Pinguecula removal scars - part 2

When your eyes are really dry, thats when the ugly things grow so maybe you should use eyedrops, but your eyes will be dry where you have pinguecula, so what to do?.... I believe surgery is the only way.
Pleas let me know about anything you found out about this.

Hi Sandra,
My eyes have been real dry for a while, maybe because of a stressful period (I also had an operation then, not on my eyes). That’s also when the pingueculae came up. One eye was red/irritated for a while too. Right now my eyes are less dry, but still a bit dry. Maybe it’s something hormonal also, I sometimes wonder. And I’m spending a lot of time behind the computer, at work and at home, which might not be helping too (when you stare at the screen too much).

I’m using ‘Vidisic carbogel’, which is okay (better than artificial tears), and also some artificial tears. And I’ve started taking extra vitamins, as it is said that vitamin C for instance could be good for your eyes (it might prevent the further degeneration of the white of the eye). Also other vitamins are supposed to be good.

In my left eye I do feel the pinguecula pretty often, in my right eye I don’t feel it. It’s unkind when you feel it indeed. The cosmetic appearance isn’t cute and because you also feel it, it’s extra irritating.

My mother has these growths also, but she is in her sixties... she didn’t have it already in her thirties. Some other people I know who are 50 or something, also have pingueculae. When people get older that ‘s frequently manifesting in the white of their eyes too. But I also know two younger persons (girls in their twenties and thirties) with these growths. I don’t know if there’s a connection with our work; we tend to be behind the computer much.

Do you have lenses? I don’t, but lenses might cause pingueculae also. Switching lenses could help, a guy wrote to me (it helped him).

About the doctor in Australia: I’ve read about pterygia on his site and seen pictures (and those pterygia look much worse than my growthts), but he seems to know what he’s doing.

I’ve also started this blog by the way: pinguecula-info.blogspot.com

Feel free to mail me any time!

Evelijne

Hi Evelijne,

I have also heard that It is more common when your about 60 years, But I think it is more of a problem when you are young, going out and dateing, Looking for a job. My problem is not only the pings, it is the redness. I mean I am red in a place where I do not have any pings I hate that if only that could go away. I think it became red when I used some gel because I was so dry after my laser sugery.

I am also taking extra vitamin c, and I eat a lot of fish too. Fish is good for your eyes I have heard.

I do not use lenses, not before surgery either.

I have Talked to a doctor at Stockholmsögonklinik about my pinguecula, and if you want to you can send them an email. The price to remove a pinguecula at that hospital is about the same as in Holland. I mean if you want information from somone else than the Doctors in Holland.
_[removed]_

Yes, when you are infront of a computer all the time maybe that has something to do with it. I believe that the sun can have something to do whit it when you are 60 or more ....not when you are younger and hardly never in the sun.

The girl you said had removed a pterygium. Did she have a big one? And it looked ok now? or did she have a small.

Take care

I have an appointment with an Optometrist in Little Rock, AR in two days about the spots on my conjuctiva. At first it was just a raised area on the nose side outside of my cornea on my left eye. Then a few months later, the left eye - same thing and within a week or two of that one I have on either side of both eyes, so, 4.

I get some painful eye headaches and soreness behind them every so often. I wear no corrective lenses at all and at 36, have never had any eye issues before.

What would have caused these? I'm baffled and a little bothered. For possible reference, I have just finished recovering from a fairly sever sinus infection with a middle ear infection and eustachian blockage. -- wouldn't know if that would be related.

Thanks!

Hi.
Some people gets dry eyes when they are useing contact lenses. If you have very dry eyes the pinguecula could start to grow. The spots on your cunjuitiva, are the yellow or white/greyish? Sun, wind and chemicals could also cause this. Some doctors says it could be genetic. Look at your parents eyes.
If it is pinguecula The Doctor will let you know.

Some people says that they notice the pings after they recoverd from an infektion.

But maybe this is not what you have.

I am 42 and there are many younger people asking if their ping's will grow. The answer is a big YES. I am very fair with blue eyes and grew up wearing contact lenses. In high school, I noticed a small yellow dot near my nose on the left eye. And I remember so vividly my male friend coming to my house and asking me when I opened the door, "What is that yellow stuff in your eye". So, I went to a doctor and learned that it was a pinquecula and nothing could be done. 2 years into college, I passed by a mirror and noticed a tiny yellow dot on the other eye, same location near my nose. My eyes were always red because of the contact lenses and I believed that they caused the ping's to grow more rapidly. However, NOW I KNOW, whether you wear them or not, once a ping start growing, they continue to grow.

At age 22, I had RK to correct my poor vision and stopped wearing contact lenses. I did this because I wanted to stop the growth of the pings by wearing glasses and of course improve my vision. I have been wearing thinner glasses ever since but the pings never stopped growing.

The point is once these little things take root, they grow. I have been given drops of every type.. nothing works.

About 5 years ago, I started experiencing severe pain in 1 of my eyes. I learned that the ping had now grown a calcium spike: it felt like a piece of glass was in my eye. So, I had to have an in office mini-surgery to remove the spike. It was unbelievable. The doctor literally starting cutting into my eye after 1 tiny drop to cut the spike off the top of the ping. It hurt but afterward, the horrible spike pain was gone and I was back to my growing pings.

I am currently scheduled to have surgery next week on Wednesday. I chickened out a while back... but I am definitely going to do this! My left eye has grown yet a 3rd spike and I am not going to sit in a chair for that knife treatment again. Funny that my insurance will pay for these expensive in office surgeries but not the one I am scheduled for with Dr. Hovanesian.

I plan to update this website. The posts are invaluable to me. I have learned that the recovery can be months and that is my expectation. As I said, I will post here after my surgery next week.

Hi there! I have a question for you...did that vidisic carbogel work for you at all? I know it's been a few months since youv'e posted but if you're still around, I'd like to hear if it worked out! THanks :)

Vidisic carbogel is good against dry eyes, it helps me. Gel remains on the eye longer than drops. It won't make the pingueculae go away, no, but it helps against drynes. I also have punctum plugs now, but don't notice a big difference. I still want the pings to be gone, but I am scared of surgery. Most doctors also tell the chances of scar tissue aren't low at all. My eyes might not look better (or worse!) after surgery. Regards, Eve (pinguecula-info.blogspot.com)

I was also diagnosed with this condition about six months ago. I believe it is genetically driven (both my parents have it). However, my eyes were perfect and it was only after using contact lenses that I noticed these growths. I definitely think the contacts had a lot to do with it, but doctors don't seem to take this condition seriously even though it causes so much redness and irritation to the eye.

I very much want to have mine removed, preferably by someone highly experienced in the graft procedure, but there are never any guarantees. I would love to hear from someone who has had this procedure done and how their eyes are doing, six, twelve, and even twenty-four months post surgery.

Cheers,
Avigayil

I find it hard to believe that nothing slows the growths of pingueculas. I just spent the last hour reading all these posts and not one of which addressed the possibility of this growth becoming a pterygia.. I have had my pinguecula for approx 1-2 months now, have used steroid drops and found litle relief, have resorted to exclusively wearing my glasses (instead of contacts) and still have quite red veins on the nose side of this bump. I am really nervous this could become a pterygia and affect my vision. I'm a big baby when it comes to thinking of eye surgery not related to lasik, so I dont see that anywhere in my near future unless it grows exponentially and/or worsens my vision. I'm not sure whether mine formed from years of wearing contact lenses, genetics, or prolonged exposure to the sun- all of which are distinct possibilities. Aside from the self-consciousness from having the pinguecula, anyone have this eventually change their vision? I know it sounds crazy but it this grows and essentially increases in size, it could reach my cornea, and it is possible to wake up one morning with severly blurred vision. My doc also said that it's only a matter of time before I get one in my right eye. Anyone have this change their vision?? Any info would be great, thanks!

Jula

PLease give us an update on your surgery....it's been a year and I would love to know how your eyes are....thanks! Denise

Question, is there a possibility that it could go away on its own? I noticed a white bump in my pupil, it's not yellow yet and I'm just 22...could it be something else? I'm panicking right now.

I had my pingecula removed two days ago. My eye is blood shot and I can see where they cut it out. The procedure IS NOT SCARY and DOES NOT HURT. A dental cleaning is worse. I went to Kaiser. My co pay was $25.oo. Sure, my eye looks horrible, but you know what? I know it will heal. Just give it time and be good to myself. Look, do you want to live your life obsessing about the pings and living daily being self conscious and researching and taking eye drops OR just get the courage and have it cut out? Ill keep you posed on my recovery. Ive already decided in my heart it will be good, and thats how I plan on posting it.

Maxine,

 

How are your eyes doing? I have a small ping on my right eye and would love to have it removed. What Dr did you go?

Hello I was just wondering how your surgery went it would be great to hear. I am 27 and have had pinguecula since I was 20, I definitely got them from working in a smoky pub between the age of 16 and 20, I have dry eye syndrome also, which has progressively got worse, over the last six months I have started to develop pings on the temporal side oft eyes too, they were caused by the dryness. My advice to anyone who has just started to develop pingueculas is see an olphalmologist, find out if you have dry eye and which type (there are three, I have aqueous tear deficiency and meibomian gland dysfunction), make sure they do all the tests! I didn't see an olphalmologist until I was 25 and wish id been more persistent and clued up in my early twenties, my pings didn't seem to bother me as much then because they weren't inflamed. Please anyone who has got them use eye drops even if your eyes don't feel dry, they probably are! Wear sunglasses at all times when its sunny and windy, stay away from smoke (it makes your year film evaporate 50% quicker (you can google studies on this), take omega three vitamins (triglyceride form are the best not Ethel ester), sea buckthorn oil capsules, ear lots of fruit and veg (stay away from sugar, processed foods). I don't know if everyone who has pings has dry eye but I would say they have, how else would they develop? Ive only just realised that I have has dry eye on some level for seven years, but it has become much worse over last year hence the new ping growths. Lubricate your eyes, stop the pings getting inflamed and growing bigger. I hate my pinguecula and make me so depressed, I'd love to have surgery but I am waiting to see how surgery advances and drops. Look after you eyes please!

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