Propecia and Dry Eyes

[icemann222]

I have been on Propecia for about 1.5 years and have had very good success, minus a few side effects

In May I started having trouble with my right eye which has recently been diagnosoed as blepharitis, which is a dysfunction of the oil glands in your eyelids. My question is does anyone have this same condition and has it ever been linked to propecia use?

The reason I ask is one common cause of this condition is hormonal change(mainly woman and menopause).

I'm also curious if anyone has had a side effect with another drug while using Propecia

 

[bubka]

thats a new one, never heard of it before here

 

[damnthis]

I also have the dry eyes, I have been on propecia with good results for one year and 10 months.
I also attribute it to my contact-lenses, if I have them in, my eyes become really really dry and red, without them it's okay but they are still dryer then they used to be. I also think it has something to do with the propecia.

Did you tell your doctor you used propecia, what did he say...
What did the suggest you do about it?

I have to take action to do something about i t because I cannot put my lenses in for a whole day anymore...

keep me posted

 

[damnthis]

I just googled it:

Blepharitis

By Gina White and Liz Segre;
reviewed by Dr. Michael DePaolis

Blepharitis refers to inflammation of the eyelids, particularly at the lid margins. It's a common disorder and may be associated with a low-grade bacterial infection or a generalized skin condition.

Blepharitis occurs in two forms: anterior blepharitis and posterior blepharitis. Anterior blepharitis affects the outside front of the eyelid where the eyelashes are attached. The two most common causes are bacteria and scalp dandruff.

Posterior blepharitis affects the inner eyelid and is caused by problems with the oil (meibomian) glands in the eyelid. Two skin disorders are the cause: acne rosacea and scalp dandruff.

Blepharitis Symptoms and Signs
Regardless of which type of blepharitis you have, you will probably have such symptoms as eye irritation, burning, tearing, foreign body sensation, crusty debris (in the lashes, in the corner of the eyes or on the lids), dryness, and red eyelid margins.

It is important to see an eye doctor and get treatment. If your blepharitis is bacterial, possible long-term effects are thickened lid margins, dilated and visible capillaries, trichiasis, eyelash loss, ectropion and entropion. The lower third of the cornea may exhibit significant erosion.

Blepharitis Treatment
Blepharitis can be difficult to manage because it tends to recur. Treatment depends on the type of blepharitis you have. It may include applying warm compresses to the eyelids, cleansing them, using an antibiotic and/or massaging the lids. If your blepharitis makes your eyes feel dry, the doctor may also prescribe artificial tears or lubricating ointments, or suggest silicone punctal plugs. Sometimes steroids are used to control inflammation, but the potential side effects speak against long-term use.

The warm compress portion of treatment is designed to loosen crusts on your eyes before you cleanse them; it can also warm up and loosen the plugs blocking the meibomian glands in meibomianitis. Wash your hands, then dampen a clean washcloth with warm water and place it over your closed eyes. When you first begin treatment, your doctor will probably suggest that you do this four times a day, for about five minutes each time. Later on, you might apply the compress once a day, for a few minutes. Your doctor will tell you the specific treatment needed for your eyes.

Cleansing the eyelids is essential to blepharitis treatment. Your doctor will recommend what to clean them with: warm water only, salt water, baby shampoo diluted with warm water or a special over-the-counter product specifically made for cleansing the lids. First wash your hands, then dip a clean washcloth, cotton swab or gauze pad into your cleaning solution. Gently wipe it across your lashes and lid margin. Rinse with cool water. Use a different washcloth, swab or pad for your other eye, and repeat the process. When you first begin treatment, your doctor may have you cleanse your lids several times a day. Later on, he or she will probably instruct you to cleanse them about once a day.

Antibiotic treatment is recommended only for certain types of blepharitis. Your doctor may prescribe either a topical antibiotic ointment or an oral antibiotic.

If you have meibomian gland dysfunction, your doctor will probably recommend massaging the lids to remove excess oil. He or she will show you the correct technique.

Recently, some authorities have suggested using flax oil supplements (omega-3 fatty acid), either by pill or by liquid, to stabilize the meibomian secretions associated with meibomian seborrheic blepharitis. Be sure to discuss any supplement use with your doctor.




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Your eyelids may be causing your dry, scratchy and irritated eyes. Learn more.

TheraTears Nutrition uses Omega-3 fatty acids to decrease inflammation and provide relief from blepharitis






Because blepharitis tends to be chronic, expect to keep up therapy for a prolonged period of time to keep it at bay. Depending on the type of blepharitis you have, if you wear contact lenses, your doctor may want you to discontinue wearing them during the treatment period and even beyond. Some patients who wear soft contact lenses are prescribed RGP contacts instead. Others are urged to replace their soft lenses more frequently because of the potential for excessive deposit buildup. Some people simply don't do well with contact lenses and will have to consider other options.

Not wearing eye makeup is also a good idea, since it can get in the way of eyelid hygiene and massage treatments. With some kinds of blepharitis it is recommended that you use an anti-dandruff shampoo for your scalp and eyebrows.

Some portions of this text were adapted from the article "Managing Lid Disease in Lens Wearers" by Joseph P. Shovlin, O.D. and Michael D. DePaolis, O.D., originally published in Review of Optometry in September 2002.

 

[icemann222]

My Eye Doctor wasn't really up to date on Propcia...Here is something I found on another site. I started looking into it because Dry Eyes can be caused by a medication and blepharitis is linked to hormonal changes in woman...I'm also a contact lens wearer and have been unable to wear a lens in my rt eye for 4 months now....and getting very frustrated.


Hi, I'm a new member. I've had dry eyes since 1993 from taking accutane. This medicine affects the meibomian (sebaceous)glands but not the lacrimal ones. I noticed around 1997 my eyes were extremely dry, almost unbearable. Since then they have regained some of their moisture. This can be a really uncomfortable condition. I'm interested in research showing that androgens like DHEA in eyedrop form can rejuvenate meibomian glands at least in rabbits. This came out of research that showed that anti-androgen medicines like Proscar and Propecia were drying out patients meibomian glands. I have only gone to the eye doctor once (11 years ago) for this condition because he told me it was just old age (I was 24 then). I know someone on another message board who says that DHEA is the best thing they tried and they tried everything. To get the drops I would have to go to the eye doctor and I just don't trust them. Right now I take Theratears maybe every hour on a bad day and sometimes not at all on a good day. Also, Amy, occular rosacea is a meibomian gland not lacrimal gland condition (at least that's what I read).

view post on HealthBoards.com9th March 2005
Calibug, they did experiments with DHEA eye drops in rabbits at Harvard. The eyedrops thinned out meibomian gland secretions and relieved evaporative dry eye. The experiments were short term, only two weeks long. They speculate longer term use could actually increase the quantity of secretions since the gland reacts very slowly to the hormones. DHEA eye drops are available by prescription but are extremely, extremely, pricey. They've also done the opposite, studied patients on finasteride, a DHT blocking compound. All of these patients, dozens, had mild to severe symptoms of dry eye after several months. The patients were on a very heavy dose of finasteride prescribed for prostate cancer patients. Allergan is expected to introduce an androgen compound for dry eyes in 2005 in Europe called Androgen Tears. Also, lack of androgen has been shown by researchers at USC, I think, to cause white blood cells to migrate to the lacrimal glands where they can cause inflammation. This leads to a disorder called Sojgren's Syndrome. Clearly male hormone deficiency is the key factor in many or most cases of dry eye. Currently 3/4 of dry eye sufferers are women (women have 1/3 less androgen), most are post-menopausal (androgen plummets after menopause), 70% of these had tried hormone replacement therapy. Of sufferers who are male most are older (androgen drops with age), or took medicine that blocked androgen like propecia, proscar, accutane, avodart. These findings only came about around 5 years ago so it takes awhile to get from the lab to the pharmacy.

 

[icemann222]

http://www.hairsite2.com/library/ar...rer you may want to look real hard at this...

 

[hairlossricky]

Well, I'll give this old thread a bump in case anyone else is dealing with this. Only a few weeks into using finasteride, I developed an eye infection, which would become a chalazion and ultimately require surgery to remove. A few months later I got a similar infection in another eye, which has now formed a chalazion and is unfortunately following the same path as the first. Meanwhile, I clearly have blepharitis in both eyes -- redness, swelling and tiny ulcers. It's not so much the feeling of having dry eyes that bothers me, but the infections and the resulting styes and chalazions that look awful, and sort of counter the aesthetic benefits of finally having hair again.

It pains me to stop the medication, because the results on my head have been great. I will see a doctor this week, but before I do, I will discontinue my daily 1 mg finasteride dosage, but continue on minos and nizoral.

 

[Armando Jose]

Possibly the lacrimal (aqueous tear producing) and meibomian (produce oil) glands in the eye are under androgen control.

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Jun;966:211-22.
[h=1]Androgen deficiency, Meibomian gland dysfunction, and evaporative dry eye.[/h]Sullivan DA1, Sullivan BD, Evans JE, Schirra F, Yamagami H, Liu M, Richards SM, Suzuki T, Schaumberg DA, Sullivan RM, Dana MR.
[h=3]Author information[/h]

[h=3]Abstract[/h][h=4]OBJECTIVE:[/h]We have recently discovered that women with primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome are androgen-deficient. We hypothesize that this hormone insufficiency contributes to the meibomian gland dysfunction, tear film instability, and evaporative dry eye that are characteristic of this autoimmune disorder. If our hypothesis is correct, we predict: (1) that androgens regulate meibomian gland function, control the quality and/or quantity of lipids produced by this tissue, and promote the formation of the tear film's lipid layer; and (2) that androgen deficiency, due to an attenuation in androgen synthesis (e.g., during Sjögren's syndrome, menopause, aging, complete androgen-insensitivity syndrome [CAIS] and anti-androgen use), will lead to meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye. The following studies were designed to test these predictions.
[h=4]METHODS:[/h]Experimental procedures included clinical studies, animal models, and histological, biochemical, molecular biological, and biomedical engineering techniques.
[h=4]RESULTS:[/h]Our results demonstrate that: (1) androgens regulate the meibomian gland. This tissue contains androgen receptor mRNA, androgen receptor protein within acinar epithelial cell nuclei, and Types 1 and 2 5alpha-reductase mRNAs. Moreover, androgens appear to modulate lipid production and gene expression in mouse and/or rabbit meibomian glands; and (2) androgen deficiency may lead to meibomian gland dysfunction, altered lipid profiles in meibomian gland secretions, tear film instability, and evaporative dry eye. Thus, we have found that anti-androgen therapy in men is associated with meibomian gland disease, a decreased tear film breakup time, and functional dry eye. Furthermore, we have discovered that androgen receptor dysfunction in women with CAIS is associated with meibomian gland changes and a significant increase in the signs and symptoms of dry eye. Of interest, we have also found that androgen deficiency is associated with significant and striking alterations in the neutral and polar lipid patterns of human meibomian gland secretions.
[h=4]CONCLUSIONS:[/h]Our findings show that the meibomian gland is an androgen target organ and that androgen deficiency may promote meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye. Overall, these results support our hypothesis that androgen deficiency may be an important etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of evaporative dry eye in women with Sjögren's syndrome.

 

[happychineseboy]

All this time I thought I had dry eyes because I wore cheap contacts

 

[Donny J]

it appears that this is entirely possible. see the following [reputable] source:
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/full/10.1210/jcem.85.12.7072

i can also say that i've had eye problems, presumably at this point due to finasteride.

 

[Fena2000]

Possibly the lacrimal (aqueous tear producing) and meibomian (produce oil) glands in the eye are under androgen control.

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Jun;966:211-22.
Androgen deficiency, Meibomian gland dysfunction, and evaporative dry eye.

Sullivan DA1, Sullivan BD, Evans JE, Schirra F, Yamagami H, Liu M, Richards SM, Suzuki T, Schaumberg DA, Sullivan RM, Dana MR.
Author information



Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

We have recently discovered that women with primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome are androgen-deficient. We hypothesize that this hormone insufficiency contributes to the meibomian gland dysfunction, tear film instability, and evaporative dry eye that are characteristic of this autoimmune disorder. If our hypothesis is correct, we predict: (1) that androgens regulate meibomian gland function, control the quality and/or quantity of lipids produced by this tissue, and promote the formation of the tear film's lipid layer; and (2) that androgen deficiency, due to an attenuation in androgen synthesis (e.g., during Sjögren's syndrome, menopause, aging, complete androgen-insensitivity syndrome [CAIS] and anti-androgen use), will lead to meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye. The following studies were designed to test these predictions.
METHODS:

Experimental procedures included clinical studies, animal models, and histological, biochemical, molecular biological, and biomedical engineering techniques.
RESULTS:

Our results demonstrate that: (1) androgens regulate the meibomian gland. This tissue contains androgen receptor mRNA, androgen receptor protein within acinar epithelial cell nuclei, and Types 1 and 2 5alpha-reductase mRNAs. Moreover, androgens appear to modulate lipid production and gene expression in mouse and/or rabbit meibomian glands; and (2) androgen deficiency may lead to meibomian gland dysfunction, altered lipid profiles in meibomian gland secretions, tear film instability, and evaporative dry eye. Thus, we have found that anti-androgen therapy in men is associated with meibomian gland disease, a decreased tear film breakup time, and functional dry eye. Furthermore, we have discovered that androgen receptor dysfunction in women with CAIS is associated with meibomian gland changes and a significant increase in the signs and symptoms of dry eye. Of interest, we have also found that androgen deficiency is associated with significant and striking alterations in the neutral and polar lipid patterns of human meibomian gland secretions.
CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings show that the meibomian gland is an androgen target organ and that androgen deficiency may promote meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye. Overall, these results support our hypothesis that androgen deficiency may be an important etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of evaporative dry eye in women with Sjögren's syndrome.

I have dry eye and blepharitis, but I'm really confused it says it's caused by androgen deficiency. I've had it before I started with yasmine(androgen blocker), so how can I have Androgenetic Alopecia if I'm androgen deficient?