Urgent question regarding Sicca syndrome or dry eyes.
November 6, 2018 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Achim Reither
On August 30th, I got detergent in my eyes. I was then in continuous treatment with my eye doctor. He diagnosed me with a severe Sicca syndrome (dry eye). The therapy includes switching eye drops every 2 to 3 hours (HYLO Gel and Eibe HYLO Gel ointment). Two weeks ago, he discovered that I have -0.75 diopters due to a vitreous body defect, and I have been wearing glasses since then. Now, I have a question. Yesterday was the only day when I wore my glasses for an extremely long time. I am still getting used to them. After a night of poor sleep (I am in my bachelor semester at university), I went to the university and my eyes were fine until 3 PM. Then I noticed that my eyes were more red. With a new dose of my gel drops, I managed it until 6 PM. However, when my mother picked me up around 6:20 PM, my eyes started burning, stinging, and hurting so much that I started crying. When we got home, I immediately put drops in my eyes every 20 minutes. I read that untreated Sicca syndrome can lead to blindness. Have I damaged my eye because of this? Often, when it burns, I make sure to put drops in as usual. It's not easy to use eye drops at the university. Today, my eyes are still slightly red and occasionally they sting and burn a bit. I will give my eyes some rest and limit screen time. Is there anything else I can do? I don't feel like going to the eye doctor today.
Dear patient,
thank you for using frag-einen-arzt.com.
The Sicca syndrome is a wetting disorder of the eye and probably the most common eye disease. This condition can be congenital, or acquired as in your case. Affected patients almost always complain of the same symptoms: burning and itching eyes, as well as eye redness and a feeling of foreign body in the eye. The symptoms are exacerbated in the cold season, as during this time of year one tends to be in closed and heated rooms. The low humidity often leads to dry eyes. Other triggers include long screen work ("Office Eye Syndrome" - due to reduced blink frequency), air conditioning, cold wind, smoke, dust, UV radiation, and rhinoviruses. Self-treatment is acceptable for mild eye discomfort lasting no longer than 48 hours. If there is no improvement 24 hours after starting treatment, a visit to the doctor is recommended. For moderate to severe and persistent forms, medical monitoring is strongly advised. In the meantime, symptomatic treatment is recommended. Tear replacement fluid: viscous isotonic fluid for soothing irritation and flushing out small dust particles. Ideal are preservative-free eye drops in single doses, eye gel is especially suitable for nighttime use. You have correctly applied your gel. You can also use ointments with Vitamin A or artificial tears for soothing irritation.
It is generally recommended to get enough rest for eye regeneration, avoid long screen work, and take enough breaks. Cooling: cool pads and compresses. Sterile moist wipes with witch hazel extract and marigold extract.
Dear patient, you can visit the University of Jena Eye Clinic, where a therapy with eye drops made from autologous blood has been developed for patients with limbal stem cell insufficiency of the cornea in cases of severe chronic conjunctival and corneal diseases after burns and injuries. The eye serum contains anti-inflammatory substances. The tear film consists of water, fat, and oily substance. This special lubricating film can be extracted from autologous blood serum and is more comfortable in the long term than conventional eye drops.
I hope I was able to help.
Best regards,
A. Reither
