Ocular rosacea - am i going to go blind???

[peterboy]

Hi, as well as having facial rosacea, I have also just recently been diagnosed with ocular rosacea. I am only 17 and all this stuff is a bit worrying. I'm a bit anxious as to whether my ocular symptoms will make me go blind? Does it link with macular degeneration and other eye diseases? I can survive with the facial symptoms but I don't know what I would do if I went blind. I have been using artificial tears (non-preserved) for months now and it doesn't really help and I am frustrated with my chronically bloodshot and watery eyes. My opthamologist just prescribed me some eye drops for the inflammation which did nothing and told me that by the age of 23, at the latest, I will have developed blepharitis. He didn't say anything about the risks or whether it can be treated or anything just said to come back next january. The only thing that helps the discomfort is warm compresses but it doesn't get rid of the bloodshot eyes it just makes it worse. Does anyone have any advice or personal experiences they can share??? Im really stressed out about all this

[Mike T]

You shouldn't worry too much.

I would think that you would need to have extremeley irritated eyes for a very long time before blindness would come into play.

I don't think you should wait till February if you are still constantly getting bloodshot eyes.

Have a look through the ocular section of this website to see what helped other people in similar situations to yourself.

Then make an appointment to see another derm at an earlier date.

I recall reading that certain oral antibiotics can provide relief.

All the best,

Mike

[melissaw]

Please don't worry about this. Ocular rosacea rarely leads to blindness if in fact at all. The key is not to let your cornea become compromised. Make sure you treat your eye symptoms and get regular check ups and you will be absolutely fine. Ocular rosacea has nothing to do with the macula so you can relax about that.

Severe ocular rosacea can lead to a compromised cornea (abrasions, ulcers, corneal keratitis) which can lead to corneal scarring and vision loss. I do not know of anyone who has experienced this degree of ocular rosacea though and as I said as long as you treat your symptoms you should be A-OK! Hang in there!!

Here are a few links you may find useful.
http://www.revoptom.com/content/d/therapeutics/c/15137/

http://www.dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/ ... drome.html

http://www.dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/lidtherapy.html

http://www.dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/mgd.html

http://www.eyecareeducators.com/site/ne ... nction.htm

Best wishes,
Melissa

[peterboy]

Thankyou for that awsome advice guys, I am much more relaxed after hearing that! I was just freaking out because the internet is covered with horrific pictures and the information can be a bit intense at times. I will continue looking after my eyes and having regular opthamologist check ups. Thanks once again your advice has been greatly appreciated

[melissaw]

You're very welcome. Please feel free to ask any questions or share concerns you may have. That's what we are here for- to help with accurate info and support. You will be just fine!

[rachelf84]

I think I have a corneal ulcer, I am just awaiting my appointment to come through for the eye hospital. It started off as a scratch on my pupil which I went to the opticians , they gave me 2 different types of drops for 1 month which didnt help so now they have referred me to the eye hospital. They said it was scarring and yesterday I was confused when I read the letter and it said an ulcer. I will let you know the outcome of this once I have been to the hospital.

Keep ur chin up.

[Aurelia]

A corneal ulcer?! Oh, dear! Poor Rachel, that does sound worrying. I hope you can get an early appointment for the eye hospital. Have you been given a date yet?

In the meantime, our Ocular Rosacea section has links to many excellent articles, in addition to the links Melissa kindly posted.
viewforum.php?f=20

Just try not to worry yourself into a frazzle about your eyes. With luck, the specialists at the hospital will soon find a treatment capable of reversing whatever is going wrong so your eyes can begin to heal. We will certainly be hoping for that on your behalf.

Kind regards,

Aurelia

[rachelf84]

thank you, they said i will get an appointment through the post within 2 weeks. Its at a eye specialist hospital in Windsor, United Kingdom. Im just glad to know what is wrong with me and like you say hopefully they will be able to repair or at lest stop it getting any worse.

I do advise that people who do suffer from Rosacea get their eyes checked out at the opticians just to be safe. You never know. I never had any systoms except i suffered with stys and watery eye.

Love this website its great people understand what were going through. You try to explain to people but they dont get why our self confidence seems to be hit.

Thanks,
Rachel

[rachelf84]

appointment has arrived for tuesday @ 2pm.

[peterboy]

I hope the appointment clears things up for you. Can I just ask whether you have any symptoms with a corneal ulcer or is it only visible to an eye specialist? I noticed today while driving my eyes didn't focus properly, which was a bit wierd and I feel as if something is obstructing my vision sometimes and makes my vision blurry or like I have had a light flashed in them. Is this normal or should I be extremely worried? Last time I went to opthamologist he said I was fine so I don't know what to do