Red irritated UGLY eyes

[jenmcfee]

I am 48 weeks into treatment with pegasys and ribaviran right now. I have 24 more weeks to go. My eyes are red, irritated, dry, swollen, and ugly. This has been going on, on and off, throughout treatment but it has gotten to an embarrassing point. I have tried a prescription steroid cream which did not help. Has anyone else experienced this and, if so, do you have any suggestions on what I can do to help with this?

[tjrusert]

I work for an optometrist and skersj is right.  You need make sure that you arent doing any damage to your eye due to dry eye syndrome.  Your doctor will probably suggest a lubricating drop like Refresh or Systane.  They are both over the counter drops.  You can also get them in a gel to use at night.  I had itching and irritation around my eyes and had to use a steroid cream for that.  My eye used to water and that made the irritation around the eyes worse. The reason that a persons eyes water sometimes when you have dry eye syndrome is because of the quality of your tears.  Tears have oils in them to keep your eyes moist.  If you dont have enough oils in your tears, you may end up with watery eyes or just really dry eyes.  Another thing that may really help your eyes is taking Omega 3 fatty acids.  Theratears makes a good product.  I take 3 or 4 per day and it really does help.  Most ppl wait too long to check with a doctor when they are having trouble with their eyes and that sometimes causes real problems.  Hope you get better soon.

[skersj]

Have you noticed a loss of vision? According to my eye dr I almost did serious damage to my eyes because I did not get the dryness taken care of until after treatment.  I did 72 weeks and by the time I finished my eyes were so dry, I could hardly see. Doc started me on the strongest steroid eye drops for 3 weeks (can't remember then name -started with a T) and then on Lotemax steroid eye drops for about  5 months along with starting Restasis.  I let my eyes get so bad that the vessels were swollen all the way into my cornea. Please see a good eye doctor if you think this might be the case for you. Because those last 24 weeks are tough enough without the painful red eyes.  Good luck and I hope your eyes are better soon.

[portann]

Have you tried 'Refresh" and made sure to wear dark sunglasses on sunny days?