Ask your doctor about this pain relief for recurrent corneal erosion: cycloplegic eye drops
As you know the pain of a bad erosion is horrific, and most sufferers are just told to take over the counter painkillers. But this won’t help you during the worst bit when the erosion first hits, because medicine taken by mouth take some time to kick in. The other main option is to have a bandage contact lens (BCL) inserted – some people find this can provide instant relief. This does not work for all of us and is obviously no use if we are already wearing a BCL.
Of course, what we all crave when the pain is at its height are the anaesthetic drops but there are good reasons why we can’t take these home. For one, they are thought to prevent the cornea from healing.
But there is another option which seems to be rarely prescribed for home use: cyclopegic eye drops. These work in a different way, they paralyse the iris temporarily, keeping it still and stopping it from going into the spasms which make the pain worse. Some erosion sufferers say they have been given a supply to take home for their own use, and that they definitely help.
Of course, like anything with recurrent corneal erosion syndrome there are mixed reviews, other sufferers say they tried using these drops at home and they did nothing. But if you haven’t tried this type of pain relief – it is worth an ask.