Dry eyes

[lhavetoask]

Anyone else struggling with dry eyes and the shift in temperature?

I suffer with moderate dry eyes, I work from home in tech and probably use screens too much. Referred to eye clinic by GP, they provided eye drops which usually keep my dry eyes under control.

However it has been bitterly cold recently so I’ve been using the central heating daily. This seems to be too much for my eyes, I think the increased humidity indoors is irritating my eyes and triggering a deterioration. Even with the eye drops, my eyes feel gritty and haven’t stopped watering all day. Anyone experienced similar?

I get it sometimes since menopause. I seem to have phases but definitely worse when in screens a lot. Have you tried a warm eye mask? Lots on Amazon and the heat helps keep the ducts clear. Plus it’s such a nice feeling.

Ah I am terrible at using the hot masks. I just find myself reaching for my phone about 2 minutes in! (Bad habit I know - probably why l had dry eyes to begin with!)

I was thinking to buy a heated blanket or a weighed blanket, so I can get warm toasty legs but without the irritation to my eyes. It’s usually only my legs that get cold when working from home, probably cause I’m sat in the same position without moving around much.

I did get some blue light glasses for work, they don’t seem to make much of a difference.

I think you’ve nailed it, phone addict! 😜

Random question but have you tried taking an antihistamine when they get really gritty? Stormy weather can kick up dust and mould spores into the atmosphere and could easily enter your home, where the central heating kicks it up again. I suffer from Sjorgens syndrome but when my dry eyes start feeling as though I have a rogue eyelash in it then I know it's time to take an antihistamine as well.

I have developed dry eye because of Rheumatoid Arthritis, and combined with my itchy eyes due to allergies it is most unpleasant. I have found the eye drops helpful, but the following eye mask is very, very helpful. I like this because once it's charged there's not any further bother, such as microwaving or plugging it in. It's Amazon Australia, but I presume it is available elsewhere, and I noticed it is on sale at the moment because I did pay more than that. https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07SM61FCT?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Quite relaxing, too.

Also the single use eye wipes are good if you get eye discarge building up.

I also have pathologically dry eyes and the thing I do which has really helped is use eye ointment overnight. Can be a bit messy, but it has helped so much .

There are lots of different eye drops available - DH has an eye condition which sometimes makes his eyes irritated and/or dry - he’s got at least 4 different types of Hyclosan (in addition to his medication). He also does a cleaning routine with quite hot water and cotton wool pads to unblock the pores around the eyes which when working properly are part of the natural lubrication mechanism - this was on advice from his consultant.

@INeedAnotherName thank you, I have some antihistamines at home so I’ll give that a try.

@Woodworm2020 sounds good - which eye ointment do you use, is it one that goes on your eye like Xalin, or just on your eyelid?

I had surgery with a professor for something else , but mentioned I was using a spray for dry eyes or drops. He told me to bath along my eye lashes with cotton wool and warm water, one pad for each eye and do five times. Works for me and saved money too. I also found too much reading on devices makes it worse

@ErrolTheDragon thank you, the eye clinic authorised these on prescription: https://www.peakpharmacy.co.uk/medications/hylo-forte-eye-drops-10ml

I think it’s the over the counter version of hycosan maybe? The packaging looks similar

Thanks everyone, loads of great advice here! I probably could implement a lot of this to improve the condition of my eyes

Either hylo night or hycosan night. You squirt it directly into your eye like you would a drop. It’s very strange to begin with and you can’t see for 30 mins (I put it in just as lights are going out). Think of it like a deep moisturise for your eyeballs - it’s weird, but I can really tell if I skip using it.
I also use my body heat to warm the tube before using, it makes squeezing it out a wee bit easier.

Oh the other thing I forgot to mention is that I had my tear ducts plugged to help stop the moisture draining away quickly. My ophthalmologist did it as I was in for an acute issue related to my dry eyes, but might be worth looking into!

I use Boots gel night drops. They’re the only thing that has helped. Tempted by an eye mask though.

I developed really dry eyes during menopause to the point where it felt as though my eyelids were welded to my eyeballs when I woke up.

I've found that taking Omega 7 tablets has really helped.

If you use a warm mask you have to use wet (warm water) cotton wool to wipe the tear duct in the corner of the eye, after eye mask use otherwise the gunk will just harden and block the top of the tear duct. Rending the whole process useless. (Wipe from inside to outside). I use Thealoz duo eye drops. Hopefully both will help. If you use a gel at night, make sure your tear ducts aren’t blocked in the morning. It can feel rather time consuming but worth it. Who knew dry eyes were so painful?

Blethasol eye wipes have helped me massively.

Just here to follow, my eyes are driving me nuts right now they are so irritated.

IPL for dry eyes and Omega 3/fish oil sorted me.

Thanks everyone! I have come down with a full blown cold today, so I’m guessing the worsening dry eyes may have just been an early indicator of that. Taking some cold medicine & antihistamines has made me feel much more comfortable today (alongside eye drops!)