Itchy Eyes

[Alohastar]

Can itchy eyes be related to gluten intake? My opthomologist said that he sees several ulcerative colitis cases with horrible eye problems and I'm wondering if wheat intake can cause itchy eyes because it happens to me every time I eat gluten. And then I'm wondering how on earth WHY? What's the GI got to do with the eye, unless it's allergic???

I haven't been diagnosed yet, but I'm wondering.

[TriticusToxicum]

I don't have an answer for you, but my in my own experience my eyes are better since going gluten-free. I used to have an almost constant feeling that there was something in my eye, but there never was. My eyes felt kind of bumpy under their lids. Since gluten-free I'm only bothered by my seasonal allergies.

[CarlaB]

Be sure you drink enough water. I get dehydrated when I eat gluten and dehydration can cause your eyes to dry out and be itchy.

[chewymom]

I don't have an answer for you, but my in my own experience my eyes are better since going gluten-free. I used to have an almost constant feeling that there was something in my eye, but there never was. My eyes felt kind of bumpy under their lids. Since gluten-free I'm only bothered by my seasonal allergies.

That sounds EXACTLY like me! I've quit wearing makeup--I thought I had developed a makeup allergy. But now I'm wondering...my problems w/ my eyes feeling goopy and grainy a lot, itching all the time, and occasionally looking like I have pink eye all started around the same time as my tummy issues, although that never dawned on me til just now. Hmmmm....

[Alohastar]

Yep, you all describe what I have with the eyes. My eye doctor said it was conjuctivitis due to contact lens wear and/or some dirt I got under my eyelid, but I discovered differently. It took 1.5 years for 'me' to diagnose correctly, but it was related each time I ate wheat. Before I found out, I initially started avoiding mascara, then eye makeup, then all face makeup, and then all contact lens for a year. Then my eyes would get itchy with wheat. I prayed to God to help me with the painful bumpy feeling under my eyelid. I can't believe avoiding wheat solves the problem and eating wheat brings it back. God answered my quest for an answer. Isn't that incredible?

Be sure you drink enough water. I get dehydrated when I eat gluten and dehydration can cause your eyes to dry out and be itchy.

[JenKuz]

Yep, you all describe what I have with the eyes. My eye doctor said it was conjuctivitis due to contact lens wear and/or some dirt I got under my eyelid, but I discovered differently. It took 1.5 years for 'me' to diagnose correctly, but it was related each time I ate wheat. Before I found out, I initially started avoiding mascara, then eye makeup, then all face makeup, and then all contact lens for a year. Then my eyes would get itchy with wheat. I prayed to God to help me with the painful bumpy feeling under my eyelid. I can't believe avoiding wheat solves the problem and eating wheat brings it back. God answered my quest for an answer. Isn't that incredible?

I just found myself looking at the ingredients label on my contact lens solution, wondering if any of the lubricants or perservatives are made with wheat products. Then I found this thread. I have terrible eye problems if I use certain solutions. Others are fine. I'm about to search the ingredients to see if any are wheat based....so if anyone can point me to a good list of cosmetics and pharmaceutical ingredients and whether they are gluten free, that would be awesome.

[MrBob]

Can itchy eyes be related to gluten intake? My opthomologist said that he sees several ulcerative colitis cases with horrible eye problems and I'm wondering if wheat intake can cause itchy eyes because it happens to me every time I eat gluten. And then I'm wondering how on earth WHY? What's the GI got to do with the eye, unless it's allergic???

I haven't been diagnosed yet, but I'm wondering.

I started having problems with my right eye in 2002. It would occasionally wake me up at 3-4AM burning & scratchy. It felt like someone had just put a match out in my eye & rubbed some sand in it, too. It would tear excessively for at least 30 minutes. This would happen during the day 1-2x/year. Daytime flares were much worse, as they lasted longer & included light sensitivity. This year, it started happening so often that I slept with a band-aid on that eye, thinking I was sleeping with it open. It helped a bit, but not enough to really tell a difference. My opthomologist suggested scrubbing the eyelids with baby shampoo in case it was developing blepharitis. Again, it helped a bit but not much at all. Daytime flares became more frequent, too. One was very bad in early October. My eye became super-sensitive to light & swelled shut - luckily, I made it home from work. Since early this year, I've had a small red bump on my lower right eyelid. It looked like a pimple with no whitehead. I also had the feeling that something was in it very often & could never find anything. The foreign-body-in-the-eye feeling sometimes came from the rear of my eye.

Leading up to my endoscopy at the end of October, I made sure I was eating wheat products at every meal. My eye was progressively getting worse. Although I'd just had a daytime flare in early October, I could tell I was headed for another.

I started the gluten free diet on 10/24. By 10/28, I noticed that my eye was no longer bothering me, not even first thing in the morning. The little red bump also vanished. Since then, I've twice gotten glutened when I ate lunch out (same meal at the same restaurant both times). The next morning my eye was very scratchy. The following morning it flared. After the flare, it returned to normal by lunchtime. The reaction was the same both times.

So, yes, your eyes may be affected!