How Many of You Suffer from Dry Eyes and What Do You Do for It?

I have been dealing from this miserable disease from a few months and it is really annoying. I previously made a post about it, when I was looking to get contacts. But I have accepted the fact that contact lenses are not compatible with dry eyes.

There is NO cure for dry eyes as most of people suffering from it would know. Someone told me "oh just use eye drops" but what they don't understand is that drops does nothing but make it worse in some cases. Most of OTC drops has preservatives in them such as BAK which makes dry eyes worse and this is the first resort for people who seek treatment for dry eyes.

I wanted to know how many of you suffer from it and what do you do to deal with this issue?

Poll Options

  • 67
    I suffer from it.
  • 36
    I have no idea what it is.

Comments

  • +1

    Nothing. just living with it.

  • +1

    I just carry eye drops nowadays. I only get dry eyes when I don't get enough sleep.

    I've tried both viscous and watery solutions. Both work fine but the viscous stuff seems to last longer. The watery stuff however is cheaper.

    • +2

      Be careful using drops with preservative in it though :)

  • +2

    I suffer from it occasionally with my contacts. I had a bad run of it a few weeks back where the whole week my eyes (with contacts in) felt gritty and the contacts were dreadfuly uncomfortable, but whatever it was stopped eventualy.

    Have you tried upping your fluid in takes? Maybe it is a sign of dehydration without you really knowing it?

    • +1

      Yeah I thought about that and started drinking more water than I used to. It does help! :)

    • +2

      Though some dryness with contacts is inevitable, consider switching contact lens brands.
      I'd love to say there is more science to recommending one, but trial and error is the best way. Most optoms should have no problem with letting you try various brands until you find one you're happy with (or at least I am anyway).
      Some lenses just feel really ordinary in some people's eyes but work fine in others'.

      • I have had less issue with the lenses themselves and more with contact solution's in the past. I went through a few brands because I found I was reacting quite badly to some, little polyps would form under my eyelids and feel like I constantly had sand in my eyes, even when I took the contacts out, in fact it felt better with them in because my cornea was then protected somewhat. I was surprised because I imagine that puts me in a small minority considering how many people must use the popular solution brands and have no problems at all. So I started avoiding the solutions that had a myriad of chemicals in them and just stuck to the ones with a single active ingredient, been fine ever since.

        • If you have that much sensitivity you should switch to a peroxide based disinfecting routine
          Or switch to dailies

        • I have a preference for one contact lenses liquid, as the other's caused dry lenses. They did literally stick to the eye.
          I also used another contact lenses brand, had no problem with dry eyes, but with the sight in general.
          Now with preferred lenses and liquid I only get dry eyes, if I don't drink enough. Or have the lenses in for longer then 12 hours.
          I'll try to spend some time in the morning without lenses ( 1/2 hour ) and some in the evening before going to sleep ( 1H )
          With "Old Man Eye" syndrome, I take the lenses out so I can use the tablet in bed without needing glasses.

        • @cameldownunder:

          All dailies sucked for me - they didn't move correctly when my eye did. I trialed about 3 brands. Contact lens fluid type doesn't seem to be a factor for me.

          Biofinity monthly was the one that worked best. But I only use them 5 hrs at a time. Towards the end of the 5 hrs they do irritate a bit.

          Other tips:

          • Consider using glasses when at home or taking the lenses out immediately when you have finished work/sport.
          • Put them in just before you get to work if you have a long commute.
          • Occasionally take a break from wearing lenses entirely.
        • Yeah I wear glasses as soon as I get home from work, some weekends I won't wear the contacts at all. I think it is good, if you can, to have a lengthy break from them from time to time. I wore glasses for many years before prioritising contact wear. I used to only wear them for football but found that the very occasional use meant that I always found them uncomfortable because my eyes were never getting used to having them in for long. I now have a far more active lifestyle and so chose to wear contacts now 70% of the time as glasses were getting in the way of my training (sweating and glasses sucks).

  • Use an eye spray

    • +2

      Unfortunately that doesn't work for dry eyes :)

  • +1

    Lubricating eye drops as needed - My wife and I both suffer in varying degrees - we use Systane
    Avoid plain cellulose or saline based drops they don't work for this problem

    Systane comes in a few different forms so try them all -
    Single use ampoules are the most hygienic but also the most expensive
    Gel works better but harder to get in
    Droppoer bottle is cheaper but keep them clean and change once a month

    • +1

      Dropper bottles usually carry preservatives in them so I never use them. I recently bought Systane Ultra preservative free ampules and it is helping a bit.

  • +28

    I simply take a look at the house prices in Sydney and my eyes will start flowing.

    • +1

      Haha, how I wish. I would keep looking at prices whole day

    • I think back when we had to put down our cat.

  • +1

    Isn't there some sort of medication you can have for it?

    • +1

      No cure for it unfortunately and it's chronic. Was recently reading in a Facebook group that a guy was thinking of suicide due to the annoyance it has caused

  • +2

    Sounds like you need a good optometrist to help manage your dry eyes condition. Without going into too much detail, using lubricant with preservative less than 4x/day is considered ok, unless preservative is making it worse. Lubricant ampules (preservative free) is a good option. If none of those works, try something call Optimel Eye drops. It's a honey based eye drop and some patient swears by it. The downside to it, it stings like hell on initial application, but it will relieve your dry eyes problem.

    Having said all above, dry eyes is a tricky problem to manage without finding the root cause, hence a good optometrist will sort out the problem in no time.

    • +2

      Thank you for your suggestions, It is really hard to find a good Opthalmologist, since most of them give you eye drops or steroid drops and leave you on your own. However I will keep searching for someone who understands and knows what they are doing. I have bought the optimel drops yesterday and will be picking them from amcal tomorrow.

      • Have you contacted the optometry departments in any unis in Melbourne? They love real case studies

        • +1

          I haven't done that yet. The fact is that there are billions dollar industries like LASIK and eye drops downplaying dry eye disease. Many Opthalmologists are more interested in people if they need LASIK than if they need treatment for dry eye or other complalications caused by LASIK. I haven't had LASIK but it is the most common complication for people who have had it.

      • I'm on daily doses of lubricating eye drops and steroid drops for the last 4 years since eye surgery. Lost count of the different types of drops I tried, but settled on TheraTears Eye Drops in the end. Perfect balance of viscosity and longer lasting without leaving any white reside on skin when it dries out.
        I find humidity makes the biggest difference in comfort. For me the comfort was 40 and 45% relative humidity.

        The prescription eyes drops were used nightly to manage recurring corneal erosion which pretty much (profanity) up my sleep and most of the day. It helps with daytime dryness issues, but there are potential long term risks to consider.

        Optometrists were basically useless for me. The ones associated with LASIK tried to pretend surgery is not responsible and the ones who werent just feel sorry for me, blame it on the surgery, and suggest the usual checklist of eyedrops, heat packs, Omega-3, humidity control, and lubrication eye drops.

      • +1

        Look for a good optometrist first, which will be able to refer you to a good Ophthalmologist.
        Most optometrists are bulk billed so that should be your first point of contact. There are also dry eye clinics in Melbourne (not sure about other states).

        There are also other causes of dry eyes such as blocked eye glands, and warm compresses will help.

        Also what electriccurio said sounds about right!

        TLDR: Find a good optom first.

  • +1

    I thought I suffered from dry eyes for years but I finally went to a good optometrist (read, not a chain optometrist) and they told me that I actually suffered from ocular hayfever so drops for dry eyes wouldn't work. They recommended allergy drops instead and it made a world of difference.

    OPSM, Specsavers etc had all told me it was a dry eyes issue…

    • +1

      How do you feel now? Do you still have dry eyes?

      • +1

        No. I use the drops when I feel the symptoms come on and all is fine!

        • +1

          Did you see an alergist?

        • +1

          No, just a good optometrist.

        • +1

          @Mistymoo: glad it worked out for you :) I am yet to find someone who can get to the root cause.

    • +2

      I know some great optoms working at chains

      Source: I'm a decent optom and have great optom friends working at chains.

      Tbh there is something seriously wrong with an optom if they can't diagnose allergic conjunctivitis.

      • Can you recommend someone in Melbourne please? If you know any

  • +2

    Hi, a friend (optometrist) recommended PolyGel.
    Twice a day works great.
    For me the added problem I had was dry eyes change your prescription.
    When the previous optometrist measured my eyes he used the usual drops.
    When I got the glasses they just didnt work until my friend checked my eyes and also suggested PolyGel.
    Since then my eyes feel fine and my new glasses work unless I forget to take the PolyGel.

    • Dry eye won't change your actual script, it'll make it difficult to measure.
      When your cornea is dry, the optical surface is not smooth and light kinda goes everywhere, basically like a scratched camera lens.

  • +2

    The Systane (Balance version) has worked really well for me, I just keep it in my pocket.

  • +2

    First of all, I hope you have stopped wearing the contact lenses.
    I have suffered from this for years. Some days are worse than the others. I also have glaucoma which means I see an eye specialist regularly. He doenst quite "care" about my dry eyes, maybe because glaucoma is a bigger concern.
    I am following this post esp on ideas on specialised optometrist and drops/PolyGel.
    The other thing I do is to observe my lifestyle. I find that when I am tired, stressed or "heaty", the symptom gets worse. So lots of rest, avoid dust, avoid food/drink that dehydrates.
    And yes, see an eye specialist.

  • +4

    Systane disposable eye drops. No preservatives. Using for many years. Keep it in pocket. Use 4 times a day 0.8ml.

  • +3

    Hope you can sort it out. I have the opposite problem: prone to wet eyes. Tear up very easily, never had dry eyes, even a bit of wind will make them get wetter!

  • +4

    Where are you located @Jimmy007?

    If you live in Victoria, I have an excellent ophthalmologist by the name of Dr David van der Straaten. He is both a seasoned practitioner and a lecturer at Monash University. He is based at New Vision Clinics in Cheltenham, but may consult at other locations.

    I can certainly relate to you.

    I was diagnosed with chronic Meibomian Gland Dysfunction, the root cause of my dry eyes. I suffered from multiple, ugly and occasionally painful chalazia as well. I followed a day protocol of doxycycline, warm eye compress, and uncomfortable manual gland expression with cotton tips for years. Imagine that: daily antibiotics for years.

    In short, it was very unpleasant for a very long time.

    I am happy to report that I no longer suffer any of these things after we tried azithromycin. I won't bore you with the medical details, although a quick search brought this up — Azithromycin Better Than Doxy for MGD.

    I recommend seeing David if you happen to be in Melbourne. Alternatively, New Vision Clinics may be able to recommend good ophthalmologists in your area.

    I know what it's like to suffer dry eyes and happy to chat further if you like.

    • +1

      Thank you for the suggestion, I am located in Melbourne and will definitely see him. And I think I am suffering from MGD too as per my first optometrist.

      • +1

        Since he is a specialist, be sure to get a referral from your GP to see him.

    • +1 for Dr van der Straaten. Despite what I said about previous specialists I found Dr David was the one who took the most time and effort in understanding the problem and going into a lot of detail with the questions I had.

    • i saw my optometrist who diagnosed me with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and i did 4 IPL treatments followed by expression of eyelids costing me $250 each time, very expensive as a student and it didn't even help. my optom also recommened me to do a lipoflow treatment which cost $2000 for 15 minutes of pretty much expression of eyelids.

      this dry eye problem is getting bad i need 5 vials of eye GEL a day and it just makes it bareable but not relieved notice i say gel not drops as drops evaporate in about 3 minutes making my eyes even drier. i keep getting told i look tired and that my eyes are really red. my eyes feel strained like i haven't slept in 24 hours whilst staring at a pc screen even after 8 hours of sleep. my vision has also worsened. this dry eye disease came from the blue about last year.

      thanks for the recommendation i will try it out i don't want to get my hopes up though seems to be the problem for many dry eye sufferers, potential fixes only ending with disappointment.

      • Look into scleral/Prose lenses. From all my research that is the only thing that has helped most sufferers.

        I Know how expensive those treatments are and they are not even covered my insurance. On my first visit to a dry eye specialist in Melbourne I paid around $350 just to see and he a gave me a list of blood tests and book the appointment again when results came back. Like yeah I would pay $350 again to get nowhere. He also recommended me IPL without even finding out what's the root cause, but I already had researched about all these things so I just said no.

      • As I mentioned earlier to Jimmy007, see a good ophthalmologist like Dr. David van der Straaten.

        I did daily warm compress, manual eyelid expression and doxycycline for years with limited success. In my case (see link above) Azithromycin worked very well: only 4 days every three months, rather than 365 days a year of antibiotics.

        • i called new visions and they told me they only do laser eye things

        • @mrwillc: I don't know who you spoke to, but David does far more than laser eye surgery.

          Try calling the Cheltenham centre directly rather than their 1800 number: 03 9584 6122. MGD treatment (the root cause of many dry eye symptoms) is one of his specialities.

  • +2

    Is your home/bedroom too dry? Try putting a glass of water by your bed and don't use any heaters. Won't completely solve the problem, but may help make it less uncomfortable.

    • +1

      Thank you I will definitely try it 😊

  • +3

    Hi I have a friend who is a genetic scientist and suffered from this. Nothing could be done, so he decided to investigate through genetics the problem. He found that people with dry eye syndrome suffer from the inability to process Vitamin A.
    Vitamin A is essential for eye health. He took over 2,500mg a day of Cod Liver Oil in capsules as it contains Vitamina A and D, daily for a year and continues to do so even now. He cured his dry eye problem! Perhaps some may like to try this.

    • +2

      I do take take COD liver oil and will get my Vitamin A Levels checked as excessive intake of Vitamin A can cause harm . Thanks for the suggestion:)

  • Oh, I meant to say it didn't take a year to fix the problem, but if it works for you, you may need to take for life as you may have the faulty gene which stops you from assimilating vitamin A and may need to supplement.

  • +3

    AS he had a problem with Vitamin A, taking that much CLO has never caused him any problems. Won't hurt to try!

  • +4

    Maybe you have sjogren's syndrome, dry mucous membranes, including mouth, nasal, etc. I get this newsletter re eyes and was surprised to learn about the use of Vit. A and its pre-cursors betacarotene. http://www.biosyntrx.com/articles.php?id=1760

  • +2

    I have dry eyes too. I also had lasik surgery 10 years ago.

    Here's some things I do to alleviate it:

    • Take flaxseed oil capsules in the morning
    • Eat fish once a day, mainly hoki and sometimes salmon, baked not fried
    • Use f.lux for all screens (PC,phone tablets)
    • take regular breaks from PC at work. Try to blink more than usual and focus on far away objects.
    • During winter months I use a humidifier in the bedroom
    • Get someone else to cut the onions

    I haven't used eye drops in a while, they don't really help me that much.

    Try to avoid too much alcohol in social settings as I know this will dry my eyes and I will get a bit of anxiety over having dry red eyes.

    Read this book —> https://www.amazon.com/Reversing-Dry-Eye-Syndrome-Appearance…

    • Very good sharing Thanx Viva.
      As for cutting onions, thought it should be beneficial as it helps with producing tears LOL. I used to force tears by poking into my throat!

      • cutting onions doesnt even generate tears for me.. safe to say my nerve function are pretty screwed up.
        Also even IF you got tears it wouldn't be the kind you want. There are threetypes of tears - Basal, Reflex and the kind produced by emotions. Basal tears are the lubricating protecting kind. Reflex is what you get with onions, smoke, irritation etc and dont do much for lubricating. It can in fact flush out the useful stuff you worked so hard to build up.

  • +2

    You should propably look at your diet, maybe you are eating too much junk food, having lots of soda drinks and look at your alcohol consumption too. Diet can be very important for things you wouldn't attribute to eating like rashes or dry eyes. Also you should propably also see a doctor, they can refer you to specialists in the field. It could be serious so better be safe than sorry.

    • I find that stuff like yogurt and yakult that helps with the digestion really helps.

      • May be due to the probiotics?

        • Yes, I believe it does help. And I also notice it helps if I get a good nights sleep.

          Also, I blink with tap water in my eyes and I notice that stuff builds up and I clean it later. I do this before sleep and waking up because eye drops make it worse.

  • +1

    Mine were caused because I sleep with my eyes slightly open. Symtoms are if you wake up with red, watery & itchy eyes every morning. Then it would take the whole day to get the hydration back into the eyes.

    • For this wonder whether a special eye-mask would help?
      Some years back I bought an expensive eye-mask I think it has negative ion or something. It's sitting in my drawer so I might revisit this.

      • In my experience, eye masks did not help at all. The most important thing is to keep your eye-lids in contact with your eye-balls, thus keeping them moist. What I found helped the most (& funnily enough the cheapest solution also) was using micropore tape to keep my eye lids closed while I sleep.

  • +1

    Couple of months ago I used to get dry eyes and red eyes. It was from my contacts lenses which were monthly ones. My optometrist gave me some eye drops and told me not to wear contacts for a month.

    After that he switched me to daily disposable contacts, it's worked a treat. So I would definitely suggest talking to an optometrist about this.

  • +1

    Watch the world news everyday. </3

    Onions.

  • Yeah I had this for a few months last year and it was a nightmare. Constant headaches from blinking so much. Optometrist and doctor all just gave me eye drops which helped for a few minutes but not long term.
    Luckily it went away on its own.

    • how long did it take for it to go away?

      • I think I had it for a couple of months.

      • Another post reminded me that I'm pretty sure it was the air-con at work causing the issues.

    • Where did you feel the headache pain?

    • Dehydration also causes dry eyes and headaches.

  • I have rheumatoid arthritis and part of that is what is called Sjogrens Syndrome which is dry eyes and mouth.
    It comes and goes but Liquid Tears has always worked for me

  • SYSTANE ULTRA Lubricant Eye Drops

  • +1

    Theratears drops or gel. Only available in preservative free vials

  • +1

    After reading a lot of the comments here, I thought you'll need direction.

    Don't bother reading. The remedies above. This is not how a medical problem is approached.

    First step - diagnosis. Seek a GP/optometriat who understands what a diagnosis is (you'd be surprised at how many clinicians do not). If they've started "treating" or "managing" and they are not firm on the exact problem, ask for a referral or find a new clinician (and never go back).

    Depending on the differential, there'd be tests and scans.

    Some remedies may seem harmless but can impede a clinician's ability to narrow down on a diagnosis.

    • Exactly, nobody cares to find the cause. As soon as they hear dry eyes, "Oh here you go use these drops." Like I would come to you to find out I can use those drops for dry eyes. They don't even bother telling the risks of over using them or how many times should people be using drops.

      • I'd start by checking if your cornea is actually dry or is it a perception of dryness.

        If dry, check if lacrimal glands actually produces secretion.

        If secreting, check contents of secretion.

        If not secreting, check blockage/shrinkage/damage/leakage.

        Lastly, a diagnosis with the word idiopathic is exactly what it sounds like. Idiotic.

  • +1

    Hyloforte and Hylofresh are preservative free lubricants with a 6 month expiry date. They retail for about $30. Other things that are helpful include 2g of fish oil + 1g of flaxseed oil daily to help reduce any inflammation and help oil secretion. Heat pack and gentle massage over the eyes also help with unblocking the glands and help with oil production.

  • You can't say there is NO cure. There are very many causes of dry eye. Many are treatable, many aren't but are managable.
    As mentioned previously, find a clinician (optom or ophthal) that can diagnose you properly.

    If it's particularly bad, maybe you have some systemic condition. Maybe that condition is treatable, maybe not.
    Maybe alternative treatment is the answer such as punctual plugs.

    There are 2 main types of lubs - one for lipid deficient dry eye and one for aqueous deficient.
    But maybe lubs alone won't work - after all the effect is pretty much gone after a few minutes.

    There is too much guess work here, follow a recommendation for a good clinician or keep trying new ones.

  • +2

    No use crying about it. Oh, wait, ,………,…

  • Everyday for the last 3 months after starting a new job. By the end of the work day my eyes are very red, dry, scratchy and have large bags underneath them.

    I started a new job and the office is on the top floor of a 3 level building (but very high roofs so around 6 normal stories). There are no open windows and the aircon is on 100% of the time. I've tried 5 different types of eye drops and none of them really work, including the different types of Systane that a lot of people here recommend.

    In the past if I ever had red eyes, including from herbal reasons, I was able to use either Murine Clear Eyes or Visine Red Eye Removal to turn my eyes sparkling white. Now if I try either of those at work I end up with worse redness and more dryness.

    It's causing me a bit of grief actually, I'm considering leaving this job for a few reasons and this is one of them.

    • +1

      Never use those eye whitening drops again. They are the cuprit that makes it severe.

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