small red bumps inside my lower eyelid. irritating, ittchy, makes my eye tear.

[kerzy]

About two months ago my right eye became very itchy, and when I looked inside (by pulling down my bottom eye lid) I noticed that there were a bunch of little red bumps  along the bottom and that the fleshy part was very red, instead of the usual pink.  My left eye had about a third as many bumps and was just a tiny bit red, so I don't know what's going on. My right eye tears very easily and sometimes I will just get theses bursts of stinging pain.  The skin right under my right eye has become very dry and sensitive, and kind of has a burnt skin color to it.  Is this anything to be concerned about or do you think that it will eventually go away?   Thanks for your time.

[Forum-OD-MP]

answered below

[aimee37]

if you are a contact lens wearer that sounds like "GPC" or giant papillary conjunctivitis, which sounds terrible but is usually not dangerous.  very bothersome, but not blinding or anything.  the fix is temporary discontinuation of contact lens wear, treatment with topical steroids and/or antihistamines (depending on the case), and a new contact lens refit with a lower-modulus lens.

if you are not a contact lens wearer, this is probably a form of allergic  conjunctivitis.  "itch" is the classic ocular allergy symptom.  the 1st thing to try is "ZADITOR OTC", an ocular antihistamine specifically designed for this.  until Jan '07 this was a prescription-only drug but is now available OTC.

www.zaditor.com

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=162607&catid=47353&trx=PLST-0-SEARCH&trxp1=47353&trxp2=162607&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-SEARCH

if you go say 10 days with no relief, or have worsening symptoms even after starting it, then you will need an eye examination and probably a prescription for topical anti-inflammatories (steroids).

as an aside, zaditor is totally different that previous OTC "allergy" products like "visine-a", "opcon-a" and the like.  those products contain vasoconstrictors which are moderately dangerous IMO if used over say 10 days, sting like crazy, dont work very well (again, IMO) and have a very short duration of action (recommended to be used 4x/day).  zaditor does not contain a vasoconstrictor so it is safe to use more than 10 days. it does not sting, and it works much, much better IMO.  note that i am in no way connected or reimbursed by novartis (makers of zaditor), i am just excited about this product being OTC.  this is a product that i rx'd for about 10 years to many, many patients.

[duanep]

A related discussion, melanoma of lower rt inside eyelid was started.