How do you deal with dry eyes?

It was my pleasure. ☺️ I sure hope you find some relief from your dry eyes. It really robs us of some simple pleasures during the day, doesn’t it?

What is just as effective is a warm washcloth as a compress and wiping the upper and lower lids. Recommended by my ophthalmologist. Have been doing the warm washcloth thing for years (30 years).

My ophthalmologist here in Louisiana recommended the same thing, except he added washing the lids with johnson & johnson's baby shampoo. 70 years old and I couldn't have renewed my driver's license eye exam because of blurry vision. He said it was dry eyes (with uveitis) and suspected Sjogren's so he requested blood work which returned all normal values. So I guess I am in that 20%! He is pretty much convinced it is SS. By the way, after using eye drops for 3-4 weeks, passed my vision test with flying colors. Am driving as I always have. Then came Hurricane Ida on 08/29. Still trying to recover . . .

@ejrquast,
@renm @becsbuddy
I think this is the new treatment for dry eyes which was recently approved by the FDA that you were asking about.
It’s called Tyrvaya (varenciline). It looks promising and is actually a nasal spray! I posted an article below.
https://www.eyecarecentermd.com/blog/tyrvaya-varenciline-nasal-spray-approved-by-us-food-and-drug-administration-fda-for-dry-eye-treatment/.
I have a number of acquaintances who’ve undergone a stem cell transplant. Often that can lead to some very serious dry eye issues. There is a treatment which uses their own blood to help create a specialty serum for them. There are specialty pharmacies which can make this in very amounts for each patient.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/autologous-serum-eye-drops-3422030.
@ ejrquast even when using the Systane night time ointment and drops, are you still having severe dry eyes?

Thank you for this helpful information. Is the nasal spray available over the counter? (Tyrvaya (varenciline)) I didn’t see it on Amazon. I’ve just ordered the nighttime ointment you use.

Hi, Tyrvaya is only available by prescription. So you will need to ask your primary care physician or ophthalmologist to check in to that for you.

Here’s the website for the Tyrvaya (vafenciline) so you can read up on the product and also share it with your physician to see if it’s right for you.
https://www.tyrvaya.com/
I quickly read some of your previous comments and see you’re dealing with some eye issues after cataract surgery. You’ll be visiting a new ophthalmologist at John Hopkins in February. So you may want to hold off on the Tyrvaya until getting that consolation.

If your eyes are super dry have you tried Systane Nighttime Ointment?

I know that the eye doctor said I had dry eyes, but my eyes never feel scratchy. They aren’t red. They don’t feel dry. I just feel like I have something in the outer part of my left eye. I am assuming that might be my symptom of dry eyes? The computer screen is so blurry, and I’m assuming that might be a symptom of dry eyes? I’ve just ordered the ointment and the gel drops. How often should I put in gel drops during the day? I do have astigmatism, and I wondered if the new lens did not completely fix it. I want to use the drops and ointment for several weeks before I go to the Hopkins doctor.

I never realized I had dry eyes either. It can start long before it’s obvious to us apparently. So it was recommended by my eye doctor to use some Systane drops daily and I admit my eyes felt better even though I hadn’t really been aware that I had minor symptoms such as you’re experiencing.

A few years ago, one of the permanent side effects of a medical procedure I had is very dry eyes. So I went from using Systane drops daily to also having to use the nighttime lubricant in my eyes. WOW did that ever make a difference so I hope it works for you too.

When you use the Systane nighttime goop, it is a little messy. If it’s cold in the bathroom I’ve found that before applying the gel at night I put the little tube in my pajama pocket to warm up so it flows better.
Also, it will make your vision a little blurry so put it in right before you go to bed and plan on sleeping. With blinking, the blurriness goes away.

To apply, just gently pull out your lower lid a little! You don’t need to stretch it very far. Then squeeze out a little 1/4 inch strip of the gel in the lower lid. It melts over the eye.

It’s also important to use it regularly every night. Initially I only used it sporadically and the results were pretty disappointing. But when I started using it faithfully every night it was like a miracle product. Now, I don’t use any drops during the day at all. My ophthalmologist and transplant team are happy with the results too!

I’m sure at some point I’ll be having cataract surgery too. The chemo progressed that situation and I also have servers astigmatism and heard that gets corrected with the surgery. I’m sorry you’re having issues with yours. Hopefully the consultation will give you some answers.