Tears get stuck

[Sharon]

Does anyone else have tears that get stuck in the lacrimal gland area below the eyebrow
and in the eyelid and just don't drain? This makes my eye area puffy as the day goes on and the tears
accumulate more and just seem to get stuck.
Of course this also means none of those tears reach my eyes so they're really dry.

I don't have blepharitis or MGD so I'm not sure what's causing this.

I've tried warm/cold compresses and manual massage but the only thing that seems to help somewhat is Salagen, and that only helps a little and for a short while.

Any ideas?

[Sweetcheex76]

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. It's awful and annoying, isn't it? In the years before my diagnosis, I used to get awful strings of "goo" stuck up there which would last all day. I'd pull one out and another would form. My eye doctor at the time said I had allergy eyes and prescribed antihistamine eye drops. The first time I saw my eye surgeon for rapid onset cataracts, he saw the "strings" and said those were my tears and they were really oily. He then asked if I had Sjogrens. I told him doctors thought I had some autoimmune disease but my blood work always came back negative. Shortly thereafter, I was diagnosed with Sjogren's by my new rheumatologist.

You've already tried everything that was suggested to me-the compresses, etc. None of those things were very successful. As I have virtually 0 tear production, I don't get tears stuck up there anymore except when I use Xiidra. The antihistamine drops worked really well. Maybe ask your doctor what they think about using them. Although I never felt that the drops were drying out my eyes, that may have been what was happening. Good luck!

[Sharon]

Thanks sweetcheex 
No eyedrops get as far up as my lacrimal gland below my eyebrow to affect it.
I tried many antihistamines eyedrops which didn't do much.
The only one that made a significant difference on the eyelids themselves was ALOMIDE eye drops.
However, it completely dried my eyes out and they became vampire red. Just bone dry.
After what you wrote I'm wondering if they helped the swelling BECAUSE they dried the eyelid out?
In  any case I couldn't continue with them beacuse of the severe dryness they caused.
What was the name of the antihistamine drops that helped you?

[irish]

I think the antihistamines will dry you out more and plug the ducts up more. I am wondering if you have used Restasis. Some people need to take this up to 6 months to see relief. This is a product for dry eyes and not just Sjogrens dry eyes. I am also wondering if you have used Salogen or Exovac which are prescribed meds which will thin mucus. It might take some time but I think that thinning your mucus will help those ducts drain and you would be relieved of the plugged up infections and swelling.

We make mucus in more areas than the 5 major salivary glands.We also have a smaller sinus cavity above each eyebrow that would benefit from mucus thinning agent. We have hundreds of very tiny glands that produce mucus in the sinuses, nasal cavity, mouth, trachea, esophagus and all through the intestinal tract. Also the bladder and urethra produce types of mucus. Hope that you can come to some solution.irish

[Sharon]

Thanks irish,
I've been taking Restasis for about 2 years now and it doesn't help me.
Salagen helps only for about 1 hour and if I take more than one pill of it a day I feel very ill.
We don't have Evoxac where I live.
Salagen does temporarily drain the eyelid a bit though, but it gets filled with fluid again very quickly.
It's not ever infected, just swollen with unmoving tears.

[irish]

Have you ever had the ducts cleaned out. It might be that they are swollen or filled wit inflammation/white cells. Also, can't remember, are you on Plaquenil or some sort of anti-inflammatory.. Sounds like combination thick tears and swelling in ducts. Just a thought. Irish

[Sharon]

I would love to have the ducts of the lacrimal gland cleaned out
but can't find a doctor who's familiar with the procedure.
BTW, when I had my salivary ducts cleaned out it was a very painful procedure and recovery was
long and agonizing.
I am currently taking Orencia which helps my joints.
No anti-inflammatories I took in the past ever helped with this, not even Prednisone (made me drier). 

[irish]

There is another new eye drop for eyes. I forgot the name so all depend on others to tell you about it. Many do well on it. Irish

[Sharon]

Yes, I've heard of Xiidra but it's unavailable where I live.
I'm not even allowed to import it (I tried!).