I am 41, female and have been healthy all of my life until i had a bout of shingles 4 years ago. I do not know if it is related and my GP will not commit to say it is but after Shingles I kept getting episcleritis.I tried Pred Forte which worked well at first but as my bouts of episcleritis increased i was told to stop using it as the pressures in my eyes increased. I then used Acular but it is not nearly as effective. I got steadily more fed up with looking like something out of a horror film 2 weeks out of each month so in despair went to see a nutritionist. She advised me that the episcleritis was a symptom of my immune system being damaged and put me on a course of Vitamin B, Omega 3 fish oil, a general multi vitamin and a pro biotic plus a daily dose of an anti oxidant supplement with vitamins A,C and E. Unless you are pregnant or wanting to be, I think this has made a difference as apaprt from one day of a vague redness (normally it wold last 10) I have not had a recurrence. It seems to be working so I wanted to share this with you. erhaps give it a go. Good luck.
Wow, thanks Sarah, that's great news, how long has it been since your last bout of inflammation?
I'm in the same episcleritis boat (also tried Acular to no avail) so I'll give it a go myself... Could you list all the stuff you're taking in detail / dosages, etc.
And can you get all this stuff from a pharmacy or does it need to be prepared specially?
I have been trying to alter my diet, cutting certain items out, but so far nothing has worked...
thanks in advance..
I'm female, 43, and having my first experience of episcleritis. Doctors won't give me anything to treat it. I've had it in the left eye for 5 weeks now and in the right for 2 weeks. My left eye has a really intense red area and is now inflamed all over. I'm not thrilled about the prospect of it recurring and am getting fed up with the questions and odd looks, let alone the discomfort.
I'm wondering if my body is telling me I need to get healthier and boost my immune system, so I'm very interested to read about your experiences and see what's helped. I'll also let you know if I have any success with alternative treatments.
Hi, I'm gutted to read that you've all had it so long, I'm 25 and have had it in my left eye since October last year. The doctors have tried to treat it quite agressively as I have already lost my right eye due to glaucoma as a child.
I have been treated with steroid drops for 3 months but everytime I stop using them the redness and pain immediately returns. It is very frustrating as I can't wear my contacts either whilst on the drops! I think I will try the nutrition advice and I'll let you know how I get on.
If anyone has anymore advice or tips about what is causing the condition (as none of the doctors have commented on this as yet) I'd be grateful to know.
Thanks
I'd be very interested to get a further update from Sarah V, whether she has carried on taking all those vitamins and how she has been getting on.
It hasn't worked for me so far, but we're all different, and it may well help others..
hey everyone suffering with episcleritus. ive found a homeopathic preparation called occuloheel always gives me relief and doesnt cause the damage that steroid drops may. it has echinacea and eyebright in it and it is in little capsules that one can carry in her purse. but i agree with sarah that i need to go the natural root. i am going to go on a cleanse and follow a diet for arthritus to see if this helps. unfortunately i was misdiagnosed for three years , the doctor said it was conjuctivitus.... now that i know what it is i will explore whether i have the start of lupas or some connective tissue disease. whatever it is i think sarahs natural doctor is going in the right direction.. shelly
cheryl please look into this carefully as this website said most damage to the eye is not as a result of the problem but as a result of the treatment given.... so try to look into a natural approach as this wont damage your eye.
Could someone post what worked with the detailed doses? I have been struggling with this for almost eight months. The moment I stop Alrex, it comes back. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks!
Is this vitamin regimen still working for your epischleritis? I have been on steroid drops for 9 years and had 2 types of glaucoma surgery and am getting desperate for answers.
If you are on BP medication, check whether it could be its side effects. I was on Cozaar (Losartan) for 18 years. It dit not affect me until last year. My doctor wouldn't accept it is its side effect. Finally, I changed to different medication for my BP and my eyes are not as red as before. It is not completely back to normal but I am feeling much better. So, it is worth checking the side effects of other medications you are on.
I also wash my eyelids with baby shampoo once or twice a day.
Hope you find the right cause and feel better soon.
No other medication except the drops.
Hello,
Recently diagnosed with Episcleritis after a long struggle to get a diagnosis (doctors said variously pink eye, optical herpes, food allergies, washing powder allergies, quite confusing in general... ). I share the distress of the rest on the forum (having to go through a busy day in the office with a bloody eye kills the confidence completely, and it happens to me three or four times a month).
I don't take treatment for it, but keen to look at herbal options now. I have no hard feeling for the linkages, but I have noticed over the past years some linkages:
- food/intolerances. I often feel I get a very bad bout of epi after certain foods: kiwi, mango, soy, quorn, perhaps dairy. Now I had the allergy prick test which registered nothing, and the blood RAST test which showed very mild reactions (but hardly allergic). But still, I am fairly sure that just a few hours after eating kiwi, I get an inflammation, so perhaps it's affecting me at a level just not really picked up with the standard tests. I'm still playing with eliminating different things.
- I often think there's a link to bowels - again, no 'evidence' (I should keep a diary) but I often get a bad stomach and epi outbreaks at a similar time. The bad stomach too might be related to intolerance, to be determined...
- Stress, late night working, flights. Nothing worse for my eye than a tough deadline at work or a long flight.
- Immune system. Yes, mine is poor (often having colds and sniffles), and after reading the posts above, it seems that I'd do well to try and boost this.
Anyhow, hope this is useful to some, happy to see if rings a bell with anyone else. I'll pursue the immune boosting and trying to identify troublesome foods.
David
Hi dsmith46
Do you have bouts of episcleritis or did you had this condition confirmed by your specialist?
I have same problem only left eye and sectoral redness that is bothering me all the time I have tried everithing under sun NSID,Steroids various eye drops but nothing keeps this at bay.
It seams with age is getting worse the only thing that gave me slight releif is Manuka honey drops nothing else.
Keep me posted if you have any sucess with your treatment
STay well
that is great news....i wish my drs would put their heads together and fix mine. i get recurrent bouts of epi, plain scleritis which is what i have now, and contagious conjunctivitis. always in one eye unless i get bilateral epi, which i had twice earlier this year. they keep telling me its auto immune disorder related, but nothing is done. no tests, nothing. earlier, 7 months ago, i was on steroid drops for nearly 12 wks before it finally returned to normal. i am a 62 y/o female, have had these issues for the past 8-10 yrs and the eye dr just prescribes one thing or another and asks me to return. no calling in a referral specialist or anything. i need to find someone who isnt afraid to get to the bottom of this.
Hi, how is your vitamin treatment working? I also had shingles about 4 years ago, then about 18 months ago was diagnosed with episcleritis by my optician. He asked if I had a sore neck, which I do, and though I didn't understand the connection at that time, I've since done some research and I realise there may be some autoimmune/rheumatoid involvement. Despite hospital visits, short term steroid treatment (which did work), no doctor has suggested investigating the possibility of autoimmune disorder via blood tests. I am getting frequent recurrences (thankfully only affecting 1 eye) which is quite frustrating, painful, debilitating and like you feel like something from a horror movie! Treatment options seem very limited, apart from lubricating drops, and an off the cuff suggestion from the doctor that maybe try ibuprofen because of its anti-inflammatory action. It does seem to work, but won't do my stomach any good in the long term. Would you mind sharing the details of your regime?
It's worth investigating. I saw a rheumatologist and had tests for rheumatoid, lupus, etc. They were all negative though. My doc says about 50% of the time, the cause is unknown. I've been dealing with this almost 12 years now. Daily Steroid drops keep it under control. We are just treating the side effects, glaucoma surgery to control the pressure. Pick your poison i guess.
I am not sure of vitamin treatment any more. Alrex helps but my eye pressure keeps going up. My eyelids also get swollen. So, taking oral antibiotics minocycline 50 mg daily. Sort of helps. I wish there is a better solution.
Same person here. I have taken pred forte since 9-22 and am down to one drop daily....had gone to er and dr told them i have scleritis and to take pred. He never scheduled for me to come in since and i continue one drop daily to ward it off.
I've had episcleritis 3 times. Was referred to rheumatologist and after several blood work nothing was found. I am still using Prediforte and have gotten a lot of relief. However i've been having some terrible headaches. I have to see my opthomologist soon.
It id's my hope that it never returns. I will try the omega 3 etc.
Chronic Episcleritis for years. Through much trial and error, and very much pain, I have found my solution. Turmeric and Fish Oil. Try it. All natural. To maintain my eyes I take 2 Turmeric and 1 fish oil pill a day. But when I feel a flare up coming on I do that same dosage 2-3x a day.