redness relief when used over a long period of time can cause corneal exhaustion syndrome which is permanent.  I got really upset and concerned when I read this and was just wondering if this could be the case.  Would the eye doctors have been able to tell if I had corneal exhaustion syndrome or is it hard to spot in the routine eye exam?  I'm very worried.  Any help would be much appreciated.  ;}

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

There is no such thing as "corneal exhaustion syndrome due to visine".  If you stop the visine the effects will be gone in a month or two.

See a cornea eye MD specialist to see if you have early cataract or a corneal disease such as keratoconus.

In the USA find one at www.aao.org

JCH MD

[MagicMadcap]

Thank you so much sir.  Your insight is much appreciated.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

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[MagicMadcap]

Is there any kind of damage that could have been done after using visine redness relief for 2-3 weeks straight?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

No

JCH MD

[MagicMadcap]

I am going to see a cornea specialist very soon.  I was just curious, is there any instances where dry eye or eye allergy can cause my symptoms of glare/starburst/ghosting?

[MagicMadcap]

is=are

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Yes
JCH MD

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Yes, BUT if its dry eyes putting artifical tears in should make the problems go away. Allergy should be accompanied by itching and not a likely cause at all.
JCH MD

[MagicMadcap]

Is there anything besides dry eye that affects the tear film?  My problem seems related to the surface or coating of my eyes cause they itch from time to time and I can actually see a film or oil gliding across my eye when i blink.  Just recently I saw a clear glob sliding around my eye while I was blinking.  My instincts tell me it's something topical but I don't know for sure.  Any ideas on what that could be?

[MagicMadcap]

I can see a film slide across my eye with every blink.  I've had bubbles in my tears lately.  Sometimes, I can even see like specs or flakes in the film that create a blur/distortion when crossing over my pupil.  Very strange, I have a good feeling this has something to do with my problem.

[SeminoleGuy]

My wife has map dot dystrophy in her eyes. Which means the cornea surfaces tear frequently causing pain, irritation, vision problems and a high degree of discomfort. She may need to suffer a cornea transplant in the future.

Her opthamologist felt her condition was partly attributable to her use of Visine for 30+ years. Gotta get the red out! I also think the astringent qualities of Visine are responsible.

I think my wife should file a product liability lawsuit and would like to know if there is any scientific literature regarding the study of this phenomenon.