How do you deal with dry eyes?

Posted by maryy @maryy, Jun 10, 2019

I have dry eyes due to sjogren's syndrome. Does anyone else deal with dry eyes?

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@charlotte64

I am diagnosed with Nostalgia Paresthetica. Any advise?

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What exactly is that, can you elaborate, please?

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More or less past a certain age we all must deal with dry eyes. Thank you for being a part of this group and connecting with others. Marianne

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@irinig

What exactly is that, can you elaborate, please?

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It is a pinched nerve in the spine which gives a message to your brain that the skin on your back is itching and painful. They still have not figured out what to do or meds for this issue.

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Maybe an allergy to food? So much is being traced back to the foods or better yet the poisons in our food supply…so so many chemicals‼️

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My sister-in-law works in the eye industry. She does the FDA work for the new equipment and procedures for eyes. We were talking about dry eyes this weekend. They have a relatively new procedure that can be done for dry eyes. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of it at the moment. Separate and apart from that procedure, she said dries eyes are often not caused by lack of tears, but by lack of oil. You can make lots of tears, but they just evaporate if you don't have the necessary film of oil on the eye. The oil glands get blocked. So, to unblock them you can put a heating pad on your eyelids, then massage the eyelids and that will clear up the oil glands. Apparently, there are heated eye masks specifically for this purpose. I haven't looked into it yet, but I do plan to. She said if you're using one of those things that you put in the microwave to heat up, then be careful not to get it too hot because that can damage your eyes. The electric one is supposed to get the heat just right.

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@mosaics

My sister-in-law works in the eye industry. She does the FDA work for the new equipment and procedures for eyes. We were talking about dry eyes this weekend. They have a relatively new procedure that can be done for dry eyes. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of it at the moment. Separate and apart from that procedure, she said dries eyes are often not caused by lack of tears, but by lack of oil. You can make lots of tears, but they just evaporate if you don't have the necessary film of oil on the eye. The oil glands get blocked. So, to unblock them you can put a heating pad on your eyelids, then massage the eyelids and that will clear up the oil glands. Apparently, there are heated eye masks specifically for this purpose. I haven't looked into it yet, but I do plan to. She said if you're using one of those things that you put in the microwave to heat up, then be careful not to get it too hot because that can damage your eyes. The electric one is supposed to get the heat just right.

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My opthalmologist recommended the Bruder Thermalon heatable eye mask. It’s available in a two-pack from amazon. You will need two in order to launder and air-dry one regularly. I keep mine in two un-capped Tupperware containers and wash one every Monday by adding to its container lukewarm water and a few drops of dish liquid. Directions say to heat for 20 seconds in microwave and use for 5 to 10 minutes. While using mask, don’t waste time! Listen to a podcast and/or do some upper-body exercises with a set of lightweight dumbbells.

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Both extremely helpful comments. Thank you so so very much JNB & mosaics‼️

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I put a warm cloth on my eyes every morning and use Systane Ultra drops

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@windchimes123

I’m a dry-eye person too. Years of contact lenses with no trouble. Several years ago, I noticed I was putting in lubricant drops hourly.

My optician recommended the Fish Oil supplements too.
They worked great if you can deal with the after-taste. Yuck!
Buy the smallest and most potent to help. It’s worth it.
Years later…
I got off of the fish oil tabs and once again dealt with the hourly drops.
I had the plugs inserted and they worked except they kept popping out.
Lastly, my Ophthalmologist recommended a lid revision.
She took my lower lids and revised them to lessen the surface area of my eye, therefore, less dryness.
Think …free eye lift. She had to take photos and measurements to submit to my insurance for approval.

It worked out wonderfully and I no longer use drops and that was 10 years ago.
Don't forget to use good eye hygiene by using warm compresses twice a day.

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Good evening @windchimes123. I am glad you have found something that helps with your dry eye issue. I have had years of trying to live with it and prevent it from becoming a major issue. The plugs, the refrigerated drops, the compresses, etc., etc. I have never heard of a lid revision. I lived on a very dry mountaintop in Southern California. Very low humidity, and not a lot of rain or moisture. My eye doctor of 30 years jokingly told me that the only thing that might help me is living in a rainforest.

Unfortunately, I now live in Minnesota. Lots of moisture but the interior of homes and offices is very dry during the winter. So we have special humidifiers installed.

I have been using Xiidra.....however, my insurance company will no longer cover that product. What do you use? Thanks in advance.
Chris

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My eye doctor had me make eye drops from my own blood which does really seem to help. You need to keep the drops in the freezer and use them 4 times a day.

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