I am aware of a couple of posts regarding redness of the eyes after Lasik, but did not see any "official" response. I am 5 months post-op and my eyes are constantly red. They were not red prior to the surgery and I have no allergies. In addition, they are a bit dryer than what is comfortable. I have used several eyedrops as recommended by my doctor (including some specifically for redness relief and allergies) and the redness persists. It has gotten so bad that I've had people ask me if I've been drinking, using drugs, etc. I am a high school teacher and do not need this sort of gossip spread about me! My eyes are red morning, noon, and night. Any suggestions?

Hi i had my lasik four months ago my eyes tend to get very red when they are dry i am not expert but maybe its the dry eyes or the drop that you use. i use drops that are preservative free and they work the best for me they are the refreash celluvisc

good luck,

Regina

>I am aware of a couple of
>posts regarding redness of the eyes
>after Lasik, but did not see
>any "official" response. I am
>5 months post-op and my eyes
>are constantly red. They were
>not red prior to the surgery
>and I have no allergies.
>In addition, they are a bit
>dryer than what is comfortable.
>I have used several eyedrops as
>recommended by my doctor (including some
>specifically for redness relief and allergies)
>and the redness persists. It
>has gotten so bad that I've
>had people ask me if I've
>been drinking, using drugs, etc.
>I am a high school teacher
>and do not need this sort
>of gossip spread about me!
>My eyes are red morning, noon,
>and night. Any suggestions?

I had prk 7 weeks ago and also have red dry eyes. I believe the redness comes from the dryness. I use Genteal gel at night and Theratears in daytime. The Genteal is wonderful. I wish I could use it during the day. It will make your vision a bit blurry for a few minutes. Maybe punctal plugs or Restasis may help. Did you talk with your doc about your options?

Good Luck,
Kelly

I assume your surgeon sees nothing wrong with your eyes other than dryness?

If so, maybe you just need to use lubricating drops more often...when I was 3mo. post-op from my first procedure, I still needed drops every hour or two...then winter came, and I was back to using drops every 1/2 hour due to the dry air...then went on holidays to a humid tropical climate and was back to every 2 hours for drops...Now I'm 1 mo. post-op from an enhancement, and am using drops every 15-20 minutes. My surgeon's nurse at the clinic said that the first YEAR after Lasik she was using artificial tears "CONSTANTLY"...but the good news is that now it's 5 years post-op and she said she is back to the way she was pre-Lasik. So, it seems that some people just have worse luck and really have to use the artificial tears a LOT...but it shouldn't last forever...so maybe just crank up the dosing frequency of your non-medicated artificial tears big time and see if that helps...Have you experimented with the preservative-free drops to see if that improves things for you?

Also, if you are using drops specifically marketed for relieving redness, they may contain an ophthalmic decongestant...it is possible for these to cause "rebound redness" in your eyes...ie. your eyes are red so you instill the drops - your eye whitens temporarily, but the redness returns right away - with overly frequent or prolonged use, the redness may become worse with time...I am not sure if this happens 99% of the time with prolonged frequent use, or only rarely..but it's worth considering I would think...

Good luck with your eyes!