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Blurred Vision - Eye Infections - Dry Eyes

B

BaliRob

Well-Known Member
Messages
596
Location
Bali, Indonesia
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Noisy dogs and loud music especially low-note drumming
I am told that I do not have glaucoma, retinopathy, cataracts in fact no definitive eye disorder. Yet, every day, I suffer from blurred vision to both near and far sight. Advice from members has suggested that this may vary according to my blood sugar levels yet I cannot determine this because, on the whole, I have good control. From waking my eyes are encrusted and very dry with the worst blurring occurring for at least an hour. I often have sore eyes - you know the feeling when hair shampoo gets into the eyes or as if grains of sand have been blown into them. Vision (testing left and right eyes separately) is frustrating; sometimes I can see captions on the television screen clearly with one eye but not the other or vice versa. The same with reading (I wear bi-focals) when sometimes I can read a newspaper clearly and at other times I need a magnifying glass to assist because vision has become out of focus. I instinctively feel that I do not have a serious problem because I have moments of clarity in either eye or when reading or looking at a distance. My glasses have had their prescription changed recently - the consultation almost drove the technician crazy because I could not make up my mind due to varying levels of clarity or blurredness. Without travelling to another country, e.g., Singapore, I cannot get the finest specialists to give me an opinion. I am a Type 2 diabetic and wonder whether we have someone on this forum who knows exactly what I am experiencing and can give me sound advice.
 
Dear Catherine,

Thankyou so much for your suggestion - no, nobody has suggested Blepharitis.

The site that you gave will not open at this moment - when it does I will let you
know how I get on.

Regards,

Rob
 
Dear Catherine,

Have read the very informative pages on emedtv - 90% of what is written
does seem to apply in my case with the exception of skin and dandruff
conditions. Some 15 months ago I caught an eye infection riding my
motorcycle on Bali's very dirty roads with unregulated lorry exhausts
and it would appear that I have a persistent staff infection from what I
read so must continue with anti-viral and the remedial treatments the
site suggests. One word of caution for others reading this - DO NOT use
steroid eye treatment for over 2 weeks it can cause glaucoma!! It was
the blurred vision that caused me to post this subject because of my
diabetic condition; however, Blepharitis does have this as a symtom so
I feel more re-assured now. Thankyou again Catherine.

Regards,

Rob
 
Hi Rob,
I hope you can get some relief soon, it must be driving you mad.
My suggestion needs to be brought to the attention of your Medics so that they can decide if this is the case. I really hope it is and that you get some treatment fast.

Take care.

CC.
 
Dear Catherine, what with your help re; painkillers and here for blurred vision, I should use you as my GP ha ha ha. An update on Blepharitis - I am 100% convinced you are right and I am experiencing some relief following remedial guidelines on a number of respected health sites. Thanks again for this suggestion - I may have had the condition in a minor form for years as I am prone to styes. Also this may be connected with the illness related to chickenpox (forgotten its name for the moment) which is latent in the body and caused great concern many years ago when the blisters appeared above my eye.
 
Thanks from me also, Catherine. I've had a mild version of this for about 4 months - I do get trouble with the little oil glands on my lids, and I've had a 'blind' stye for years, which I keep pointing out to the optician with no joy!

I discussed it with my doctor this week, and he has given me some cream to use on warm eyelids. Just waiting now for the microwavable eye mask and I can get going.

I'd been thinking I might have to give up my contact lenses, the discomfort becomes so great by evening, they get dreadfully blurred, and I have 'dry eye' too by then. So I'm most grateful - and to you too, BaliRob, for raising the subject. :D

Viv 8)
 
Dear Catherine (and Vivien) - "Shingles" shingles" shingles" - there I have not entirely lost it thankgoodness. And to Vivien - yes, there is always someone with the same or similar problem - us humans are pretty much the same I think - which is no bad thing.
 
I am now getting little more concerned. Have accepted that, at the time of original posting, I was suffering from Bletharitis
(thanks to Catherine) I now find myself with very blurred vision from waking lasting for 5 hours or more; sometimes all day.
My BG on waking is always 6/7 so it is not caused by high sugars which some member experience. Any of you out there
experiencing the same please?
 
Rob,

Some of the symptoms sound like MH's Krukenberg's Spindle (or Pigment Dispersal Syndrome) Your optician would need to use specialist equipment to diagnose this condition and it is serious. If left unmonitored it can lead to Glaucoma and blindness. Some of the symptoms are very similar to those of retinopathy and blepharitis.

We're going to see the specialist later this month to get the Krukenberg's looked at now that we know there could be damage from the diabetes too. I'm dreading what he might say......just in case a little more of MH's (already limited) independence is going to go.

Ju
 
Dear Ju,

I am very grateful for your help and information. Goodness knows what my eye doctor
will be able to do about this - her only skills seem to be charging 2.5 times more than
other apoteks (chemists). As I write this it has been 11 hours and my eyesight is still
blurred. I will discuss this with my Diabetes specialist and ask him to try to locate said
equipment.

I do hope that your fears are unfounded and please let me know how you get on - I will
do likewise.

With best wishes,

Rob
 
http://www.krukenbergs-spindle.co.uk/Pi ... ndrome.htm

Rob,

That's a web site we found helpful, you may be able to tell whether you have PDS from the info on there. I know that most UK opticians carry the equipment as standard but they don't use it often, so maybe it won't be quite as difficult to find in Bali. It's a machine that looks deeper into your eyes than usual. Mh's was picked up on a trip to Specsavers!

Mh gets a lot of styes, dry eyes and itching. At first he was treated for hayfever type allergens - maybe you have something of the sort from the exotic species over there! One of the things he still does is run warm shower water over his closed eyes every morning - this helps the natural oils to flow and prevents and relieves the styes. I wonder if there is an ayurvedic remedy in Bali that you could try?

Ju
 
I suffered from blepharitis and hay fever allergens for years. The most effective treatments were cleaning my eyelids with a small amount of baby shampoo or with a special eyelid cleaner available from chemists. These treatments were far more effective than any eye creams and lotions..

The commercial creanms and lotions seemed only to make things worse.

I also seemed to suffer from conjunctivitis on a regulaar basis during the summer. My left eye was paricularly prone to these things. This is the eye I have suffered with most with retinopathy and maculopathy. My consultant thinks I have an inherent weakness in that eye.
With that wonderful tool -hindsight _ I often wonder if more care in dealing promply and effecively with this condition migh thave changed the eventual oucome.

I hope you find a speedy solution to your problem BaliRob.
 
Dear Ju,

Want a laugh?? I searched Google with the term MH's Krukenberg's Spindle. I now realise having read your latest
letter to me that you meant your husband ha ha ha. No wonder I could find no reference to MH. Thankyou for
the link to the affected eye. I have absolutely clear pupil and iris - I have lovely blue eyes ha ha ha - will take
this reference to my Diabetes specialist so that he can make a general observation even though the equipment
is not available. I wonder whether the Retinopathy test of which I have had three since their inception would show
some indications. One rule of thumb in the US states that the condition is unlikely in the over 40's. As far as an
ayurveda (holistic) healing/treatment approach - I am on the right island for this as it is predominantly Hindu - I
will research this possibility. One afterthought, your husband and I do have one thing in common, I do have a
predisposition to styes.

Thankyou so much for your care and consideration - I will keep you posted.

Rob
 
Dear Unbeliever,

Thankyou so much for detailing your experiences - you have suffered with your eyes more than me what with retinopathy and maculopathy - although having blurred eyesight is a real pain. Waiting for the condition to clear so that I can drive safely is a real bind.

How strange that we should both get conjunctivitis periodically in the left eye.

If I get the "speedy solution" you wish for me I will most certainly share the remedy here.

Thanking you once again,

Rob
 
BaliRob said:
Dear Ju,

Want a laugh?? I searched Google with the term MH's Krukenberg's Spindle. I now realise having read your latest
letter to me that you meant your husband ha ha ha. No wonder I could find no reference to MH. Thankyou for
the link to the affected eye. I have absolutely clear pupil and iris - I have lovely blue eyes ha ha ha - will take
this reference to my Diabetes specialist so that he can make a general observation even though the equipment
is not available. I wonder whether the Retinopathy test of which I have had three since their inception would show
some indications. One rule of thumb in the US states that the condition is unlikely in the over 40's. As far as an
ayurveda (holistic) healing/treatment approach - I am on the right island for this as it is predominantly Hindu - I
will research this possibility. One afterthought, your husband and I do have one thing in common, I do have a
predisposition to styes.

Thankyou so much for your care and consideration - I will keep you posted.

Rob
Click to expand...


Rob,

So sorry...I didn't think about that when I wrote MH!

When you say "One rule of thumb in the US states that the condition is unlikely in the over 40's" do you mean retinopathy or Krukenbergs? MH was diagnosed with Krukenbergs three years ago and he is 50 this coming November. MH has just told me that the equipment used was to actually to test his peripheral vision - you have your chin on a rest with a white screen around your head and you have to press a button whenever you see a random red dot - so your optician should have that equipment.

I've tried to research whether or not the eye examinations for the Krukenbergs would have picked up retinopathy, but I didn't find very much info. I do recall the ophthalmologist saying that MH had a black spot in one eye, but when we went back six months later it had gone. They didn't ask if MH was a diabetic - although that was long before his diagnosis as T2. However, one would have thought that if they suspected the black spot was a bleed or a bleb, they would have asked about diabetes.

If you want me to, I could ask some questions when MH goes for his retinopathy test later this month - next week actually - so if you think of anything specific let me know.

Take care meanwhile,

Ju

MH also does the washing of eyes with baby shampoo, but if you try this it has to be a no tears formula!
 
Ju,
I was referring to Krukenberg.

I had to dig deep for info of any meaning for Krukenberg and, as you know, there is not a lot of data. However, I did find one paper from the US that suggested the age factor and I will go thro all of my searches to find it.

The peripheral test is a common advantage visiting Specsavers of course.

The Retinopathy test is a 100% conclusive result either way which you are also probably aware. If your husband has not had the test before do not let him drive afterwards as the fluid dilates letting in too much light and can feel like sun blindness. I went on my bike so beat the system.

Come back to you soon.

Rob
 
MH won't be allowed to drive....the oldest son will be driving our car, with it's automatic handbrake and obscenely long and invisible nose, for the first time. I'm going to nag MH to take him over to the car park for some practice first!

I'm dreading the retinopathy test as Mh has mentioned floaters and blurred vision for a few months now. Do they tell you straight away if they have found evidence of damage?

Ju
 
Dear Ju,

I have always been shown the two photographs immediately and had their content explained both in the UK and here. Some practitioners offer copies in CD or ordinary format as they have their computerised version for their record. In your case they have to prepare a report for your clinic or doctors' practice and may not be so co-operative. Mainly they are sincere technicians and know how much you are worried and I am sure that they will at least give you some info. I hope they do and that it is good news. If not don't worry most 'leaking' capillaries can be 'healed' (stopped) with lazer treatment and thus arrest any further deterioation.

My blurred eyes have prevented me from searching the other matter for you but will try to find it.

Regards,

Rob
 
Dear Ju,

Have found the reference on Google for K'berg - Page 1, 2nd entry under Wikipedia. My memory served me well - the AVERAGE age not affecting the over 40's. As Wickipedia always asks for latest info updates for all of its definitions the answer just might be unreliable.

Good luck this week - I am endeavouring to set an appointment also as I missed the last couple of years. I was the first patient in Bali to use the Retinopathy equipment - hey ho, another large bill !!

Rob
 
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