Eye Burning Related to Food Sensitivities

Posted by DebE13 @debe13, Nov 27, 2011

I have collagenous colits and a list of other problems that my GI doctor seems reluctant to address. I have horrible burning in my eyes with a puffy feeling around my eye area (no actual inflamation) and stomach aches/pains, fatigue, headache, and facial flushing/redness to name a few. He told me to see an eye doctor and referred me to a rheumatologist. My eyes are good and was told I have dry eye and to use drops. I got literature on fibermyalgia but I''m not interested in more drugs. The rheumatologist also told me to take sleeping pills, exercise, and use eye drops and that I shoudl see a GI doc for the stomach problems. I am incredibily frustrated because I feel sick every time I eat and the eye pain/burning never goes away. I've been tested for celiac disease several times and it always comes back negative. I am not lactose intolerant. I tried an elimination diet religiously for 4 months and removed all processed foods, wheat, dairy, and yeast. I didn't notice a signficant change in how I felt. At that time, I didn't have the eye issues. I've read that the eye problems can be related to food or could also related to liver problems. My blood test show my liver is good. Any ideas would be appreciated because I seem to be on my own. I keep complaining of ill health but all my tests keep coming back good. I am afraid to eat and I want my life back.

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I have horrible burning in my eyes with neck & shoulder pain and stomach aches/pains, fatigue, headache, and facial pain. He told me to see an eye doctor but my eyes are good as per reports. I have consulted GI doc for the stomach problems found h pylori and its has been cured . I am incredibily frustrated because I feel sick every time I eat and the eye pain/burning never goes away, feeling sleepy and fatigue. I have stopped all processed foods, wheat, dairy, and yeast. I didn't notice a signficant change in how I felt. I've read that the eye problems can be related to food or could also related to liver problems. My blood test show my liver is good. Any ideas would be appreciated because I seem to be on my own. I am afraid to eat and I want my life back. Please help me and save my life.

If anyone have solution they are God to me. please reach out.

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@lacy2

Just noticed these comments and although I dont have answer/s I have had eye issues for many years, culminating in narrow angle glaucoma, but also had bowel issues, thyroid (hypothyroidism); off work due to red sore eyes at work, turned out many years later to be no filter on xerox machine outside my office and i suffered so much with burning eyes for years!

Also some plants indoors and outside... have photo of a wild plant in garden that has latex in stem and got some painful blistering skin when rubbed eye and can post - its a wonder I didnt lose vision; eyes so dry could not open them through night; optometrist and dentist wanted me checked for (spelling?) Sjojerns but my family dr refused saying: you dont have it!

Shopping in dept. stores and so many chemicals and such , eyes burned and were red, but lasted after left store.... and am sure have missed some things/places that burned my eyes but not to my knowledge or recollection food of any kind.

Just thought would mention its horrible , like having soap in eyes yet, as you say, optometrist found no cause. Someone mentioned detergent and recently I hadn't realized I had bought extra concentrated laundry soap, washed and changed sheets put back on bed, and all night eyes red and sore again, and realized linens not rinsed properly from too much detergent, so just rewashed them with NO detergent just plain water.. what stuffing is in your pillows . ... its is very hard on the nerves too trying to find out what causes this: do you wear glasses and use a spray to clean them? Using any cleaning products in your home that are eye irritants? Maybe read side effects of ANY medications you are using, even medicated creams, shampoos to see if affect eyes.. I was amazed at how many affect some people's eyes!! I gave up on reading books from library as I think may be sprayed or wiped with disinfectant... it makes one suspicious of just about everything!

I now use dry eye drops with no preservative and drops for glaucoma which have other side effects unfortunately, and although my eyes are much better than they had been for years, still feel sore once in a while.... wish I could tell you a cure or solution and you are not only ones going through this and hopefully - keep searching and as someone suggested keep diary and maybe will find cause... wishing you the best. Hope my experience might shed some light on a cause and you will get some relief sooner rather than later.

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I wonder if an allergy medication for general irritants would help you? Your good research to be commended, but don't become paranoid about life. Ask about the library materials as it seems far-fetched to me.

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@arjunrkzs

I have horrible burning in my eyes with neck & shoulder pain and stomach aches/pains, fatigue, headache, and facial pain. He told me to see an eye doctor but my eyes are good as per reports. I have consulted GI doc for the stomach problems found h pylori and its has been cured . I am incredibily frustrated because I feel sick every time I eat and the eye pain/burning never goes away, feeling sleepy and fatigue. I have stopped all processed foods, wheat, dairy, and yeast. I didn't notice a signficant change in how I felt. I've read that the eye problems can be related to food or could also related to liver problems. My blood test show my liver is good. Any ideas would be appreciated because I seem to be on my own. I am afraid to eat and I want my life back. Please help me and save my life.

If anyone have solution they are God to me. please reach out.

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Just wanted to let you know, if I eat tomatoes and nightshade plants my eyes burn. I used to have muscle neck and joint pain and fatigue. Now if I mess up and eat tomato the first thing I feel is my eyes burning. I hope this helps.

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I landed in this forum via Google due to some fitting keywords. Your experience reports seem very familiar to my own. I've been going through this hell for over 10 years and my quality of life is now close to zero. It started with chronic diarrhea and some allergies. In the meantime I am allergic to countless foods, most of the allergies can also be proven by tests at the doctor. Only by strict water fasting I really feel better, otherwise food triggers a strange itching or a strong tiredness of the eyes, I feel floppy, have very pale skin, feel a surmountable tiredness and can not concentrate at all. In the severe episodes I also have a pronounced dermographism. I live in Germany, a country with good health insurance, but the health system is failing me. Does anyone have any more ideas about what disease I should get tested for?

@becsbuddy Would you tell me the name of the unusual autoimmune disease you were talking about?

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...could it possibly be delayed reaction to eye drops for dry eyes, i have used them for years and sometimes start off they help then a few months later burning eyes etc., and I wonder if they change the ingredients; someone mentioned thryoid and I am hypothyroid - also have narrow angle glaucoma and so many side effects from each type of glaucoma eye drops.... these cause sinus issues! my eyes have been sore for years and I was even off work in office with no pay, years later found out it was Xerox machine....but no one believed me when they just hurt/red at work.... am sure you will find out the cause....just a few suggestions; never knew about food affecting eyes so will search that cause; good luck.

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I am experiencing the same exact symptoms all my tests come back normal as well I don't want to eat anymore because of the pain in my face and my eyes have you found any relief please let me know

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@arjunrkzs

I have horrible burning in my eyes with neck & shoulder pain and stomach aches/pains, fatigue, headache, and facial pain. He told me to see an eye doctor but my eyes are good as per reports. I have consulted GI doc for the stomach problems found h pylori and its has been cured . I am incredibily frustrated because I feel sick every time I eat and the eye pain/burning never goes away, feeling sleepy and fatigue. I have stopped all processed foods, wheat, dairy, and yeast. I didn't notice a signficant change in how I felt. I've read that the eye problems can be related to food or could also related to liver problems. My blood test show my liver is good. Any ideas would be appreciated because I seem to be on my own. I am afraid to eat and I want my life back. Please help me and save my life.

If anyone have solution they are God to me. please reach out.

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..sorry if I missed this, but have you had food sensitivity tests? I haven't but I would like to as I started burning cheeks/face sometimes flushed sometimes not and also hard to find out what is causing it. Someone suggested a Naturopath so may do so, and here in Ontario , Canada, they can order blood tests, allergy tests. My eyes are sore a lot but I never thought it could be from food.... or could it be from something in our kitchens? Our dishwashing liquid, gas stoves, etc., something we would never think of as causing problems? I even wondered when saw our different brand of tea bags have "new bags" made from vegetable sources or something...what are we really putting into our bodies? I have started reading ingredients and a real shock... also noticed in Canada and USA some eye drops have just been recalled because of bacteria etc.... wishing you success in at least finding out exactly what it is. J

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All my life I have this eyes problems connect with food. But nobody pay attention to my problem. I was taking eyes drops for dry eyes and didn't work. The gastroenterologist told me that I have IBS. I followed a foodmap diet but I still have the problem I don't know Wich specialist to go now.

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Hi folks! I too get eye stinging relating to food. I don't get dry eyes, and eye tests show no problems, just stinging when I eat - in my case it's the very TOP of my eyes, does anyone else find that?

Anyway, I MIGHT be able to offer some help here? I haven't completely "cured" all my conditions, but definitely found a way to make it a lot better. Two different ways, in fact, so consider BOTH:

1) Light Bulbs

Firstly, 20 years ago I found that my skin was sensitive to certain types of LIGHT BULBS - I had the new energy-saver bulbs in my house and they were causing my eyes and face to burn and blister, I even started losing my eyesight! I know it might sound ridiculous to think that a bulb could cause skin damage - I did too - but when I changed bulbs I was astonished that my problems went away immediately.

Now I strictly only use traditional incandescent bulbs, and I keep the brightness of computer screens very low, and have found certain TVs which don't affect me. And all those burning and blistering problems have gone away. Just try getting away from the bulbs for a day or two and you may see a huge improvement.

2) Causes in the gut

But there's ANOTHER thing that was making my eyes sting... Now this might not apply to you, but in my case, I came to the conclusion that there's a strong connection between my eyes and my GUT. In fact, modern science seems to be showing that gut problems are responsible for a lot more disease than previously thought.

Now years ago I was getting symptoms like stinging eyes, head aches, brain fog, bloating, digestion, bowel problems, and coating on my tongue, and these are classic symptoms of a yeast imbalance in the gut (something such as Candida Albicans). This yeast overgrowth damages the lining of one's gut, allowing toxins from food to enter into the bloodstream, which (in my case) is why my eyes often sting when eating. This is known as "Leaky Gut Syndrome" which I'm quite sure I have.

Now I've been able to greatly overcome the yeast overgrowth by using natural anti-fungals, and improving my diet. Nothing severe - I eat a full and balanced diet, just healthy changes like avoiding processed foods, yeasty foods, refined sugars and antibiotics! (I could give more info on that if anyone wanted.)

But my main point here - the key step was to REPAIR the damage inflicted to my gut lining. And what really helps me here is a protein called L-Glutamine, which is a natural amino-acid used widely by body-builders (you can find it quite cheap in any body-building store).

I find that if my eyes are stinging, I will take some L-Glutamine with water on an empty stomach and after about 12 hours the problem will be solved. Yeas ago, I was taking it almost every day to fight the stinging, but after a while I found I didn't need it as much and now only take it occasionally when the stinging gets bad. (I also have to make sure I brush my teeth after every meal because I also have "Leaky Mouth" too.)

Now your problem may NOT be Leaky Gut like mine. Plus there are concerns over taking too much L-Glutamine, and too much of anything could be problematic (google "eatbeautiful glutamine" for some negatives).

But I would say to you that if you are really suffering with the eye pains like I was then - after first eliminating LIGHT BULBS, then it will be well worth trying a small amount of L-Glutamine as a test, because if the problem goes away then you've probably just diagnosed the problem as Leaky Gut and you can then think about what steps you want to take to cure it! And if it doesn't go away, you can then eliminate this as a possibility.

There is another aspect to my eye pains that I HAVEN'T been able to solve 🙁 And I'm not even sure if anyone else gets anything like this (please let me know)... Sometimes I put my body through a fast or a detox, or just a process of healing when I'm fighting off a bug... But while my body is healing itself, whatever is in my eyes will just start "coming out", usually in the form of watering eyes or a sense of dripping inside my head. And it's REALLY painful!

It's like toxins are just dripping out of my eyes for 24 hours, and I have to take painkillers. Then when I go back to eating normally again, I feel my eyes stinging slightly, as though the toxins (or infection) is going back into them. So this leaves me confused about what is going on with my eyes.

Neck and shoulder pains

Finally, someone here mentioned neck and shoulder pains. I've had that too, and for me the cause is electronic fields and radiation. As an experiment, try a time of avoiding proximity to mobile devices, electronics, and metallic objects. Pay particular attention to where you sleep, try getting electronics out of the bedroom, switch everything off. Walls can sometimes have hidden fields, so try moving the bed off the wall a little, or sleeping upside down, to see if you feel any better. Also, a spring mattress can act as an antenna for ambient radiation, so try putting some padding between you and the springs and if that feels better then replace the mattress for 100% foam.

If this helped anyone then let me know! 🙂 Lee

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I have had to stop eating olive oil because every time I have it my already dry eyes get soooo much worse within an hour and even worse the next day. I can hardly blink. Frustrating as I was trying to put it on foods for good health. I have a lot of allergies and various disorders causing food restrictions. I'm running out of food choices!

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