sore stringy blurry eyes

[eviepea]

I suffer from clear looking stringy stuff in my eyes very often if not daily.
My eyes feel heavy and dry and blurred and have to remove stringy bits (no one can or would see or notice it) out from my eyes as it makes my vision blurry and my eyes uncomfortable.

Is this common? I am 37yrs old

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Yes, but  see an Eye MD for eye exam.  Go to www.aao.org

JCH III MD

[Ouch1977]

i too suffer with this i cant live a normal life as i spend most of my days getting this stuff out of my eyes to enable me to see properly !! , then the rest of the time is spend trying to look normal
i feel as soon as i get it out within a minute it is back there and this is no habit , i simply have to get it out or like you i cant see properly i can see the stuff or should i say feel it there and my vision is blurry i look like an alien that is on drugs !!
im ok for a few days then i egt a bad bout of it like today and ive had enough of this its been years i need help

[Ouch1977]

oh i forgot to mention ive been to the doctors and every time he gives me drops and says "Dont pick the stuff out" which of course i cant do cos if i dont i cant see properly !!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

Try getting a second opinion for a different Eye MD ophthalmologist.
JCH II MD

[MasCap]

I, too, suffered for many long and agonizing months experiencing the most unwelcome stringy goo that seemed to get trapped under my (mostly) left upper eyelid.  Along with that, I experienced excruciating pain, redness, swelling, burning, light sensitivity, and watery eyes, etc.  I was unable to drive more than 10 minutes or so without having to pull over somewhere and remove the junk in order to be able to keep my eye open and relieve the burning sensation for another 15 minutes or so, only to repeat the extraction of the goo that seemed to generate at the speed of light after a few more minutes.  I could no longer use the computer because of the light sensitivity and had to wear sunglasses inside my home.  I've since found a free program that will allow me to change the background and text color of any web site.  It made such a difference that I have no problem using a computer now. I tried researching my symptoms on the www, but was unable to determine what would induce this junk and cause all the particular symptoms I was experiencing, but I wasn't able to pinpoint the problem/cause.  I found that most infections are in both eyes and easily heal on their own within a few days, but my problems only occurred in my left eye and lasted for months. Dry Eye Syndrome kept popping up during my research, but I ruled that out and never investigated it because my eyes watered so much anyway.   I finally visited my regular (and now former) M.D. who, without even looking at my eye stated it was an infection and prescribed antibiotic drops to instill 4 times a day for 2 weeks.  After 9 days of utilizing the drops, I went back to him and stated my eye was getting worse and asked him to at least take a look at it and see if something else could be wrong.  He didn't and told me to increase the dosage to 5 drops per day.  On the 11th day of taking the antibiotic drops, the pain was completely unbearable and was causing very unhealthy thoughts.  I called our local eye hospital, explained my situation, and pleaded for a fast appointment.  Fortunately, they were kind enough to fit me in within a couple of hours.  I saw an optometrist who looked at my eye and immediately explained to me that I didn't have an infection and the antibiotics were making it worse (hence "former" M.D.).  He stated my "eye was dry as a bone".  Since my eyes watered almost continuously, I immediately thought our city was full of quacks and wondered if I would ever find someone to help me. (Sorry, Dr. Lempkin).  He explained how and why chronic dry eyes cause the eyes to water and gave me tons of Genteal and Optive samples to use.  The dryness caused abrasions on my cornea which acted as a natural exfoliator, if you will, and was sloughing the outer layer of the under/inside of my eyelid.  These exfoliated cells are the stringy goo we are finding and removing in order to attempt our desperate mission to lead a normal life, if only for a few moments.  I used the Genteal moderate/severe drops about every 5-10 minutes or so (you can use this product as often as you need it since it's preservative free) and the Genteal gel approximately every 1-2 hours and at night before going to sleep.  I have since tried all the preservative free artificial tears that are available OTC and found that I always go back to Genteal because it provides the most relief for my symptoms. DO NOT USE ANY DROPS WITH PRESERVATIVES! I went back to the Dr. in a week and not much changed , but he advised me to continue using the drops and come back in another week.  At this time, I was feeling much better, but still suffering terribly.  He gave me topical steroid drops to use in addition to the Genteal drops and gel.  After two weeks, everything seemed to be improving, but slowly.  He advised to continue to steroid drop but cut down to 3X, 2X, 1X per day and come back in a month.  After 3 weeks, I had to change my appointment because my eye seemed to be getting worse.  After examining my eye, he said I was back to where I started when I first visited him...bone dry.  Needless to say, I was extremely disheartened.  He then gave me a sample box of Lacriserts to try.  FINALLY, I have 100% relief.  This relief was IMMEDIATE and lasted until the pellet completely dissolved. One pellet lasts approximately 14 hours.  I don't even feel the need for additional drops unless I take a nap during the day (but you can use them in addition to the Lacriserts) . They are small rod shaped pellets (a little smaller than a grain of rice) of hydroxypropyl cellulose that are inserted in the cul-de-sac of the eye.  I thought these would be uncomfortable, but I don't feel them at all.   I feel no pain, my eyes no longer water, the foreign body sensation has been eliminated, however, I still have the stringy goo, but I don't feel it at all.  I just know it's there because the cornea hasn't had enough time to heal and removing it just became such a part of my daily/hourly routine, I still find the need to see if it's there...and it is, but I only remove it in evening.  I wasn't able to wear any make-up for over 6 months and can now wear it comfortably with no worry of irritation.  So, in a nutshell, if you haven't seen an optometrist or ophthalmologist and can spare about $20, go grab a bottle of Genteal moderate/severe drops and a tube of the Genteal Gel and use the heck out of it until you can get to the doc and get a proper diagnoses.  I apologize for the length of the post, but hope this can provide some hope and point you in the right direction.  One more thing...pick up an eye/sleep mask and wear it at night.  They're inexpensive and will help eliminate some, but not all,  of the AM dryness.  I didn't think I would be comfortable using one, but I can't imagine not using one now....dry eye or not.  Good Luck!  Tammy

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

-

[AnnaE]

Great story. So glad you found help. I had something like that and I wear contacts. I think mine was allergy--not as severe as yours. Now I have mild dry eyes.

I am sre that your account can help others.