The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Hot Yoga *faq* › Purulent eyes after class ?
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Hot Yoga *faq* › Purulent eyes after class ?
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Hi everyone!
I’ve searched the internet but I can’t find an answer to my problem :
After a hot yoga class, my eyes get “dirty”, like purulent, for the rest of the day.
I have to use eyedrops to clean them.
I’m pretty sure it is the sweat that falls into them that causes this, whenever my head is down. I try to close my eyes strongly to avoid as much sweat as I can but it affects my practise. Does anyone has the same issue ? Any solution ?
Thank you very much !!Hello ju
That is an interesting problem. Let’s see if we can get some more information about what’s going on.
If your eyes really are purulent then that by definition means you have an infection. So have you given some thought to having the exudate swabbed and cultured? At least you can exclude that issue if there is no infection.
It would be more than extremely odd to be an infection ’caused’ or aggravated by the sweat going into the eye on a class by class basis. Please get that swabbed soon.
There are many questions I could ask you. For example:
>> Have you had this problem every class you have attended? Or is it something new?
>> How long have you been practising the yoga? Is it Bikram style? I need to know if you are a new student to hot yoga and how new.
>> Maybe you have had past experience with gluey eyes or conjunctivitis?
>> What is your water intake like?
>> Do you supplement with electrolytes or are consciously taking more sea salt in food etc?Oh, it just occurs to me, that if you are concerned that it is because of inverted positions then how about attempt to exclude that ’cause-effect’ scenario by showering before class and wetting your hair (clean it at home before!) and then practise. At least if your eyes become ‘dirty’ after class then you’ll know it wasn’t dirt. You then don’t have to worry about sweat in your eyes. And it means you can practise with your eyes open. Really the only reason your eyes should sting is because of salt in your sweat and that amount changes depending on your physiology and your practice experience. Hence the questions above.
There are next to no toxins in sweat so don’t be concerned that your sweat is actually doing something bad. The amount of ‘toxins’ is a tiny tiny part of 1%. It’s basically water and salt.
Looking forward to your reply!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle!
Thanks for your answer!
I’ve been practicing bikram yoga for 5 years but it’s only 4 months since i started being regular (2-4 times a week).
As long as I can remember, I’ve had this problem.
It’s not really that my eyes sting and it never starts during class. I drink only water or tea before class, water during and water or coconut water after.
I always shower at the studio, right after class.
Tomorrow i’ll try to shower before class as you suggested and i’ll tell you.
And also, I don’ put too much salt in my food…
I’ll tell you what happens !!
NamasteOh and i’ve never had serious issues with my eyes, only a “chalazion” a month ago. I don’t use lenses either.
Hello ju
Did you find any difference with washing before class? I am not sure it would make a difference. Perhaps you don’t have enough electrolytes/salt in your diet. You say you don’t put ‘too much salt’ in your food. Do you use sea salt? Maybe your food needs a complete array of minerals and not just those found in table salt (which are just sodium and chloride ions) which are not enough to power your body.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Gabrielle,
I’ve tried to shower before class but it didn’t change anything. The good thing is that I started to stop closing my eyes to avoid sweat and it made no difference so at least, it dosn’t affect my practise anymore.
The “salt theme” is interesting because I actually started to see an acupuncturist because of acidity in my stomach (3rd gastritis in 18 months)and he suggested I cut back on salt.
What do you think i should do ?Hello Ju
I am glad your news is good about being able to keep your eyes open. 😉 My gut instinct (hmm sorry about the quasi pun given that I am responding to your comment about gastritis) is that reducing salt is actually not going to help you. Why? Because you already say you don’t eat much salt. If your gastritis is a problem then is your acupuncturist basing that on spicy foods that could be irritating your stomach? In other words, is it only salt that was being discussed for diminishing or is there more to the eating recommendations from your practitioner?
I have a reference medical book at home that I cannot locate that has the information that I want to share with you. Rather than misquoting by relying on memory, I am looking for it to get you something verifiable! I am annoyed I cannot find it.
Maybe you can give me more specific details about your drinking habits. How much and how often. Before, during and after meals and classes. When you wake up. Etc. And with the mention of gastritis, perhaps tell me whether you eat irritant foods (spicy stuff, pickles etc) and what exactly you have been told to reduce (or increase).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂I experience the same problem – anywhere from a few minutes, to hours after class, both eyes form pus in both corners. They cause blurred vision, and they sting a slight amount. Did you find anything to help at all? Like you, I have low salt intake… I don’t know what would cause it – in any other workout I don’t experience this!
Hi Angela! We have the exact same problem, the way you are describing it is just as if you were reading my thoughts!
Now it’s a little bit better. I just finished a 30 days challenge a couple of weeks ago (what a wonderful experience!0 and during the challenge, my eyes were almost normal. Then I had a week off and this week I practiced 4 days and they started to get purulent again but less than they used to.
I’m guessing the key is to practising more and more 🙂
To answer to you Gabrielle, my acupuncturist believes it’s an allergy but I really doubt it since I’ve never had any allergy at all.
About my stomach issues, following his advices, I’m being careful (but not drastic!) with sugar, fat, salt, milk, meat, tea, alcohol, fruits and I stopped crudities, coffee, lime. I was taking sea magnesium, silica and other vitamins and minerals but my 2 months treatment is now over.
My stomach is getting worse this week but it’s probably because of Christmas and new year’s eve (and all the rich food and alcohol that goes along!).
So if I sum this all up : this week my eyes and stomach got worse a little bit and I finished my treatment.
My stomach issue is more likely to be caused by stress, it began while having a hard time in my relationship, followed by my dear grandmother passing away…
I hope this all will be over soon, now that I have find more balance and peace in my life.
Oh! and BTW, happy new year to all of you wonderful yoga people !!Hello Angela
What I would do, if I were getting sticky eyes like this would be to get a swab kit from a chemist/pharmacy or the doctor or pathology clinic so that I could collect it straight after class. If you could do that collection when you have the issue then the answers may be easier to arrive at. 😉
Pus is infected and so it can be cultured. The swab would go straight into a medium in a tube, until it is spread onto a plate of agar or other such substrate.
This way you can find out what the organism is, if indeed there is one. If there isn’t one then that’s good news and we can explore more options.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Ju
Please keep us updated. Happy new year to you too. Wishing you peace, balance and some love and yoga and that you can see things with clear eyes! 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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