Red, Itchy, Watery Eyes
Spring is here, or at least will be here soon. This is my favourite time of year. The birds return, the grass and trees turn bright, fresh green and carefree summer will soon follow. However, I also dread this time of year just a little bit because my eyes get red, itchy and watery, my nose gets runny and itchy and my throat gets scratchy. I have hayfever.
For a lot of people, taking an over the counter antihistamine really helps alleviate all of these symptoms. For a few people, the over the counter antihistamines do not help alleviate the eye symptoms. If that is the case for you, please make an appointment to see us. There are some very good anti-allergy eye drops that we can prescribe. The most commonly prescribed drop is pataday, and it is generally very effective. If you wear contact lenses, hylo dual, is the only approved medication to be used with contact lenses.
Often switching to single use, daily contact lenses helps reduce symptoms. This is because the allergens (particles causing the allergies) get thrown away every night and don’t have a chance to build up in the contact lenses and cause even more problems.
In addition to prescription eye drops, some other strategies can really help. Simple artificial tears can help flush the eyes and flush away the allergens. Cold compresses can really help. When we learned about cold compresses in school, I remember thinking “I am not going to use that, I can give people a real solution, I can give them medicine!” However, when my allergies are really bad, cold compresses are my best friend!
Good luck!
