Eye drops for itchy eyes

[Carole Rutherford]

Do any of you have eye drops for when your eyes itch? David was given some called Emadine (hope I am allowed to name the drug He has been using these for some months now and only now have I done a net search on them. I did so because the whites of David's eyes are changing colour. They are now a pale yellow. It looks like it is the drops causing this. Also and more importantly David has been having dreadful sinus headaches and this is yet another side effect

Any recommendations for itching eyes please?

thanks

Carole

[GarethB]

Carole,

Have no experience of the drops you mention, but naming the drugs helps us learn and share experiences.

For many of us, finding the right drops can be a long drawn out process.

For me I found Systane was good, it relives the dry itchy feeeling I feel on the eye lid margins. It also serves to lubricate the cornea and eye lid surfaces which makes lenses a lot more comfortable which may help with Davis sensitivity to touch.

No need for presecription and the updated patient leaflet means they can be used as and when required.

The only down side I have encounterd is that you need to remove the lenses before using the drops, but the lenses can be put straight back in.

If the drops are used while the lenses are in, a foggy film eventualy builds up imapring vision.

I think my eye lids have toughened up and are no longer as sentive as they once were with putting lenses in or out.

My experience with autistic children is limited, but the two I know quite well are just like any other children in that they surprise you most at what they can achieve when you least expect it, just like any other child.

Hope this helps and I am sure others will list the drops they use.

What I would say, is give the eye drops a couple of weeks to take effect before reaching a conclusion unless you see side effects that concern you. In which case you will do what you have done already and seek further advice.

[Anne B]

Hi Carole

I use Opatanol eye drops. They contain a antihistamine.
They have been realy great for my itchy eyes.
They were prescribed by my consultant, not sure if you can buy them over the counter.

Anne

[Andrew MacLean]

Claire

If my son was showing a yellowing of his sclera I think I'd take him immediately to see the GP.

You could also ask the GP for advice on alternative anti irritants for David's eye.

Andrew

[Sweet]

Ok thought i would add a little something to the good advice here!

This is an eye drop i'm not familiar with and haven't heard of before so i had to look it up to check side effects! All anti-histamines work by stopping the release of histamine in the body as that is what causes itching.

Emadine so it says online can cause headaches, blurred vision some tearing and pain, but while it says staining it does say corneal so i am not sure why it has caused him to look jaundiced. I have never heard of that with anti-histamine eye drops before so i would advise going to the GP to check as maybe this all just happened at the same time as getting new eyedrops but it is related to something other than his eyes? I'm not really sure but i would check it out to be on the safe side.

Hoping you get some help soon, Sweet X x X

[Carole Rutherford]

Thankyou everyone.

The reason I think that it is the eye drops causing the yellowing is because it is only in his right eye and that is the only eye in which David uses the drops. It's not there all of the time either - and yes I did see it was the cornea that is usually discoloured.

The GP knows less about the drops than I do and so did the Optometrist we saw last week. It was the first question that I asked her. She is going to pass our list of questions onto the Consultant.

Gareth I think that I will check your drops out if they can be bought over the counter. My other concern is that the Eye Consultant who prescribed these drops told David he could use them as and when. This is not what is posted up on the net - the Optom told David twice a day only. At the moment the thing that is giving David most problems is the constant headache and he really wants to stop using these drops.

thanks again

Carole

[Lynn White]

Carole...

The drops are anti-histamine for allergy so its not going to be drastic if you stop them for a couple of days to see if the headaches go. If they don't, then its not the drops causing the headaches.

Like others here, I am a little concerned about what you call yellowing, because initially you say its the whites of the eyes and then you say its the cornea.. which is the clear part, not the whites. I think you said in an earlier post it was the inner corner of the eye?

The thing is here your optom is already writing to the consultant so you should have some information soon and it would be wise not to start using other drops until you are actually sure what is going on. It may be the preservative he is reacting to for example, not the "active ingredients" and using another drop containing the same preservative may then not help at all!

If these headaches are really bad and do go away when David stops the drops, the best thing is to actually ring up the consultant's secretary at the hospital and explain your concern. Alternatively ask your optom or GP to do it. Then at least the hospital are aware of the problem and can recommend a suitable course of action.

Lynn

[asylumxl]

a simple search showed lots of references to this causing headaches , it also has reference to staining.

Side effects

Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

* Headache

* Dislike of light (photophobia)

* Swelling of a small area (local oedema)

* Stinging and blurring of vision

* Inflammation of the surface of the eye (keratitis)

* Dry eyes

* Watering eyes (lacrimation)

* Overgrowth of tissue and colour change in the eye (corneal infiltrates and staining)

* Inflammation of the lining of the nose (rhinitis) causing a blocked or runny nose

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100000915.html

it seems well documented that this happens, and not just to a few people

for lots of info just google "emedastine difumarate"

[Sweet]

Yes staining is what it says, but i think they are referring to corneal staining and not the white of the eye, and one reference i read did say that. There is a big difference with this.

As Carole has now said though that it is only in one eye which is the one taking the drops then i'm more sure that it is related to these drops, as jaundice affects both eyes equally.

On headaches allergies can cause these on their own, so it might not be a side effect that he is getting them!

Take care, Sweet X x X

[Carole Rutherford]

Sorry if I did not make myself clear - nothing new there then - It is the white part of David's eye, the inner corner which is sometimes going yellow - although on the drops when it refers to eye staining it says the cornea, which is not the part of David's eye which is discoloured. Probably no clearer really.

However David has decided to stop the drops for a couple of days and I have managed to order some of the drops which Gareth mentioned which have no known contraindications so he is going to try those out.

Still no word from Eye Hospital and last time we waited ten weeks. A couple of days off the drops should rule headaches in or out.

thanks
Carole