My eyes are killing me | Arthritis Information

Well, I just survived a bad case of bacterial conjunctivitis. I have been on
gentamycin drops and it has improved. The inflammation is gone and they
are no longer gooped up and miserable but...they have become very dry, like
my lids are stuck to my eyeball. Now I'm all worried that the RA has affected
my eyes. I have been on Plaquinil since September. Could this be a side
effect of the plaquinil? Has anyone had problems like this? Thanks all for
being here.Well, I have not been on plaquenil but I have had the eye
problems. I got a severe case of blepharitis which was an
infection of my eyelids. When that cleared up, I was left with
severe dry eye. My eye doc said this is most likely from the RA.
I was using eye drops constantly, was sensitive to light, and got
frequent headaches. Two weeks ago I got plugs put in the
drainage ducts in my eyes. This helped significantly, but I still
have to use eye drops a few times a day and can no longer
wear contacts. I know there are a few other people on here who
have gone this route and the plugs are very easy to get put in.
It's something that your eye doc may talk to you about, but you
should ask about it anyway. Let me know if you have any more
questions. I know all of this can be a pain, and i have only been
dealing with it for 1.5 months!

The placquenil causes problems with your retina, not problems like dry eyes or infections. I have chronic uveitis, an inflammation of one of the layers of my eyes. It was actually one of my first physical symptoms that was diagnosed! RA does cause eye issues, especially dryness. The punctual plugs have already been mentioned. Systane is a good, over the counter moisture drop.

If its a routine bacterial infection, ra is probably not to blame but if it turns into chronic inflammation than the ra is a good bet and the best thing to do is to get the ra under control, easier said than done!boy, if it is not one thing, it is another with this disease. I'm tired of it and it
has only been a year since my diagnosis. i'm waiting for the cure.I have gotten a lot of eye infections too-blepharitis and pinkeye. I don't care what doctors say it's these meds messing with our immune fighting ability! HMSKwell personally i've had no eye problems, but i know vasoleine (i know thats spelled wrong) gets your eye lids unstuck when their all juncked up (it was my moms trick when my sister and i used to get pink eye as a kid). I hope you get it figured out soon and feel better! The prednisone, along with other drugs that suppress your
immune system, definitely would open the door for all these
eye infections.

My eyes are really bad too. My rd says I need to go to an eye doctor, but I've been taking off work for so many other doc appts., going to have to wait a while. Anyway, they are incrediably, painfully dry and really hurt starting mid-day. Sometims so dry they get blurry. I need to invest in some eyedrops until I go to the eye doctor.

Just curious as to how the eye plugs help?

I LOVE the plugs. I was using the eye drops 7-8 times a day
and that only gave me a little relief. I have had the plugs for
about 2 weeks and I only use the drops 1-2 times a day. They
didn't hurt much to get put in (I didn't get the eye numbing
drops). It only takes a few seconds to put them in. My eyes
burned a little that day, and were a little dry, but the discomfort
was gone by the next day. I went back to the eye doc yesterday
and he said that my eyes were looking much healthier. I still
won't be able to wear contacts, unless I use Restasis, too, but
my doc wants to wait to see if my eyes get even better. If you
get a medical referral to the eye doc, your insurance should
cover some or all of the plugs.The plugs work by keeping your eyes from draining into your
nose. The tears can build up to keep your eyes wet.Wow. I didn't know that! Thanks. Going to try to make an eye doctor appt as soon as possible. ThanksI don't think anyone has mentioned Sjogren's Syndrome - dry eyes, mouth and everything else. Sometimes it develops secondary to RA. Restasis helps with the dry eye, along with eye drops and the plugs. There are other drugs (evoxac and others) that also help with the dryness.

Ditto what everyone else is saying about the eyes, and 2 more things.

It's important to treat the dry eye--take the drops, use a night ointment if the doc prescribes it, get the plugs, whatever--because untreated it can lead to damage of the cornea. That scratchy feeling really is scratching. And the dryness might also make the eye more likely to get more infections if not managed. So it's more than just an uncomfortable condition.

And the RA itself makes us more prone to infection, including these eye things. It's not just the drugs. Eye trouble and other severe infections was one of the first clues (that I denied for a long time) that I was getting into RA, so no immune-suppressing drugs involved.

Eyes are one of my big problem areas. I have the Sjogren's and all the advice for that has been given. I also have the chronic inflammation from RA and glaucoma from the Prednisone. I have to have multiple tests done throughout the year to stay on top of it.

Now, I am having trouble seeing that seems different than the dry eyes. It seems to happen when all the nerve stuff is going on.

Just take very good care of those peepers and if there is any doubt, especially pain, get in right away no matter what. All my treatment, except for glasses, is covered by my medical insurance.