Hi everyone *waves hello*
I wanted to share some information with you all about ASED. Say what? you ask.... well, it is eye drops made from the serum of your own blood (that's the autologous part). Here in Australia, in New Zealand and in the UK rheumatolgists, immunologists and ophthalmologists can issue a prescription for these. The script goes to the Red Cross Blood Services here - you give a donation of blood and they prepare the drops for us, and deliver them in small containers frozen. One donation usually gives about a years supply of eye drops. And at least here in Oz, it is done free of charge.
Now interestingly, my personal experience with serum eye drops goes back decades. Part of my job when I worked at a Veterinary Specialist Hospital was to get and prepare the drops for animal patients with autoimmune eye disease and injuries. It's been known for a very long time how beneficial it is in not only lubricating the eye, but also providing protection for the cornea and promotion of healthy healing for injuries and defects. It's taken a long time for human ophthalmologists to cotton on to this simple yet very effective therapy.
The reason it is so effective is that your own serum very closely matches what your natural tears would be in terms of their salts, lipids, proteins and other contents. Tears are pretty much blood without the red stuff. In clinical trials it has statistically been shown to improve comfort, lubrication and protection of the eyes. And... it is yours so there is not risk of reacting to it. Some people do find it stings initially when putting it in, but I think that is because most commercial eye drops have been buffered. What this means is that they have had a compound added to them to adjust the pH (usually it's a bicarbonate ion). Whereas serum has your bodys natural pH which can initially feel uncomfortable in the eye when applied because the surface of the eye is exposed to air and environs and it's pH is not always the same. (Don't know if this makes sense to you or is relevant), but anyhow...
The short version is... ASED is specifically useful for dealing with Sicca eye symptoms, and in particular for Sjogrens patients. I don't know whether your ophtho or rhemy is aware of it''s use, or how your blood donor system works where you are. But it's worth asking about.
I've tried to find some good links to articles and information for you from the web and I'll post them once I've had a good read (like all things on the net, you need to be cautious of the source and quality of the information).