Dry skin on eyes
 

I searched for a thread about this, but only came up with dry skin on other body areas. It is my eyes that need help. The eyelids and right under my eyes, real close to my eye. It is so dry that it gets itchy, then I rub them, then they get more dry. It is a vicious cycle. I already use allergy eye drops, but that does not help the skin. They are red and dry right now, people think I have been crying, which I have not. Does anyone know what I can use on my eyes?

Thanks in advance.

On the contrary, there is a possibility that the active ingredients in your allergy eye drops are what is causing the problem.

Allergy medications are often anti-histamine in nature, which cause an imbalance in the bodies moisture as a side-effect. They also make you drowsy, and to prevent this side-effect, may medications stack caffine on top of the anti-histamine to prevent the drowsiness. Guess what? Caffine is also a diuretic, causing you to dehydrate.

Yes, it is entirely possible that the medication you are taking in your eyedrops cause localized dryness.

Again, with all posts on Tilted Health and Fitness, please consult a professional, but in this case, instead of going to see a doctor, I would recommend seeing a pharmacist. Unless the allergy eyedrops are prescription, in that case, go to the doctor that prescribed them...

Health and Happiness to you, Widow.

I wonder if your washing your hands often and thoroughly. I know that with me, it's not so much the air but what I haven't washed off of my hands when I rub my eyes that causes the irritation. This is especially true with cat owner's homes. Until I rub my eyes, the allergic irritation is minimal, but after infesting my skin and face with my hands covered in cat danders...which are every where in a cat owners home...the irritation becomes much more sever. A good scrubing of my digits really helps.

Just a thought.

-bear

You both bring up interesting points that made me think. I do not know if my eye drops have caffeine in them, BUT I do drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day, and not much water. And also, I have a cat. It is at night when I am home when my eyes are the worst. I will make it a point to start drinking more water and washing my hands more often. I do not think I can cut out the coffee, falling asleep at the wheel is too dangerous a risk. I will start immediately to try to take care of this, I hate the way this makes me look. In the meantime, can I use aquaphor ointment on my eye lids? I suppose I should ask the pharmacist this.

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional, you should seek a pro's advice, yadda yadda yadda.

I'd say a hydrocortisone cream would be better than aquaphor ointment. Just be certain not to get it *in* the eyes.

And Stop. Rubbing. Your. Eyes.

Much easier said than done, I know.

I will try the hydorcortisone cream tonight. and I know

I. Must. Stop. Rubbing.

This is very hard to do. I have been rubbing my eyes at bed time since I was little.

Hell, just the eye rubbing on such a sensitive area could be the culprit if you rub them a lot!

I have this same issue. I related it to the fact that we have hard water in our apartment so I use vasoline. Just a little dab per eye and usually it's better the next day. Generally doesn't hurt when I occassionally get it in my eye.

My wife had a similar problem for a while, our doctor recomended using baby shampoo to clean the area around her eyes. Worked great!

make sure if you are using a hydrocortozone creme you get a week one. You don't want to use strong cremes on the face because the skin is to soft. Also since the creme is a steriod it reduceds your immune system and increases the chance for infection in those areas. Just be carefull using it on the face, you shouldn't have to much problem but don't use it to often, don't get it in the eyes, and if it doesn't help discontinue the use.

I have started to put the eye drops in before my eyes get too itchy, that seems to help with some of the rubbing. I have also started using aquaphor ointment, applied very sparingly to the lids. It is very much like vasoline, does not get into my eyes, and gives me even more incentive to stop rubbing. I do see some improvement, so I will continue this for a bit longer. Hopefully it will get even better. Thank you so much for the ideas and information.