Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Dry eyes

I just heard a news report on our local channel about dry eyes. They said a report is coming out in this Wednesday's JMA telling about a study using 26,000 women over 49 years. They were all taking estrogen supplements for menopause symptons and 70% of them had problems with dry eyes. That is quite a high percentage, isn't it? It was just a short filler blip and they didn't give any more information than that so I don't really know if it could be relevant to any of us fighting dry syndrome.

Mickey

I have dry eye, not taking estrogen. My rheumy says it's also common in RA and AS. Mine started after I took Plaquenil - - which has a side effect of causing eye problems. Perhaps that's the link for me. But I have more than dry eye, I have Sjogrens now, which means dry mouth and it could be affecting the fluid in my joints. But interesting to know, the more we learn about these things, the better off we are.

Cheryl

Dogs don't want to know about every other dog you've been with

Hi Mickey,

I am not on estrogen but have dry eyes. I recently saw my Eye DR and I talked to him about my dry eyes. He said that people with auto imune diseases tend to have dry eyes and of course all the medications don't help. He said one of the best things to do for dry eyes is to drink more water. If that doesn't work then you can add eye drops and such.

Take care and hugggggggggs,

Lisa

A lady swimming friend just told me she went to her doc complaining of dry eyes and a dry mouth. She was shocked to be told it was RA, even though she has no apparent joint problems. Quite a shock for someone who has swum the English channel.

47F / 7C

todays water temperature in the Serpentine

Get some of those tears in the bottle things, they make all the difference in the world for comfort level - - and might also prevent damage to the eye due to lack of lubrication. We produce tears but the oily stuff that lubricates is what is not being produced. You can buy them over the counter, but be sure they're artificial tears, not just plain old eye drops. For dry mouth drinking lots of water is about the only thing I've found useful.

Cheryl

Dogs don't want to know about every other dog you've been with

We tend to forget that these autoimmune conditions are systemic, not confined to just what damage we can see but what is going on internally. Must have been quite a shock, though, and perhaps swimming all these years has helped keep other symptoms of RA under control?

Cheryl

Dogs don't want to know about every other dog you've been with

Hi Cheryl,

My Eye DR told me to try the water thing and it is helping. My eyes are dry but not so bad that I need drops. Since I have extremely sensitive eyes he would have to make sure whatever drops I would use couldn't cause any problems.

Take care and hugggggggggs,

Lisa

Quite possibly the swimming has been her saviour. She's a few years older than me, but swims most days and is in good shape. I've heard that physio is now reccomended for RA as well as AS. I've told her to drink more fluid, as RA is associated with a microbe which lives in the upper urinary tract, and flushing the kidneys more might help.

47F / 8C

todays water temperature in the Serpentine