1. < Digestive Health

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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beebe | @beebe | Jan 5 7:01am
In reply to @kgelder12 "When I was having these exact symptoms it was related to the water I was drinking..." + (show)
@kgelder12

When I was having these exact symptoms it was related to the water I was drinking from my kitchen sink. I had just purchased a new home (the house itself was built about 10 years ago) and I was drinking water from a tap that had an in-sink filtration system. I developed horrible stomach issues (burning, cramping, acid reflux) and then the same burning/puffiness under my eyes. It took a few months, but I eventually tracked the root cause to the water and then switched to drinking only bottled water for a few weeks and all of my symptoms completely disappeared. Obviously I had the filtration system removed and changed the faucet, but I am still a bit afraid to drink out of my tap because the pain I was having was horrible. I don't know if there was bacteria in the faucet itself? Or if the filter was toxic or had something like bleach in it (?) I really don't know -- but that was the root cause of my issue and I am now totally better. I am so sorry you are having this issue because my doctor was completely clueless and it was so frustrating ... I also had all the same tests you've had and everything came back normal, even though I was in blinding pain. So I would say -- at minimum, something is definitely irritating your stomach and I would question absolutely everything you are consuming in your home environment and also maybe, notice if you start to feel better when you are vacation? Good luck and I hope this information leads you to the root cause of your issue!

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kgelder12 It is great you figured out what was causing your eye pain and intestinal distress but too bad you weren't able to get the water tested before you changed the faucet and filter. You could have your current water tested to see if there are any detectable harmful pollutants in it. Do you have copper pipe or the newer flexible PEX type piping? If you have the PEX piping your water may still be unsafe to drink. Here is a quote from an on-line article on PEX:
"From what is known, preliminary findings show different PEX brands affect water quality differently, and even pipes that pass safety tests may contain enough contaminants to affect water’s taste and smell. In fact, there are over 70 PEX pipe brands on the market, and studies showed that some of those PEX pipes have over 150 contaminants.
One of the most recent studies conducted in 2021 and published by Science Direct tested water from eight different types of PEX pipe brands. They found that 62 chemicals leached into the water, with half of those organic compounds leached considered toxicological—basically, toxic—but not carcinogenic, or cancer-causing."
Your water filter may have been made from the same type of plastic as the PEX piping is. Plastic is nasty.
https://www.angi.com/articles/does-pex-piping-affect-drinking-water-quality.htm

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