I too, do not get uveitis / iritis, but did have dry eyes. They hurt, felt like gravel in them, migraines from them when they were at their worst.
the only thing that really helped was methylprednisone (oral, not drops), but I took that for overall flares, nice side effect is that eyes improved, but wouldn't take for "just eyes" if no eye inflammation.
and since on Humira, almost no more eye problems. Only in this most recent flare have I had some eye pain. But not as bad as before.
Prior to methylpred or Humira:
Washing them with warm water (in the shower helped). I didn't find the baby shampoo to add anything, but that's because the dry eyes weren't from blepharitis, but rather from the auto inflammatory flaring.
Staying hydrated helps a little.
Eye drops. I used systane. I used the individual ampules because they were preservative free. And I'd use them, then when the flaring stopped, wouldn't need them for the next few months. the individual ampules lasted longer. The drops helped a bit.
Molly can tell you more. She's had the problem longer and probably worse than me. She's discussed other treatments in previous threads on the subject. PM her if she doesn't see this and doesn't respond.
also if you start a new thread in the first section of the forum specifically about your dry eyes, I think you'll get a response from more people.
Too, make sure you do see an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist. Just because you and I haven't had eye inflammation at this point, doesn't mean we couldn't in the future, though I assume the longer I go without it, the more likely it won't be one of my symptoms. But even with the dry eye problem, still believe its best to see an ophthalmologist. Too, I have diabetes, another reason for me to see an ophthalmologist.
Last edited by Sue22; 04/10/14 05:48 AM.
