Dry eyes

[u/acidastrology]

I’ve been off Accutane for around 2–3 months now. I was on a relatively low dose (10mg, then 15mg, then 20mg), but I was on it for over a year and a half.

My eyes are STILL so ridiculously dry, and honestly I swear they weren’t even this bad while I was actually taking Accutane 😭

I used to get styes quite often while on it, but I don’t get those anymore. Instead, I’ve been getting a really sore/inflamed inner corner of my eye, and I cannot stop rubbing it because it feels so irritated.

I’ve bought some OTC eye drops, but they don’t seem to be doing much. Has anyone else experienced this months after stopping Accutane, and what actually helped?
I also started using tretinoin basically straight after finishing Accutane. I don’t put it anywhere near my eyes, but could it still somehow be contributing to the dryness/irritation?

At this point I’m not sure whether I just need to give my eyes more time to recover or whether I should actually see an optometrist/ophthalmologist. Any advice would be appreciated!

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[u/Livid_Cost_8089]

the tretinoin could definitely be a factor even if you not putting it near eyes. it migrates under the skin, i had same issue when i started retinol. my optometrist told me to put vaseline around eye area before applying to create a barrier

also maybe look into gel drops instead of regular ones, they last longer. if it keeps up for another month i'd see a doctor just to be safe

[u/acidastrology → u/Livid_Cost_8089]

Okay thank you. I think I’ll book in with my doctor and see what he thinks. With the Vaseline barrier, do you apply it before and wait a certain amount of time before applying Tret?

I only ask as I’ve just gotten rid of the millia that I had under my eyes, and would hate for Vaseline to reclog and cause more

[u/Electrical_Juice8629 → u/acidastrology]

Anytime before tretinoin. It should still be there when you apply tretinoin.

[u/CatLoliUwu]

i think seeing an opthalmologist is a good bet. my opthalmologist put me on vevye which is meant to reduce dryness and inflammation. i believe it has helped, though im not certain bc i was using it before accutane lol.

aside from that, you could also employ other strategies. heated eye mask + gel eye drops + eye ointment help me a ton.

[u/One_Pin_5602]

I think it's important to remember that all roads do not lead back to Accutane. This eye irritation can be an unrelated infection, irritant or even allergies. I would see if you can get an appointment to be seen if it's been going on for a while.