One eye watering a lot

[CathyA]

In the past several months, I noticed that when I would be outside in the cold, my one eye would water. A few days ago, It started watering constantly. It also itches.
The eye doesn't look red. I've read that it can be from an infection, an allergy, a blocked tear duct, or a rare tumor.

I'm going to use warm, moist compresses on the eye a few times a day, and use a homemade nasal spray, in case the nose is the problem (where tears empty into).

I've been using Thera-tears drops, but it doesn't seem to help.

Any experience with this?
Thanks!

[Zoe Girl]

Hi, both my eyes were watering to the point people thought I was crying! It was embarrassing. So I was due for an eye exam anyway and I asked about it. It can be that your eyes are too dry. I got a eye warming mask from Walgreens, it warms in the microwave for 20 seconds and then you wear it for 5 minutes. It really works great and was under $15. Then I use eye drops like you do, they said 4 times a day. If that is not working I would call or visit the eye dr to rule out anything more serious.

[Teacher Terry]

My allergies cause that.

[Lainey]

CathyA,
I had the same response as Zoe Girl. At the start of menopause my eyes were watering but at the same time felt dry. Had to use eye drops for a year or so until things settled down. Worth a visit to your eye doc though - don't want to ignore something as vital as your eyesight.

[oldhat]

See an ophthalmologist. For a number of years I had periodic bouts of eye inflammation--sometimes one eye, sometimes the other--which was initially misdiagnosed (by several different GPs) as recurrent conjunctivitis (i.e., pinkeye). Then six years ago I had a particularly bad outbreak, I finally saw an ophthalmologist and it turned out not to be conjunctivitis but iritis, which is a chronic viral (as opposed to bacterial) inflammation of the eye. It's treated with steroids, not antibiotics, and left untreated can cause serious problems. In my case, the steroid treatment aggravated my glaucoma and cataracts and I had to have surgery last spring to treat both.

Don't take chances with your vision. Get a confirmed diagnosis and proper treatment.

[JaneV2.0]

Do you sleep on that side?
I've had that problem, and as long as I'm careful not to bury my eye in my (pellet) pillow, I'm OK.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone. The thing is, it's only one eye. I'm thinking I have a blocked tear duct. But I'm giving it another day 0r 2 and then I'll see the ophthalmologist. I'm trying not to jump the gun. I want to give my body time to take care of things........because sometimes the doc's do way too much and it causes even more troubles. But I definitely won't wait too long.

I wonder too about my nasal mask cpap......and if sometimes the air blows at that eye? Yeah, I do sleep mostly on the right side.

I can't believe this. In January, almost every part of my body started hurting (even more than usual with my fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis, TMJ, etc.) and now this eye thing. Sometimes I think these wild fluctuations in temperature must wreak havoc on our systems. Weird how some people seem to grow old "gracefully" and some of us do the opposite.

[JaneV2.0]

Better something simple than "a rare tumor." :0!

I'm not growing old gracefully, my gait these days is some combination of a giant sloth and that jacked-up guy from Men in Black. But it could be a lot worse.

[Simplemind]

That happens with my left eye. I have ocular rosacea as well as blepharitis. I use eyelid scrubs to open up the pores in my lashes as well as eyedrops. I found a heated mask that runs off a USB plug. Love it to pieces. 1/2 hour with that and I'm as good as new.

[CathyA]

Hi Simplemind.........what are eyelid scrubs? Are they something OTC? Is it okay to heat up both eyes, if only one is having problems?
Zoe mentioned one of those earlier, and they sound useful.

[Simplemind]

Ocusoft wipes (spendy) or my husband uses baby shampoo with a rough wash cloth. Yes it is OK to heat up both eyes. It is a treat for both. It loosens up the oils in your eyelids and gets them fluid after having been backed up by the junk in your eyelids. Scrub first then use the eye mask. I like the USB mask because it stays the perfect temperature longer than a microwave one. Found mine on Amazon.

[CathyA]

Thanks Simplemind! I've been washing them with baby shampoo and am now looking for a mask. Can I ask which brand you bought?

[Simplemind]

Look up Lifestance cotton eye mask on Amazon. There are several others.

[CathyA]

Thanks Simplemind. I looked over a bunch of them on Amazon yesterday, and I've come to the decision that I'll make one myself, by using flaxseed. I guess the oil in flaxseed can heat up many times, releasing moisture. There is one flaxseed mask out there, but it's made in China and there were a couple problems with it. Thanks for your input.

[Simplemind]

Those are good but what I liked about the USB type is that the temperature is perfect and consistent over the entire time. Sometimes I put on headphones and zonk out with them on and they are nice and warm for the duration. Good luck!

[CathyA]

Thanks Simplemind! :)