Young People with Dry Eye

[LouSam]

young people with dry eye and high myopia

Does anyone fit into this category? I have to wear glasses sometimes due to dry eye and my eyesight is very poor with glasses and I am also embarrassed to make eye contact because my glasses are so thick. I can wear contacts now, but my eyes are starting to burn and look bloodshot and I'm getting depressed thinking that I may have to go back to my scary looking glasses. Does anyone know what I mean? It sounds vain, and I really want to stop caring about the way my face/eyes look but it's driving me crazy. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for responding.

[calli66]

I'm not young, but have high myopia.

What is your prescription? I understand about glasses, but just to put things in perspective---lens and frame choices are SO much better than they used to be. Remember the huge frames in the 80's? That was so embarrassing.

This might sound weird, but about 10 years ago, I found out that some people are actually attracted to us high myopes because of our thick glasses! And then there are the majority of folks who don't even notice the difference between regular glasses and thick lenses.

My optician has made suggestions about how to "hide" thick lenses. If you get plastic frame, the bulk of the lens is to the back--and hidden by the frame. Also you have to get the high-index plastic (not polycarbonate). Don't get the "rolled and polished" edges that opticians sometimes offer--that accentuates the thick lens appearance.

But you probably know all this already. Take care of your eyes and try not to over-do contact lens wear, though.

Calli

[LouSam]

Calli,

Thanks for responding. My prescription is -14. I have the thinnest plastic available in a little tiny plastic frame, but I am still embarrassed because I've just never had to wear glasses before in my life and I can't seem to get used to it. I can't imagine what life would be like if it were the 80's right now. I do feel lucky when I think about that! Thanks so much for your reply.

[Shahara]

Hi guys!

It feels good to know, that there are even other young ppl. around, who suffer from DES! I've been having severe DES since 2004! 3 Years of running around, trying to find good doc's, trying to find good eye drops, trying to find good eye make up, trying to make my eyes look good, trying trying trying! By 2006 I was a wrack, unhappy, with less friends, no boyfriend! No one could ever understand me! Since 5/06 I'm on Restasis, with upper ducts cauterized! Still trying to keep my plugs! I get lower plugs next week, I hope I don't severe eye infections when my all 4 ducts are closed. NOw by 26, I do have a bf, and things are getting a bit better! And I'm hoping to do higher studies next year, but I'm extremly scared of the future! The headaches/ costs due to Restasis etc. etc.! And what after Restasis, I can't take restasis forever!
That sucks! And I hope they come up with something new to cure this .......DES!! Good luck to everyone!

[calli66]

Thanks for responding. My prescription is -14. I have the thinnest plastic available in a little tiny plastic frame, but I am still embarrassed because I've just never had to wear glasses before in my life...

gettin better---that's such a high prescription that vision in glasses is really poor--I totally understand. My Rx is about -8.25, but one of my professors was -12.00. My sister-in-law is -13.00, so I recognize the glasses problem.

You really have to take extra care with wearing contact lenses, for fear of developing an intolerance to them, and ending up not being able to wear them at all. One thought I had would be for you to investigate the most dry-eye friendly contacts on the market (I don't know if you wear soft or hard contacts), and when you are going through some irritation, try to limit the number of hours wearing them per day.

I often wear a weaker pair of glasses around the house and for computer work (about -2.00 D weaker). For me, this gives my eyes a rest. This is something you could do to get used to wearing glasses---so it's not so depressing when you have to because your eyes are acting up. You could wear glasses when you're not in social settings, too--even though the quality of vision is worse. Also, my eye doctor recommended that I stay out of my contacts at least one full day a week. I used to choose Sunday (but now I've quit my contacts altogether).

With care, you should be able to wear contacts for many years even if you have dry eye. I'm 58, and I just quit....

Calli