How do you deal with dry eyes?

Hi. @tboyd5000 I also suffered with having my eye lids stuck to my eyes when I woke up. The best product I’ve found and have been using for 3 years now, is Systane Nighttime Eye Lubricant. It’s an over the counter product that comes in a small squeeze tube. Apply nightly by laying a little line of the ointment in the lower lid right before you’re ready to go to sleep.
I used it sporadically at first and found that to really be affective it needs to be done faithfully every night. I works great and my eyes even look brighter and healthier because they are no longer dry. Even my ophthalmologist remarked on the improvement. I no longer use any other eye drops during the day.
As others have suggested, using a warm washcloth daily for about 15 minutes on the lids can help restore normal tear production or the use of a Bruder heated moist eye compress can be beneficial as well.
You might try these ideas before heading off to surgery…just in case it works for you!
Have you tried warm compresses or other eye drops for relief?

Where do you get Kill oil?

No, it doesn't make me blurry. Hope it works for you.

Thanks for your advice, I’ve had numerous prescription drops and OTC drops. The only one I do use at night has an antibiotic but still makes my eye feel really strange. I wear a sleeping mask when I go to bed after my drops because we have a ceiling fan which isn’t good at all for my eye but trying to same on that electric bill the mask does the job, lol. I am going to have DCR surgery and go for consultation in St. Louis the last week of this month. I’m glad you didn’t have to have surgery but unfortunately mine tear duct is blocked and they are going to make a new passage way. Thank you for sharing your story it’s always good to hear how others are dealing with it.

Mary, I have rare things happen throughout my body, including my eyes. I just use generic liquid tears as needed but I have some advice. Having air blowing in your face dries out your eyes as the other poster mentioned. But there are other physical things you do daily that’s just as bad. Like staring at your cellphone because you have a tendency to blink less. Staring at the television does the same thing. Even simply reading a book or printed material all adds up to drying out your eyes.

I never realized these facts until I was affected by doing them. Anything you stare at will cause the eyes to dry out because your blinking less to re-coat the eyes with liquid. You can lessen this by taking breaks, close your eyes and give them a chance to recover. Blinking is the best defense we have for normal dry eyes. So start to be conscious of you staring at something and not blinking. Good luck Mary. @becky1024

Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune condition like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus etc. One of the symptoms of Sjogren's is dry eye (but not a blocked tear duct) also dry mouth and other conditions (very easy to google & this site has links). There is a blood test that is done. (Believe its ANA levels). There is no cure for Sjogrens only ways to treat symptoms. (Like artificial tears for dry eyes).

I have severe dry eye due to radiation treatment for eyelid skin cancer. I am researching IPL THERAPY. IPL stands for intensive pulsating light therapy. Has anyone had experience with this?

Restasis was like a miracle. Takes awhile to kick in but makes a huge difference when it does. I had a free month of Xiidra. Really liked it but Medicare wouldn’t cover it then. Not sure about now.

@mary1950 Did Medicare pay for Restasis,when I go them they didn't .I may try again but they also left my eyes with tears and they stung

I have dry eyes from sjogren's and 4 eye surgeries. I had IPL treatments over 4 months and this treatment has made a huge difference. There are times that my eyes feel wet! I use a Bruder mask with the Bruder Hygienic sheets once a day. Like your own mini spa. I no longer feel like my eyes are burning or have something in them. I use drops maybe 1-2 times per month, even in heavy allergy season. When I do use drops, I use Thera Tears and Blink Tears at night.