How do you deal with dry eyes?

I've had the plugs for over 20 years but now as I'm getting older they are getting dry again! I blink so much my grandkids mimic me, My doctor tried putting them in the upper ducts but watered so much I couldn't see!

I have dry eyes that result in filamentary keratitis in one eye. I have tried lots of things. Punctal plugs worked really well for me for quite a few years. But now, due to aging, they don’t stay in. What seems to be the most effective right now are the following things:

- using a preservative free eye ointment (like Systane Nighttime) before bed EVERY single night. Don’t ever skip a night

- warm compress twice a day for ten minutes (I use a fabric bag filled with flax seed. But you can buy them. Some people have suggested the Bruder mask I think )

- preservative free eye drops (Retaine MGD, Oasis Tears Plus, Refresh Optive Mega-3)through the day EVERY day (don’t slack off).

-Wrap around goggles when exposing eyes to dry and or moving air (in the car with the heater or air conditioning on, riding a bike, outside if it is windy or dusty ). I wear glasses so I got a pair of prescription wrap around goggles (Wiley x brand) from my optician.

So doing these few things HABITUALLY every single day has helped quite a bit.

Good luck and keep trying things !!

I have the symptoms of Sjogren but have never been diagnosed. Instead, I've been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS purely based on symptoms. It is very frustrating, because anything I test for comes out negative. I just learned that there are blood test for Sjorgen, so I intend to inquire about those.

Hi I was diagnosed with a blocked tear duct in my left eye in February of this year (2022) and was told I need surgery called DCR. My question is has anyone with a tear duct blockage experience your eye not wanting to open up when you first wake up of a morning. I just gently take my finger and open it a little and then things looks blurry until I rub my eyelid with my finger and I’m fully awake. My eye feels tired like it’s lazy, tired or just doesn’t want to open up in the morning. I was wondering if this is related to the dry eye or a different eye issue. I’m changing eye specialists because I didn’t get an answer from mine. I’m not having surgery right now, they said that it wouldn’t make me go blind by not having the plugs put in but I’m using Thera Tears drops now to relieve the strain that I feel in my eyes.
Any comments or suggestions or just any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much,
Teresa

Hi with your blocked tear duct before your surgery did your eyes ever feel like they didn’t want to open, it’s my left eye and upon waking up in the morning my eye felt like it didn’t want to open so I would rub my eyelid gently with my index finger and it opens pretty fast it’s just blurry and scares me but about 3-4 minutes it’s fine for the day. It almost feels like it is very tired, heavy, lazy. I was wondering if it was a nerve that goes to my eye was making it feel that way. When I do wake up of a morning there is not any crusting or matter like it is with pinkeye. Mud specialist wants me to have DCV surgery we’re he goes and cuts a place between my nose and eye and take part of my bone to open up a passageway so it would drain. I’m scheduled for surgery but they said you can’t sneeze my 6 weeks and I sneeze a lot during the days because of sinuses and allergies. I’d like to know if your eyes had that feeling of a morning of not wanting to open either. I asked my specialist and he just changed the subject to something else, he was nice but just forgot my question. If you don’t mind could you tell me what your symptoms were? I’m using Thera Tear drops right now that preservative free. Thank you for any suggestions or anything that you went through and still are, I’d appreciate it.
Teresa

I use these 2 eye drops
Systane Ultra Preservative-Free. & Systane Complete Preservative-Free. My doctor suggested to me. Always follow your doctors before taking any medicine.

That’s interesting and I actually have had exactly the same thing happen occasionally. It’s my left eye. But I have always attributed it to the fact that I have a lazy eye in my left eye. I never related it to having my tear ducts plugged. But who knows?. Like you it last for a few seconds and I feel like I almost have to use my fingers to open the eyelid and once it’s open everything is fine. But I know exactly what you’re talking about

I do have that fereling of not wanting to oprn my left eye. To combat it, I squeeze it tight, then put drops in. It helps somewhat.

Thank you for your reply😊

Yes, i have horrible dry eye also, i use regular systane drops during the day, and systane gel drops during the night time... i always have them on hand in my purse as i have to use them frequently...and esp. In the a.m. when i first get up