Any underlying issues that might be causing this?

[marty543]

Hello and thank you for creating this community - I've been browsing a lot since having my own issues and just had my appointment with an Eye MD today.

I am a 21 y/o male from NYC who last summer went through serious stress/hypochondria from a bowel issue (which all turned out to be okay). One day on the beach while having eyelid twitching (which lasted 5 months of hell) I noticed eye floaters for the first time and since have always noticed them and BFEP (slowly starting to tune them out and definitely notice my stress levels dictate how much I notice them). I've never worn glasses/contacts and always passed eye exams with flying colors. Anyways, went to a non-MD optometrist in a practice who stated everything looked fine. Fast forward to fall/winter time 2017, I began to notice a halo around streetlights and other lights, and "diffraction?" off of my eyelashes from these lights (goes away with wide open eyes) as well as some double vision with text on a computer / brighter lights. My eyes were fairly dry and left untreated for a while before I started using eye drops upon waking and going to bed. I scheduled an appointment with a well-known Eye MD comprehensive ophthalmologist (probably one of the top in the area, took me almost 4 months to get an appointment) and today he did a range of tests.

The verdict is I have SLIGHT refractive error (he said the prescription is too low to warrant glasses as my vision is still better than most) and also for my age do have dry eyes. He gave me some Theratear eye drops and said to use about every 2 hours and that with the summer months coming up it should help my symptoms.  He stated there is no retinal issues, macular issues, or cataract based on his examination and my eyes are healthy. Floaters & BFEP = normal and pose no threat to my eyesight or health as per the doctor and as time goes on I will notice it less (which I've begun to notice).

So, am I overthinking this? Is it possible my eyes being dry and untreated for a while caused some corneal abnormalities that need time / moisture to heal ? I firmly believe my eyes are healthy, I'm more concerned about missing a neurological disease (Lyme, etc.) that could be causing my symptoms. I do also have some untreated TMJ that's been causing pains in my jaw, face, neck and head and I am currently being treated for it if that could have some effect on my eyes. I wanted to ask the doctor more of these questions but he seemed adamant that my eyes are healthy and I just need to work on the dry eyes.

Thank you in advance for any insight that can be shed on my issues.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I think your Eye MD has lived up to his/her reputation.    Glad they didn't try to sell you a pair of glasses like a lot of places do.  There is an epidemic worldwide of dry eyes in young people.  Use to be dry eyes was mainly post menopausal females but the hours and hours on end that young people spend in front of video screens be they computers, phones, video games, ipads etc cause dry eyes.  Reason is when people do that their blink rate goes down about 90% from one blink about every 5-10 seconds to one about every 15-25 seconds.  You can easily pull this up in internet search and read about.  Many times here we have said when you do those things every 10-15 minutes look away from the screen or book and look across the room or out a window and blink firmly 5-10 times to wet the cornea. Can make a huge difference. Also continue using the brand of artificial tear that works best for you. That means feels good, works quickly and lasts 3-4 hours.  Your eye symptoms don't suggest a neurological problem or Lyme's disease.   You can go on my home page and read the blog on dry eye treatment which I have updated this year.