Dear All

Just thought I would impart some knowledge I gained yesterday.

I went for my two year eye check up at the Opticians. She asked me how I was getting on and had I noticed any changes in my eyes. I said I had not. She then went through my medical history and noted down the medication I take. She casually asked me if I suffered from dry eyes and I said no. In fact if anything the opposite. They have a tendancy to leak. My Daughter said to me yesterday morning "Mum, do you know you are crying". I looked in the mirror and had tears streaking down my face. The optician carried on with all sorts of tests. As the end she said my eye sight had not changed and by the way you do suffer from dry eyes which is from the RA. She said sometimes with RA you can lose the inability to keep your eyes moist hence my eyes streaming. This is classed as dry eyes. She said it may cause tired, red and itchy eyes and I realised I have suffered from all of these over the last couple of years but I just thought I was tired from work. She suggested eye drops to keep my eyes moist.

Well that was definitely worth a trip to the opticians

Jackie
xx

As well as Viscotears I have used Lacrilube ointment at night, as advised by the
optician. I always find this time of the year it is always worse. I have decided
it's being in flourescent light and house lights. Take care Anne

Hi again,

I just put in my Hylo-Tear drops and the dispenser also says "preservative and phosphate free" too,

which I think is good.

Fiona

There's a immune condition called Sjrogen's
It causes dry eyes
Dry mouth
And if you're a lady....erm.... Dry other bits

The condition can be checked into and is treated in similar ways to RA

If you had RA first, it's called secondary Sjrogen's

I use gel tears
I find that better than hypermellose drops

You can buy it over the counter at a chemists. Costs about £3.50.

Viscotears are best as they don't sting as there is no preservative in them

Take care Anne

I suffer from dry eyes too. I use hylo tears. They are brilliant and would definitely recommend them. They were prescribed by my GP who is also an opthamologist at the hospital. He said they are a relatively new product, they are preservative free so don't sting but best thing about them is the bottle they are in. The bottle has a pump action (you press the bottom in) which is much easier for stiff sore hands and because it only releases one drop at a time you can continue to use it for 6 months (most eye drops have to be discarded after 28 days). This means I can keep a bottle upstairs, downstairs and in my handbag. The only downside is the cost - it is quite expensive to buy over the counter but see if you can get it put in repeat prescription.

Hope you get relief soon.
Becky

My rheumie asks me about my eyes every time I see her. I think you should see the GP, rheumie or rheumie nurse and pass on the info about the dry eyes. I think it's quite common with RA and, as jenni says, can be associated with other dry areas. I think it's where moisture producing cells have been the target of inflammation. I'm glad I don't have this (yet, fingers crossed) as it's yet another thing to deal with. i have secondary raynaud's and that's enough for me! Good luck in getting it treated.