crying and dry eye?

[Hopeful2]

Hi there!

I had an opthalmologist appointment last week. I had mentioned to him that I was having a tough time handling my lasik associated eye problems and that I was frequently in tears. I asked him if I was damaging my eyes more by crying. His response was that crying would not damage my eyes.

I know some experts here would disagree with my opthalmologist . . . I'm inclined to disagree with him as well, but he is a cornea specialist.

I am putting the question out there to all of you who don't mind talking about the tears that you have shed and the effects they have had on your dry eye status. What do you think?

[magoo]

My eyes are more irritated and inflamed for a day or even two after crying, but as for actual damage, I don't think there is any.

[y-gwair]

Crying can make your eyes very uncomfortable, and cause them to become puffy/swollen due to the extra fluid that is absorbed, but I honestly don't think this can damage your eyes in any way, crying is an entirely natural process.

My facial rosacea is so severe that if I cry, I get purple bruising with the swelling around the eye, which looks very alarming, but even this fades completely after a few days and causes no permanent damage.

[Guest]

I agree with the others - I've never seen anything indicating that crying can damage the eyes, even ones as dry as ours! I still try not to cry though - if I cry, my eyes get really irritated afterwards, and I end up worse off than before. Certainly not permanently worse off, but if I cry too much, the effects might last a day or so...

[markdav]

When I cry, I instantly wash it with water. But if I don't wash it,like I did when declined med school admission they would hurt for two days.

I have read that tears contain lots of toxins and its better to let it out then to keep it.

[Angela]

Crying can make your eyes very uncomfortable, and cause them to become puffy/swollen due to the extra fluid that is absorbed, but I honestly don't think this can damage your eyes in any way, crying is an entirely natural process.

My facial rosacea is so severe that if I cry, I get purple bruising with the swelling around the eye, which looks very alarming, but even this fades completely after a few days and causes no permanent damage.

That is very interesting. I have severe purple bruising and swelling/puffiness around my eyes but I chalked it up to the sinus issues that I am also experiencing. I cry every other day so maybe this is actually contributing to my dark circles. I've had this for 6 months though and it hasn't faded at all but then again I have cried for 6 months also....

[Angela]

Hi there!

I had an opthalmologist appointment last week. I had mentioned to him that I was having a tough time handling my lasik associated eye problems and that I was frequently in tears. I asked him if I was damaging my eyes more by crying. His response was that crying would not damage my eyes.

I know some experts here would disagree with my opthalmologist . . . I'm inclined to disagree with him as well, but he is a cornea specialist.

I am putting the question out there to all of you who don't mind talking about the tears that you have shed and the effects they have had on your dry eye status. What do you think?

I developed my eye problems at the same time that I also developed sinus problems. I eventually found out that I had a heavy growth of staph aeurus in my nose. Staph is supposedly the most common bacteria in blepharitis, so one of my theories, which I've shared with other doctors who agree that it's a huge possibility, is that the staph from my eyes traveled to my nose through the nasolacrimal duct and crying could have added to this. So I have really tried to cut down on the cry fests, but it's easier said than done! Also like everyone has said, crying does lead to eye swelling and irritation which I definitely don't need any more of. But as for actually damaging the eyes, I doubt it and I'm sure we would have heard of that by now, what with all of the crying being done in this world =)

Anyway I always do cold compresses afterwards, and it's kind of comforting in more ways than one.