constantly running left eye

Constantly Running Eye

I have had a constantly running left eye for over a year now. I have seen 3 different eye doctors and had a cat scan that has shown nothing. Steroid drops provided relief for 2 wks then it was right back to running. I have no pain, they thought a tear duct was blocked, its not. I cant take it any more, my eye exam was perfect, no pressure, no glaucoma, vision good, the eye looks bigger than the other one also, my skin is wrinkling from it being wet all the time.

Answer: Constantly Running Eye

Your constantly running eye must is clearly taking it toll. You mention that one eye looks bigger than the other. This suggests something called proptosis where the eye protrudes due to being pushed out from the back of the eye socket. A common cause is Graves opthalmoplegia, a condition of the thyroid gland where the gland can sometimes produce too much thyroid hormone. Did anything show up on the CT to suggest proptosis? Other causes of the eye looking bigger is a tumour in the eye socket, but this would have shown up on the CT scan. If you have proptosis, there are surgical options for this.

Sometimes a ectropian can cause a constantly running eye. This is where the eye lid everts and again can be treated with surgery. Occassionally an eye lash can irritate the eye and cause a constantly running eye. You also mention that steroids helped for a short time. This would suggest and inflammatory cause such as an allergy. You might benefit from trying antihistamines in this situation. These can be instilled in the eye and also tablets to take.


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My name is Dr Peter Thatcher MBBS, MRCPI and I am a consultant physician and gastroenterologist in the UK. I have an interest in internet based medicine and administer this site in my spare time. I hope you find this site useful and informative. If you have any suggestions, please Contact Me or if you would like to comment on my site, please do so by Clicking Here. If you like the site and would like to make a donation to support what I am doing please do so by Clicking Here. Thank you for visiting and please drop by again!