Update On Stringy Discharge + Helpful Links

*Please read updated 'FAQ' page as you may find it useful. Updated 01/09/11.

Hello all,

First off I would like to provide my visitors with some links that have proved useful to me:

• Eye Discharge Signs/Symptoms (Wrongdiagnosis.com)
• Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (Wikipedia.com)
• Relieving Dry Eye (Allaboutvision.com)
• Keeping Eyes Healthy (Videojug.com) *Video is somewhat outdated but useful nonetheless. States that only eye drops that come in vials are 'preservative free' which is not true anymore. I use TheraTears Eye Drops in bottle form and it is 'preservative free' when it exits the bottle.

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The main question I'm sure most visitors have is,

"How can I cure my eyes of this discharge??"

• Well the first question you should ask yourself is, how did this discharge come about in the first place?
  
  1. Have you had lasik surgery performed?
  2. Do you wear contacts?
  3. Are you taking any medications that can result in dry eyes?
  4. Etc.
• There are many underlying causes of eye discharge and I am by no means licensed professional that can diagnose you. My first suggestion to you would be to visit your local optometrist or ophthalmologist so that they can properly diagnose you. Of course the tech savvy would Google their problem (hence probably how you ended up here). Eye doctors can get expensive so I am here to help as best as I can, however, I do hope to visit my optometrist in the near future to get a check up on my eyes and possibly get refitted for new "1 day disposable contacts." If you have not already visited the links above, I highly recommend them.

Now to answer the question posed in the beginning, I will say my optometrist diagnosed me with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (fancy term for dry eye syndrome). Dry eye syndrome is accompanied with red eyes, dryness, stringy discharge and a plethora of other things. So I will focus primarily on this condition.

So have I cured myself of this clear stringy eye discharge?

Short answer is, no.

From what I have read, it seems there is nothing that you can do to prevent dry eyes and it is something that older individuals are prone to as they age. However, I am in my early 20's. From the links above, they state wearing contacts (which I used to do) is something that is related to why dry eyes occurs. I have been wearing my glasses for 3 months now without any contact use and I still get clear stringy discharge but it is definitely not as thick and persistent as before. It used to be there every morning when I woke up but not anymore. It comes and goes, sometimes it's there after I put warm compresses on my eyes, sometimes it randomly appears when I am driving. The discharge is definitely thinner and doesn't appear as often.

**I also want to add that TheraTears eye drops leaves my eyes a bit crusty in the mornings so it is not just with the Optive Sensitive eye drops. Sometimes when I use alot of it at night, the next morning there is some type of discharge but I want to say it's not the 'bad kind of discharge.' If anything, I would say it is present because during nighttime use, it is lubricating the eyes and is keeping them moist.

Is the stringy discharge under control? I would say so.

• In a previous posting I wrote that the TheraTears Omega 3 supplements works for me but I did hope they would work quicker and showed a bit more results. (Yes I mention TheraTears alot, I'm a walking billboard but I like to use products that work.) However, others out there should know that there is still not a huge amount of scientific evidence correlating fish oil with improvement of dry eyes and everybody reacts differently to treatment so do not be discouraged if this product does not work for you.
  
• It seems I am on my laptop all day, and I try to remember to blink as often as possible and rest my eyes when I can. These simple steps do go a long way in helping your eyes. If they get tired, let them rest! Furthermore, drink plenty of water to hydrate your body, it could help get you back on track to healthy eyes but of course genetics does play a role. With that said, I digress.

TheraTears Omega 3 Supplement Review

Quick Review: It's been approximately 3 months that I have been using this product and I can say that they do in fact help with dry eye. After about 8 weeks, I was really starting to give up because my eyes still felt dry and I would have to fill my eyes with eye drops every single day. It was not until after using these omega 3 supplements for a little over 2 months did I feel any affect on my eye health. The box does state that you can achieve the best results if you use this product beyond 8 weeks (I guess it's not just marketing after all).

Now I hardly ever use my eye drops and even though my eyes are not as healthy as before I was diagnosed with dry eye, I am quite content with the results thus far.

Note: Your breath smells a bit like fish after you've finished taking the tablets but it is not intolerable. You just have to pop in a mint or two and your breath is back to normal.

** How I take care of my eyes now:

1. I take three TheraTears tablets a day.

2. I use hot compresses on my eyes once in the morning and once at night.

Optive Sensitive & Eye Crust

I had a few boxes of Optive Sensitive courtesy of my Optometrist and decided to give these eye drops a try. They come in small vials just like the TheraTears Eye Drops. I like how it cools the eye and refreshes them but there are small gripes I have with this product:

First off, you have to invert the vial down before you twist off the cap because the eye drops take quite long to drop down into your eyes if you do not do so. Not a big deal at all but another thing I notice is that I always wake up with eye crust the next morning after using these eye drops. This can be quite bothersome but if you've tried other brands and find that they are not helping your situation you can always give Optive Sensitive a try.