Hey guys so I've been on accutane 40mg for the past 5 months, I still have a couple months to go I think. So far unbelievable results and minor side effects (I'm lucky).
However the side effects are annoying dry lips, nose, eyes but manageable until now.
My eyes are so dry, I put drops in and avoid makeup but still. One eye in particular. My eyes sting and are bloodshot, not a great look!
Anyone else experienced this and have tips at all?
Thanks!
Hi glad to hear that accutane has cleared you well!
I can relate to the dry eyes, on my second round of actuate in particular it suddenly came on. I was getting dry eyes a little bit but my contacts were still OK, and then boom I was getting stabbing pains and burning, and pain was really horrible. I then flew on a plane and they went insanely red with red streaks and stuff freaked me out!
Drops and gels didn't do that much, in fact they made m eyes more painful and dry, I think because they were so inflamed. ( I was using polygel, refresh, systane even a steroid FML drop you name it). Now I am off the Accutane though I find a drop called Hylo Forte to be my favourite works in combo with warm compresses. Try and use preservative free drops, because you can use them more and they cause less irritation. I ended up having meibomian gland dysfunction as the Accutane dried up the old glands in my eyes. I ended up on doxycycline (but mine was very dry only a 2 second tear film) to help but have since stopped it even though it did work wonders. Now I find that heat packs at night for about 15-20mins and eyelid massage help to get the oil flowing (when you take the compress off sometimes the vision is a tad blurry as the oil starts flowing), and then drops during the day keep me mostly in check. The warm compress at night stops them from being overly painful and gritty in the mornings. Also good eyelid hygiene can help as well, I sometimes do an eyelid wash to Johnson and Johnson no tears baby shampoo.
In my experience (although my eyes were insanely dry), things have gotten better they aren't so gritty in the mornings and it is more manageable, I think patients is the key after stopping the treatment they seem to be slowly getting better (want my contacts again hahaha, sure I will at some point!).
Also try to avoid dry environments, and being directly infant of aircons, heaters, wind etc and looking at screens for long periods. Sunnies may help outside, I had my glasses.
Many people also say omega 3s like krill oil help (not 100% how this is on accutane because of the vitamin A, but I think that is mainly cod liver oil), because of the anti-inflammatory properties. I have considered it and did use it for a week and it did help but haven't used it since Accutane my skin didn't like omega 3s when I used them a couple of years ago. Anyway hope that helps some!
Dry eyes due to Accutane can also be the perfect environment for conjunctivitis (pink eye).
Both types: viral and bacterial.
If your eyes are crusty in the morning and goopy, see a doc asap. Treat the infection and then talk to the doc about saline drops to keep eyes moist and keep infection out.
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