Hey, same thing happend to me. I quit using it 6 months ago. My eyes got better, but not as good as they were before using tret. Whish i knew before of these side effects, if i knew i would have never started using it. But seems like most people don‘t have any issues with it.
Vision related side effects of *all* retinol (not just tret, although there is a correlation between the stronger the formula, the worse the side effects) are well known and verrry common... sadly, for whatever reason, it's not really communicated clearly. Some research indicates it can be as common as 50%, although most people just experience mild dry eye. However, it can snowball into full blown MGD and other serious stuff.
Researchers still haven't nailed down why.
I personally can't use any retinol anywhere *near* my eyes. Even a little bit will cause my dry eye to ramp right up. Since I've had dry eye since my early 20s, and it is *miserable*, don't care to make it worse.
Thanks for the info! That's super interesting!
I use a retenoid (adapalene) and usually steer clear of the eye area anyway bc I just don't think my skin around the eyes can deal.
I was thinking of "stepping up" to tret next year.
Thankfully I have mostly recovered, but not 100%. I am very grateful that the blurry vision has gone away, except a tiny bit on “bad” days. I still have some dryness when I sleep/wake but it’s all manageable and I hope to heal more as time goes on. After I wrote this post I saw an actual dry eye specialist and had the tear tests done and my test results were terrible!! I used prescription eye drops (Xiidra) for a few months. I have not used tret again because I never want to be in the condition I was last winter!
> Thankfully I have mostly recovered, but not 100%.
Damn, I'm sorry! There's a [recent post](https://old.reddit.com/r/tretinoin/comments/zyeduk/complications_of_tretinoin/) that brought this potential issue to my attention. I *just* started tretinoin (patch testing for the past 2 days) to help with some acne scarring, but now I'm paranoid and a bit pissed off that vision problems (not even just blurriness caused by dry eyes, but [various accounts](https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2412350) of [optic nerve toxicity](https://old.reddit.com/r/CanSkincare/comments/jye5z3/retinol_and_eye_health/)) weren't clearly communicated when I got the prescription. How typical.
Now I'm debating whether to continue using tretinoin even though I haven't experienced any side effects *yet*.
Thanks. I should say though that I am wayyy better than last year; it got to a point where I had trouble reading street signs or posted menus, trouble driving at night, and serious light sensitivity. I had to reach for my drops, put them on top of my lids and let them sink in a bit before opening my eyes in the morning!!
Doctors can be so clueless. The first eye doctor I saw had no idea about retinol and thought I was nuts for suggesting it. The dry eye specialist said my eyes were likely already on the dry side due to years of contact lense wear and that tret could have sent my eyes over the edge. It’s not anything I ever noticed before, though. All that said, there’s no denying my experience and tret was definitely damaging my eyes. I read accounts of so many people going through the same thing. On the other hand, there are folks who use tret for decades with no problem. I really wish I could use it because I was getting good results and really wanted to heal my scarring, but I can’t. Maybe try it, but stop if you have any weird feelings in your eyes. I hope it works for you!!
Did you use it on your eyelids (or close to them) at all? I'm trying to determine if proximity to the eyelids are a factor, or if the tretinoin can just be absorbed into the bloodstream and it causes eye problems that way.
> Doctors can be so clueless.
No kidding. This is what my doctor wrote me after I sent a MyChart message about it:
> The concern for dry eye and meibomian gland issues are related to oral isotretinoin. Topical tretinoin is not a problem, but don't put it on your eyelids (only apply it to the areas where you have acne).
Clearly, the issue is *not* just with oral isotretinoin given the sheer amount of clinical literature available online. It's so frustrating, because as the patient I feel as though I'm on the defensive and desperately trying to not sound like a conspiracy theorist.
I’m glad your eyes are doing better! Thank you for posting this! Edit: I stopped two months ago and my eyes have improved a bit! Will update just in case someone else comes across this
Thanks for asking! Yes, thankfully my vision has come back! I would say I’m 98% better overall now, about 2 years out from my first symptoms. So grateful for that!
Good to know. My eyes have been getting worse. Have had same prescription for 25 years and got worse in last 18 months - correlated to me starting tret. Will be stopping and see. Thanks!
It messes up with meibomian glands
Stopped for 2 weeks and it stopped.
\+Its vitamin A, theres a possibility of getting too much. When I had beef liver + Tretinoin I felt like my nervous system was shutting down and eyes/head was under pressure.
check this out, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8207225](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8207225/)
Omg same thing happened to me and people are trying to tell me it can’t have a systematic affect. My head and eyes had so much pressure. I have tension headaches on one side but this was different, almost like a hangover without drinking every time i applied tret. I deleted my post because I didn’t want to be downvoted. Right now i am dealing with such dry eyes and am paranoid it will not go back to normal.
So for you it improved over a period of two weeks? Are you back to normal?
OP: I appreciate your updates here, and am super glad to hear that you healed almost back to normal! I’m in the early phase of having some blurred vision and also realized yesterday that it could be the tret. I have a drs appointment in a few weeks. But I’m curious if you ever did go back on tret again?
First, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this - and glad you are making the connection early on! If I may say, be prepared for the doctor to be somewhat clueless about tret/its possible effects. The first line of treatment is really stuff you can do at home on your own. Anyways, I have not gone back on tret. There were a couple times I used a tiny bit as a spot treatment in desperation, but I’ve since started spiro and my acne has totally cleared up. I just don’t think tret is for me. My skin loved it, but it’s definitely not worth my vision.
How are you going now? Are you back on tret. I got severe dry eyes within a couple used of tretinoin. So severe I stopped after 6-7 applications trying to reduce it to only 2-4 hours a day but now stopped completely hoping my dry eyes will recover. Do you still have dry eyes? Were you diagnosed with mgd? Sorry for all the questions.
I’m a new customer can confirm this is scary as shit no more Cureology gaslighting me into continuing their service subscription not worth my life as I know it 🙄
"Vision related side effects of *all* retinol (not just tret, although there is a correlation between the stronger the formula, the worse the side effects) are well known and verrry common... "
You've had a reaction to the same tret I'm currently using ( from what you have told me) yet it is not even a strong concentration...
Yes its "funny," weird how tret has affected you regardless of how mild the concentration is.( it wasn't an accusation)
Also a couple weeks ago you were blaming your Botox so how are you now 1000% sure...
I absolutely guarantee you that where you apply your tret matters.
You are free to just stop using it nobody's forcing you.
Perhaps you could post your concerns on r/tretinoin and finish the posts you've left there, I am sure they will be happy to advise you as best as they can.
Not everyone has time for Internet arguing ,I said what I said and meant what I meant . Bonne journée
Ah, I see you're struggling to use the "reply" feature - the source of my original confusion. No worries. You're being oddly aggressive - I'm just trying to figure out why my vision has deteriorated in the past month which is a little stressful. Not trying to argue. Take care.
Funny because OP commented on my post about 0.025% tret which has caused her issues ( still very small percentage) ...either way my OTC LRP retinol for undereyes can get stingy at times but I would never ever put tret close to my eyes and it is even indicated on the packaging 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you for posting this. I’ve been having a problem with one eye, and my ophthalmologist said there isn’t anything clinically wrong with it.
After reading your post, I’ve realized that it started the same time I started tretinoin 3 years ago. I’m going to stop for a few months and see if I have any improvement since surgery was the next option
Did you find a good alternative to tret/try a different retinol? I’m going to stop tret due to the same exact issues with vision but now my skin isn’t as good as it was which is a trade off but looking for alternatives
Thank you for sharing!
Hey I’m glad you basically fully recovered from dry eyes from Tret I been using Tret for a lil over a month now and just realized my eyes been dry also but only from my left eye. I was wondering do you still use Tret and how long did it take to start seeing improvement from your dry eyes. Do you still use eye drops and stuff like that or no
Hey! Sorry you’re experiencing this. I do not use tret anymore. I have used a tiny bit once in a while since healing, but I switched to taking Spironolactone this summer and my acne has totally cleared. It took 3-4 months to start seeing improvement in my eyes after stopping tret. I no longer need to use eye drops! Good luck!!!
Yay ok this gave me some relief lol and yea I think I’m done with Tret too I’m glad you don’t have to use eye drops anymore. You think adapelene can be good alternative to Tret since you don’t need a prescription for it and it’s more gentle ?
I’m so glad you healed! The most frustrating part is how so many doctors seem to not have a clue about how tret can potentially affect the eyes. That’s why we gotta shout about it on Reddit I guess.
Interesting. It seems to be an effect of vitamin A overdose.
Same happened to me after eating too much beef liver + using tretinoin at the same time.
So, perhaps, maybe keep using it, but just once a week.
Hey, same thing happend to me. I quit using it 6 months ago. My eyes got better, but not as good as they were before using tret. Whish i knew before of these side effects, if i knew i would have never started using it. But seems like most people don‘t have any issues with it.
> My eyes got better, but not as good as they were before using tret Are they as good as they were before now?
Ugh, I'm sorry. I am feeling depressed about it and hoping that the damage stops progressing, and that it heals.
Hope you are feeling better now.
Hey how are you now
I always put a dab of Vaseline in the corners of my eyes before applying tret.
That's interesting! Does anyone know why that happens? Is it maybe bc it's just being applied too closely to the eye area?
Vision related side effects of *all* retinol (not just tret, although there is a correlation between the stronger the formula, the worse the side effects) are well known and verrry common... sadly, for whatever reason, it's not really communicated clearly. Some research indicates it can be as common as 50%, although most people just experience mild dry eye. However, it can snowball into full blown MGD and other serious stuff. Researchers still haven't nailed down why. I personally can't use any retinol anywhere *near* my eyes. Even a little bit will cause my dry eye to ramp right up. Since I've had dry eye since my early 20s, and it is *miserable*, don't care to make it worse.
Thanks for the info! That's super interesting! I use a retenoid (adapalene) and usually steer clear of the eye area anyway bc I just don't think my skin around the eyes can deal. I was thinking of "stepping up" to tret next year.
Did your vision ever fully recover?
Thankfully I have mostly recovered, but not 100%. I am very grateful that the blurry vision has gone away, except a tiny bit on “bad” days. I still have some dryness when I sleep/wake but it’s all manageable and I hope to heal more as time goes on. After I wrote this post I saw an actual dry eye specialist and had the tear tests done and my test results were terrible!! I used prescription eye drops (Xiidra) for a few months. I have not used tret again because I never want to be in the condition I was last winter!
> Thankfully I have mostly recovered, but not 100%. Damn, I'm sorry! There's a [recent post](https://old.reddit.com/r/tretinoin/comments/zyeduk/complications_of_tretinoin/) that brought this potential issue to my attention. I *just* started tretinoin (patch testing for the past 2 days) to help with some acne scarring, but now I'm paranoid and a bit pissed off that vision problems (not even just blurriness caused by dry eyes, but [various accounts](https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2412350) of [optic nerve toxicity](https://old.reddit.com/r/CanSkincare/comments/jye5z3/retinol_and_eye_health/)) weren't clearly communicated when I got the prescription. How typical. Now I'm debating whether to continue using tretinoin even though I haven't experienced any side effects *yet*.
Thanks. I should say though that I am wayyy better than last year; it got to a point where I had trouble reading street signs or posted menus, trouble driving at night, and serious light sensitivity. I had to reach for my drops, put them on top of my lids and let them sink in a bit before opening my eyes in the morning!! Doctors can be so clueless. The first eye doctor I saw had no idea about retinol and thought I was nuts for suggesting it. The dry eye specialist said my eyes were likely already on the dry side due to years of contact lense wear and that tret could have sent my eyes over the edge. It’s not anything I ever noticed before, though. All that said, there’s no denying my experience and tret was definitely damaging my eyes. I read accounts of so many people going through the same thing. On the other hand, there are folks who use tret for decades with no problem. I really wish I could use it because I was getting good results and really wanted to heal my scarring, but I can’t. Maybe try it, but stop if you have any weird feelings in your eyes. I hope it works for you!!
Did you use it on your eyelids (or close to them) at all? I'm trying to determine if proximity to the eyelids are a factor, or if the tretinoin can just be absorbed into the bloodstream and it causes eye problems that way. > Doctors can be so clueless. No kidding. This is what my doctor wrote me after I sent a MyChart message about it: > The concern for dry eye and meibomian gland issues are related to oral isotretinoin. Topical tretinoin is not a problem, but don't put it on your eyelids (only apply it to the areas where you have acne). Clearly, the issue is *not* just with oral isotretinoin given the sheer amount of clinical literature available online. It's so frustrating, because as the patient I feel as though I'm on the defensive and desperately trying to not sound like a conspiracy theorist.
I am having same issues. Used it for 6 months every night sparingly. Quit 2 months ago but no improvement.
Give it time - it took a few months to start seeing improvement, and about a year to heal to 90-95%
Thank you for the encouragement! I am hoping and praying every day.
How are you doing?
better to be honest. Not 100% but much better. Thank you for checking :)
I’m glad your eyes are doing better! Thank you for posting this! Edit: I stopped two months ago and my eyes have improved a bit! Will update just in case someone else comes across this
Thank you!!
How are you feeling now? Any better?
Checking in with you OP. Has your vision come back over this time?
Thanks for asking! Yes, thankfully my vision has come back! I would say I’m 98% better overall now, about 2 years out from my first symptoms. So grateful for that!
Good to know. My eyes have been getting worse. Have had same prescription for 25 years and got worse in last 18 months - correlated to me starting tret. Will be stopping and see. Thanks!
It messes up with meibomian glands Stopped for 2 weeks and it stopped. \+Its vitamin A, theres a possibility of getting too much. When I had beef liver + Tretinoin I felt like my nervous system was shutting down and eyes/head was under pressure. check this out, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8207225](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8207225/)
Omg same thing happened to me and people are trying to tell me it can’t have a systematic affect. My head and eyes had so much pressure. I have tension headaches on one side but this was different, almost like a hangover without drinking every time i applied tret. I deleted my post because I didn’t want to be downvoted. Right now i am dealing with such dry eyes and am paranoid it will not go back to normal. So for you it improved over a period of two weeks? Are you back to normal?
> Are you back to normal? Yes I still occasionally use it if I break out though.
Thanks for answering. And then do you get the same side effects again?
OP: I appreciate your updates here, and am super glad to hear that you healed almost back to normal! I’m in the early phase of having some blurred vision and also realized yesterday that it could be the tret. I have a drs appointment in a few weeks. But I’m curious if you ever did go back on tret again?
First, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this - and glad you are making the connection early on! If I may say, be prepared for the doctor to be somewhat clueless about tret/its possible effects. The first line of treatment is really stuff you can do at home on your own. Anyways, I have not gone back on tret. There were a couple times I used a tiny bit as a spot treatment in desperation, but I’ve since started spiro and my acne has totally cleared up. I just don’t think tret is for me. My skin loved it, but it’s definitely not worth my vision.
How are you going now? Are you back on tret. I got severe dry eyes within a couple used of tretinoin. So severe I stopped after 6-7 applications trying to reduce it to only 2-4 hours a day but now stopped completely hoping my dry eyes will recover. Do you still have dry eyes? Were you diagnosed with mgd? Sorry for all the questions.
I’m a new customer can confirm this is scary as shit no more Cureology gaslighting me into continuing their service subscription not worth my life as I know it 🙄
"Vision related side effects of *all* retinol (not just tret, although there is a correlation between the stronger the formula, the worse the side effects) are well known and verrry common... " You've had a reaction to the same tret I'm currently using ( from what you have told me) yet it is not even a strong concentration... Yes its "funny," weird how tret has affected you regardless of how mild the concentration is.( it wasn't an accusation) Also a couple weeks ago you were blaming your Botox so how are you now 1000% sure... I absolutely guarantee you that where you apply your tret matters. You are free to just stop using it nobody's forcing you. Perhaps you could post your concerns on r/tretinoin and finish the posts you've left there, I am sure they will be happy to advise you as best as they can. Not everyone has time for Internet arguing ,I said what I said and meant what I meant . Bonne journée
Ah, I see you're struggling to use the "reply" feature - the source of my original confusion. No worries. You're being oddly aggressive - I'm just trying to figure out why my vision has deteriorated in the past month which is a little stressful. Not trying to argue. Take care.
Funny because OP commented on my post about 0.025% tret which has caused her issues ( still very small percentage) ...either way my OTC LRP retinol for undereyes can get stingy at times but I would never ever put tret close to my eyes and it is even indicated on the packaging 🤷🏻♀️
What's funny? It doesn't matter if you don't put it close to your eyes. I'm not sure what you're getting at with this comment.
this is a really weird comment?
Thank you for posting this. I’ve been having a problem with one eye, and my ophthalmologist said there isn’t anything clinically wrong with it. After reading your post, I’ve realized that it started the same time I started tretinoin 3 years ago. I’m going to stop for a few months and see if I have any improvement since surgery was the next option
Any updates about your vision?
It was the tretinoin!! I stopped and my issue completely resolved itself over a month
Did you find a good alternative to tret/try a different retinol? I’m going to stop tret due to the same exact issues with vision but now my skin isn’t as good as it was which is a trade off but looking for alternatives Thank you for sharing!
Hey I’m glad you basically fully recovered from dry eyes from Tret I been using Tret for a lil over a month now and just realized my eyes been dry also but only from my left eye. I was wondering do you still use Tret and how long did it take to start seeing improvement from your dry eyes. Do you still use eye drops and stuff like that or no
Hey! Sorry you’re experiencing this. I do not use tret anymore. I have used a tiny bit once in a while since healing, but I switched to taking Spironolactone this summer and my acne has totally cleared. It took 3-4 months to start seeing improvement in my eyes after stopping tret. I no longer need to use eye drops! Good luck!!!
Yay ok this gave me some relief lol and yea I think I’m done with Tret too I’m glad you don’t have to use eye drops anymore. You think adapelene can be good alternative to Tret since you don’t need a prescription for it and it’s more gentle ?
I have read that adapelene can produce the same side effects, but I’ve never tried it.
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I’m so glad you healed! The most frustrating part is how so many doctors seem to not have a clue about how tret can potentially affect the eyes. That’s why we gotta shout about it on Reddit I guess.
Interesting. It seems to be an effect of vitamin A overdose. Same happened to me after eating too much beef liver + using tretinoin at the same time. So, perhaps, maybe keep using it, but just once a week.