SHORT VERSION: I plan to wear an adhesive eye patch over my right eye for an extended period, maybe several weeks, or even longer. I am quite nearsighted, but my eyes see equally. Will patching up a structurally sound eye cause it go lazy or become any weaker? Should I take the patch off for a certain number of hours each day, perhaps a few before bed, to keep the patched eye working at least a little? Or, would this be no different than wearing it continuously?

LONG VERSION: When she was younger, my mother experienced moderare to severe intermittent swelling in her right eyelid, with lesser swelling in her left eyelid. Usually, she would have a few episodes per year, each lasting a few days. In her mid-teens, the episodes began to last slighly longer, but became less frequent as she aged. Now, an episode occurs about every five years. She has no known allergies, and is healthy save for a heart condition. The fact that she wears eye make-up daily doesn’t seem to aggrivate the condition. Her vision is perfect.

Moving on, I also had these episodes as a child, but they have continued into my twenties. As a child, I experienced a few episodes a year of moderate to severe swelling in my right eyelid, with some swelling in my left. These were accompanied by a bumpy, reddish rash that felt somewhat itchy and left a "slapped face" impression when touched. The condition was quite disfiguring. It was diagnosed as Fifth Disease each year, until it became apparent that I couldn’t have had Fifth Disease that many times in a row. Luckily, episodes only lasted a few days, and more or less spontaneously resolved. Vision wasn’t affected, other than the fact that I couldn’t open my right eye more than half way. Allergy testing later revealed an allergy to mold, though this didn’t seem to explain symptoms too well.

Episodes became less frequent as I became a young teen, occuring once maybe every few years. I had become nearsighted, so I began to wear contacts. Also, I started taking birth control. Later, at the age of 17, I began taking Seroquel as well. That is also around the time I started wearing eye make-up. By the age of 19, I started having episodes more frequently. No rash was associated with symptoms anymore, other than tiny bumps on the right eye and a slight pinkness. However, the sclera (sp? the white part of the eye) would become red during episodes at times, causing it to resemble pink eye. Doctors suggested allergies to sunscreen, and eventually, even to the sun itself! I stopped using sunscreen and tried to avoid the sun. Starting January of 2008, my right eye would swell daily, and take about 3 or 4 hours to return to normal. I slept on my bathroom floor for months for fear of carpet mold, and changed make-up brands.

That summer, which was the summer of 2008, swelling became constant for two weeks. I tried cold cucumbers, cold spoons, sleeping on my left side, sleeping on linoleum, going to bed earlier, changing eye contacts more frequently, buying a new bed, staying at other people’s houses for days at a time, ceasing to wear any make-up at all, washing pillows and blankets frequently, washing face frequently, sleeping outside, sleeping on only a bed frame without pillows or blankets, sleeping sitting up, sleeping on back, sleeping on an ice pack, drinking large amounts of water, using no personal products (including shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, etc) other than soap, showering 4 times per day, sanitizing the room I slept in, leaving windows open, leaving windows closed, and just about every other DIY allergy remedy. These are just the things I remember off the top of my head; I know there’s much more that I did to try to stop the problem. I even tried an elimination diet that left me having nothing but apples, bananas, and water for 3 days. Nothing seemed to have any effect at all. I don’t smoke or have pets, so I have no idea what I would be so allergic to.

I saw an eye doctor, an edocrinologist, and many general practitioners. I tried Zyrtec, Claritin, Benadryl, NSAIDs such as Tylenol, Patanol eyedrops, oral antibiotics, SteriLid Eyelid cleanser, topical corticosteriod cream (Cortaid) and oral hydroxyzine. I had traveled to the Southwestern U.S. desert, where mold should be rare, but symptoms persisted just as in the midwest. Finally, after two weeks of constant symptoms, I made the swelling go down using an OTC herbal diuretic. This continued to work for a whole year, but only as long as I took diuretics daily. The endocrinologist I saw that summer diagnosed me with hypothyroidism after some blood tests. You can probably see how this suggests that water retention in the eyelid may be related to a slowing metabolic rate. I began thyroid replacement therapy in this past January, though the symptoms would come back as soon as I stopped the diuretics. I changed brands twice, but I still needed to take two at night, at least.

This continued until about two and a half weeks ago. I woke up o
You know what, I’m not even going to bother to type the rest out. Just read the short version. Basically, I feel I need an eye patch to cover disfiguring, unexplained, persistent swelling.

Also, Lourdes: if you had removed your head from your rectal cavity long enough to even skim my post, you would have realized that I not only saw my doctor about the problem, but also about half a dozen other doctors, including an eye doctor and another specialist.

But, thank you to David E. for giving a serious answer. Your response is obviously the best so far, and I appreciate it.

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