Mucous Fishing Syndrome

[calli66]

Quite an animated description!

Yes, mucous strings are VERY irritating and sometimes hard to drag out.

I don't think they're contagious or primarily caused by bacteria, though. But if you dig around too much in your eyes with your fingers, you may get an infection. The strings persist because of dry eye inflammatory conditions. As to why some people have more than others, or what causes them, I don't know.

C

[booboohead]

>>Someone hear posted that silica worked for clearing this awful eye gunk !
I was trying to recall why i did not have the issue for a few months ... this was a few yrs back... and I have had this on-going annoyance of a problem for about 25 years ! Well,,, I recall now that a few yrs back, I was taking horsetail extract for my hair.. which is none other than.. you guessed it.. Silica ! so, i am willing to give that a try again.
I currently use Opcon A and Similisan allergy and pink eye drops. I dont like the Opcon A because it enlarges my pupils and the light then bothers me.
>>>Some of you here have made me laugh so hard in reading your posts !! thanks for that ! <<<
I truly thought I was some weirdo alien being with this problem as I know of no one else who has it...especially as bad as me. I even have a callus on my pinky finger from the constant fishing !!! I do recall my father used to 'fish' stringy stuff out of his eyes when i was a teen though... so may be genetics too here.
I also have a lot of mucus in general... always clearing my throat, etc. I remember this eye thing getting worse when I was almost 20. Before that I did have issues with cats and my eyes getting really bad after touching them. I also remember having pink eye alot as a kid. I can not wear contact lenses anymore. You do get addicted to the fishing and it is really bothersome and I try not to do it around other people but its difficult. It does get worse for me when I start fishing too much. I am worried that I will ruin my eyes if i keep touching them so much. I try and use tissues like others here mention. I find when i am pre-occupied, it does not happen as much or maybe it just does not bother me as much as i am thinking of something else and not fishing. And, nervousness and stress make it worse as well for me. too much dairy really induces flare ups for me. I am worse when it is allergy time for me.. which is late summer/autumn. Started yrs ago in left eye and now both eyes are bothered by it.
I have recently discovered Systemic Enzymes and I am hoping they may help this as well as other issues. Citrus Bioflavanoids might help too.
I am female. 46 yrs old for the record.
Good Luck to us all in finding the cure !

[EyeFace]

Hi All,

Wow - I am very happy to find this forum and this thread. I won't say 'relieved' because I don't see any cures, but it's nice to know that there are people out there with the exact same symptoms.

Just to add to our little 'database' of a thread here, I have Eczema, fairly badly actually. I can keep it under control for the most part with use of corticosteroid creams, but it flares now and then, I'm 33 yo, and have had this (on this scale) for about 12 years or so (before that was just on a finger now & then). Unfortunately I worry that this may well be a life long affliction

About 4-5 years ago now I started getting this 'stringy discharge' in my eyes as well. It started off infrequently (I remember the first time I saw that 'string' come out - it was shocking), but now days I get it at least once or twice a day, and some days it's non stop. I use my finger or a tissue to get them out. It varies in size, but sometimse I get REALLLLY big chunks, that surprise me that they could have even fit under my eyelid. As someone else described, in a sickening way it almost becomes a 'game', and the more/better you can get out in one go, the more success! The problem is once I get it out, the split-second feeling of 'success' is short lived as the irritation seems to just come back with a vengeance. I *HATE IT* with a passion. Sometimes it blurs my vision too. And occasionally the 'strings' actually feel scratchy and hard, like i can feel the line of the string irritating my eye.

Can I ask - does anyone pull down their bottom eyelid to see if they can see any 'floaters'/lines of string on their bottom eyelid? Or even their top eyelid? and occasionally even go for it ON that surface?? i find myself doing this too often

Also, if I don't see any, I'll often rub my eye. Eg I'll close my eye, put my fingers over the top and rub by sort of moving the eyelids around ontop of the eye, this usually reveals some 'leads'. Does anyone else do that?

My biggest concern is that we're going to eventually do permanent damaage to our eyes by touching them so regularly - can anyone confirm if this is indeed the case??

I saw an eye doctor about 5 years ago, they told me they were aware of the 'fishing' behaviour and said 'dont do it', and they suggested lubricant eye drops. Fast forward 4 years and I saw an eye specialist. They basically said that it's ALLERGIES that cause this condition. (Based on my Eczema that seems like a very likely diagnosis. But disappointing because I'm unsure there's any cure). She said to use lubricant eye drops (they specified that 'PRESERVATIVE FREE' are the best, which are usually in the 'single use containers' - more expensive, btu less damaging), and they also said to use anti-histamine eyedrops too. The problem is I don't think either of them work. The anti-histamine eyedrops seem to work well for 1-2 hours, but in the long run it seems that I actually get MORE discharge (ie later on they seem more irritated), and with the lubricant eye drops I'm forever wondering if the drops themselves are just biulding up and causing/contributing/making more of this eye discharge???

Also a point of interest, the eye doctor(s) I've been to have both said to be very careful about what you use in your eyes, they inform me that 'clear eye' type drops (the ones that focus on making your eyes clear and not red) have vast amounts of chemicals in them, and likened it to putting toilet cleaner in your eyes - they said it is very dangerous.

Due to my Eczema, I use moisturiser every day, as well as a corticosteroid cream, so I also sometimse wonder if these 'get into my eyes' and then come out again as discharge.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to add my story. It's great to have this thread here, but I'm a little disappointed we don't all have a solution. Will this be a lifelong affliction? Will we be blinded by this one day?

EyeFace

[bluepastry]

i am of sick or reading stupid quotes from md's who have no clue.
supportive physician now days in USA? lol, greedy physician yes, caring? no such thing

i ahve had eye mucus for 17 months, truth is these moronic mds have no clue. i had eye surgery and my right eye is disfigured. I think 99% of eye mds are scam artist greedy elitist morons. They just say, i am a doctor u r not so i am right. even though they are selfless, scumbags.)

[bob1]

HI i have this problem also.what can I do to help myself I use i drops but they dont help.i always feel like i have the mucus in my eye all day long.the eye doc really didnt seem to care about it but as we all know its a big problem.i dont wear glasses or contacts.this really is a big problem for me I need help.someone please help me what can I do?the more i put my finger in my eye the more it bothers me but i cant stop for some reason.what eyedrops should i get?what will help.

[bluepastry]

yeah, listen to these morons...dont clean your eyees, let it be sticky and fill up with mucus and be blurry

these people have worthless advice, they wanna pretend they know the answers and the reality is that they do not. I have aged in my eyes by 30 years since this happened to me. It has made me seen how inept eye doctors really are.

the answer is not in eye drops, i have tried them all. i am convinced it is caused by a toxin. I will probably try a juice fast next. i have had this now for 2 1/2 years , since i got something in my eyes.

these doctors that call it boring do not wanna admit that they are too inept to know what it is and that damages their MD egos. I have lost tens of thousands of dollars because of this illness and the truth is no one really cares. My MD performed worthless surgery, took the money and then when he realized all he did was damage my eyes more. he told me i would have to pay $80 a visit for him to tell me nothing and do nothing.

Dear Sydneysider,

Welcome to Dry Eye Talk. I hope you don't mind I moved your post here to Open Forum so that more people with experience of mucous fishing syndrome will see it. (It was posted at the end of a long thread about MGD in one of the treatment archive forums.)

I wish I knew what to say. Clearly you're going through a really rough time with this. One of my first thoughts reading it was that you may need a more supportive physician to help you through this. It almost sounds like two separate issues... dealing with what's causing the excess mucous, and dealing with the fishing habit. For the latter, I wonder if... it won't sound practical but just thinking aloud... wearing some wraparound eyewear like some of us have for dry eye would be a help, by just kind of making you stop and think more before touching your eyes.

Incidentally I touch my eyes too much too - dates back to my old soft contact lens days where I used to get a lot of 'gunk' in my eyes.

[greg1]

I share your pain. Eye mucus is one of the most upsetting problems in my life. Actually, at #1 would be the fear of having bad breath. In both cases symptoms are only sometimes there but they are always a problem. Thank God I was able to replace my natural teeth (unrelated to the bad breath). The list doesn't end there but I don't want to get too far off topic.

The best news I can offer is that, in my case, Gingko Biloba is of help. When I have an important social contact, I want confidence that I won't have eye mucus. I find a 500-2000mg dose, taken 30-60 min prior to the engagement, to be effective. It's pretty reliable and the effect lasts a couple of hours. It's interesting that if I try to repeat it within 5-6 hours, it doesn't seem to work. The belief is that gingko can improve peripheral circulation. Particularly if it applies to both blood capillaries and lymph capillaries, maybe we can start to see why.

I'll have some other things to say but that's it for now.

[fishing]

The best news I can offer is that, in my case, Gingko Biloba is of help. When I have an important social contact, I want confidence that I won't have eye mucus. I find a 500-2000mg dose, taken 30-60 min prior to the engagement, to be effective. It's pretty reliable and the effect lasts a couple of hours. It's interesting that if I try to repeat it within 5-6 hours, it doesn't seem to work. The belief is that gingko can improve peripheral circulation. Particularly if it applies to both blood capillaries and lymph capillaries, maybe we can start to see why.

Cool, I might give it a try. Where do you buy it?

[fishing]

Well I bought ginkgo biloba 2000 (brand: Healthy Care Australia) and have tried 3 tablets so far and it hasn't had any affect on the mucus levels. They're still coming out like usual. This medicine is supposed to improve your memory and concentration so I hope it works for that at the very least. Not surprised that it wouldn't cure MFS. :-S