Allergic to my sweat

Kinda sorta. Not only has my facial acne come back with a vengeance after all of 3 fairly short bike rides (even though I rinse my face as soon as I'm done), but my eyes are driving me nuts again.

Basically, running or biking in contacts - doing anything that makes me sweat - will cause giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC = little bumps on the underside of my eyelids) and my eye doctor has pretty much given up. I use Zaditor drops which help a little, I can't take prednisolone drops any more, and my vision is bad enough that trail running with glasses is pretty hazardous (plus I can't get prescription sunglasses). My eyes itch like crazy and they're bloodshot and I can only tolerate contacts for exercise.

Anyone have any home remedies? Tips? Experimental eye surgery trials that need guinea pigs? I've put up with this for 4 years and there is no end in sight.

No suggestions, but some thoughts:

Is your eye doctor an ophthalmologist? Have you consulted an allergist? Are you sure it's sweat itself that's causing the problem, rather than some airborne skin-deposited allergen that your sweat carries into your eyes?

Hope you get it sorted. That sounds awful. :(

I get eczema above my eyelids if I don't wear some sort of wicking hat or Buff or similar when I run or bike (under my helmet). I, too, am allergic to my own sweat. Forget sunblock above my eyes, too...that crap BURNS in my eyes.

For the itchy and bloodshot, try some artificial tears from the pharmacy. Alcon makes a good one with lubrication in it. That really helps. As for the GPC, have you done warm compresses yet? You are probably getting salt plugging up your glands in your eyes that produce oil. It's likely that's why you are getting such itchy red eyes after you work out; that oil is what keeps your tears on your cornea and elsewhere, without those glands working properly, your eyes get VERY irritated. I notice this as I have begun riding more outside. Those little salt granules on your face after sweating hard cause eye problems sometimes. Take a washcloth and put it in relatively warm water, don't burn yourself but make it as warm as you can. Leave it on for 5 minutes per eye and see if that doesn't help with the itchy, nasty eye feeling.

Sheila I guess I should've posted this question before my deductible re-set 3 weeks ago :) Good suggestions though. I dread doctors but I've reached a breaking point here. Guess I'll try to make some appointments tomorrow.

WindingRoad, that sounds like it's pretty much it. Even on short runs you can scrape salt off of my face - I think it adheres to my contacts and irritates everything in my eyes. It will eventually burn my cheeks, too. The Zaditor helps with the red but not the bumps and I always wake up with very crusty eyes. I've noticed that the compresses help but then I don't want to take them off! I do keep getting a prescription for some sort of drops that I've never used because no insurance seems to cover it...I wish someone would magically find some samples for me to try to see if $100/month is worth it :eek:

Would it help to pour water over your face periodically to rinse away the salt before it forms granules and irritates you?

I worked with a guy who had trouble with salt granules forming when he rode, and that's what he'd do.

I would try a Sweat Gutter or similar product but make sure the gutter "empties" behind your ears not in front of the ear. I use Halo headbands and caps, but find the rubber strip a little too short and the sweat drips on the side of my face.

Also +1 about checking your hair products. Recently I started to get a number of painful pimples with blind heads on my temples and hair line. Started to think about it and realised I had started to use a new shampoo/conditioner. Changed shampoos, no new pimples, started back, pimples returned. So I think sweat mixed with the shampoo did irritate my skin.

How much dietary salt are you getting? Sweat seems to be my body's first way of getting rid of excess salt... I do often dance on the edge of hyponatremia, but if my sweat tastes even a little bit salty I feel okay. I don't get crusty unless I go over three hours or so on a hot day.

It would seem to me that excessively salty tears (which I also get when I'm ingesting too much salt) wouldn't help your issues either - but I don't really know anything about that.

That might be part of the issue too. I increased my salt intake to counter lower blood pressure (it's normal atm) but I still always border on hyponatremia on longer runs. It's like I sweat all the salt out right away, but then continue to lose water. However, running 3-5 miles at a time, I'm probably fine to lower the salt a bit.

I like to rinse my face when it's warmer but it has to be over 70 for me to be ok with that :) Now I just rinse it at the end of a run.

Thanks!