help! dry eyes

[vw1978]

Hi all. Not done this forum thing before so not sure what to do.
The problem is for the past 5 months I've been suffering from dry, itchy, red, irritating eye's that feel tired all the time. I dont know what,s wrong with me I've tried all the over the counter drops as well as Viscotears liquid gel and Lacri-Lube which work for about 20 mins. It all starts when I wake up with a Slight dry gritty sensation and gets worse throughout the day, I,ve been to the opticians and explained the symptoms to him for which he did an eye test and looked in my eyes with a light and said he couldnt see anything, That was good news but it doesnt explain whats wrong with me. I havent been to the Dr's because I have a fear of them. Could there be something more sinister wrong with me and can it cause damage to my eyes if I dont go to the Dr's. Should I go back to the opticians. Sorry, I dont know what to do, Its driving me insane, I would appreciate any help and advive

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi all. Not done this forum thing before so not sure what to do.
The problem is for the past 5 months I've been suffering from dry, itchy, red, irritating eye's that feel tired all the time. I dont know what,s wrong with me I've tried all the over the counter drops as well as Viscotears liquid gel and Lacri-Lube which work for about 20 mins. It all starts when I wake up with a Slight dry gritty sensation and gets worse throughout the day, I,ve been to the opticians and explained the symptoms to him for which he did an eye test and looked in my eyes with a light and said he couldnt see anything, That was good news but it doesnt explain whats wrong with me. I havent been to the Dr's because I have a fear of them. Could there be something more sinister wrong with me and can it cause damage to my eyes if I dont go to the Dr's. Should I go back to the opticians. Sorry, I dont know what to do, Its driving me insane, I would appreciate any help and advive

Hi there and welcome.

I can't think of anything sinister that would cause this. Only someone qualified can tell you whether you have dry eye, blepharitis, and/or eye allergies but the symptoms you describe are classic for 'ocular surface disease', the general category all these things fall into. You are very unlikely to suffer serious damage to the eyes with this BUT it can make you pretty miserable and if it's not treated it can affect vision (though not permanently unless you've got a pretty extreme case). So DON'T stress, but DO try and get to the bottom of it.

Could you ask around for another dispensing optician who might be a bit better? I think you'll have better luck if you educate yourself first and go in with some specific questions. Among those I'd ask:
- Can you see signs of surface dryness?
- Can you examine my eyelids meibomian glands. Do you see signs of blockage or blepharitis?

Redness and itching are classic allergy symptoms. Allergy and dry eye can be kind of a chicken vs egg thing so be sure to ask about that too.

Some practical advice about things you could do:
1) Try to use only preservative free lubricant eye drops. Absolutely do not use redness reliever drops except rarely for special occasions.
2) Try cold compresses on the eyes first thing in the morning and whenever else you can.
3) If you have blepharitis, a warm compress before bed may be helpful too.
4) Look into the possibility something is irritating your eyes at night: pillow, laundry detergent, etc.
5) Covering eyes at night can be helpful - cling film works in a pinch, otherwise a sleep mask or goggle.

By the way any clues what kicked this off? What changed 5 months ago?

[vw1978]

thanks Rebecca

Thanks for all the advice, I think I will try another optician this time with some questions like you suggested. I cant think of anything that has change in the last five months I,ve have for many years suffered dry, itchy eyes when I get tired, dont know if thats anything to do with it, also I've been reading on the net that some medication can cause it, I'm on medication but have been on it for the last three years with no side effects,(anti-depressants, beta blockers and anti-psychotics) apart from that I cant think of anything else. Thanks again for the advice

[Rebecca Petris]

Sometimes it's just a combination of things that eventually 'explode' into fullblown dry eye stuff. A history of mild dry eye and medication side effects could do it. (Anti depressants unfortunately are often culprits.) But there's other things too that can 'trigger' it, for example (for women anyway) hormonal change or change in any hormonal supplements, change of workplace, even a new shampoo or hairspray.