Gritty Eyes?!

[Missy]

I have a question for everyone - do your eyes ever feel really gritty? My eyes feel horrible today. They feel sore and very gritty - like there is stuff actually behind my eyelids rubbing on my eyes. This is the nastiest feeling! It seems like when my eyes are really dry they either burn or feel horribly gritty. Do any of you experience this? What can you do to help?

I'm so sad - I thought that my eyes were doing a little bit better but today I feel like I'm back to square one? I'm trying to decide what I could do to help - upper punctal plugs? doxycycline?

[Gaye]

Gritty eyes

Hello Missy - I find my eyes feel like that mostly first thing in the morning. It takes a lot of drops applied repeatedly to get rid of it. Warm compresses or the water from the shower seems to help some too. When I am having a really bad time with it, I use an eye wash to refresh my eyes. I use one called OcuFresh Eye Shower that is preservative free. It comes with 6 vials of wash and an eye cup. It really helps. After that, I can put in drops, like Dwelle. I found the eye wash at my local pharmacy, but I think most drug stores carry it. Otherwise any saline solution would probably do the same.
I am finding that as the summer humidity is going away, my eyes feel like this more and more. Time to drag out the humidifier I guess.

Gaye

[Missy]

Hi Gaye,
Thanks for the suggestions - I swear my eyes felt like they were full of dirt this morning. I've put in tons of drops this morning and now they're feeling a little bit better. I will look for the eye wash or some saline at the pharmacy this afternoon. I also just ordered the samples of the Dwelle and Dakrina eye drops and they should be here this week. Hopefully they will help!

It was so hard to get up and get to work this morning with my eyes feeling so bad. How do you guys do it!?

[dianat]

Missy,

Can you wake up once in the middle of the night and instill drops? I find that when I don't let my eyes get completely dry at night I do better in the mornings. For example, I wouldn't dare use the bathroom in the night without putting drops in, too. It really helps.

Diana

[Missy]

Right now I'm using lubricant at night. Sometimes I do need to apply more during the night but not always. I'm going to start trying some of Dr. Holly's drops at night once I get them. If they don't work then I'll have to go back to the lubricant or the Genteal Gel (which Gaye is going to be nice enough to send me !) I've been using the lubricant for the last couple of months and I'm going to be afraid to try the drops at night! However, I'm willing to give anything a shot.

I have a question for the girls (sorry guys!). Do you ever notice that your eyes are worse during the time of your period. It seems like this is a really rough time for my eyes. They have been SOOOO dry this weekend and today. I can't think of any other reason why they got so bad all of a sudden.

[dianat]

Missy,

You have every right to think that your menstrual cycle is affecting the way your eyes feel. It's valid. You might consider keeping sort of a diary of your cycle, eye comfort, outdoor exposure, pollen count, etc, to see what those patterns are. I did just that, and believe it or not found no pattern to why some days are worse than others.

Having said that, my dry eye doc told me there are most definitely women who experience such fluxuations. I had told him that my pregnancy doesn't seem to have affected my comfort. He told me that since I don't complain of fluxuations due to my menstrual cycle, it made sense that I wouldn't necessarily notice changes due to pregnancy hormones.

Perhaps there's good news in noticing changes during your cycle. Maybe if you can determine during what phase your eyes feel their best, you'll be able to determine what hormone helps you. It's always possible a supplement of say progesterone (for example) may make you feel better.

I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV. And like the men, don't even PRETEND to understand female hormones. But, hey, gathering up pieces of this puzzle can only help matters.

Diana

[khasler]

Hi all -
I have also found the rice bags heated in the microwave for a few minutes to be of help when my eyes are feeling gritty (which is quite often). I used to use a warm compress under the faucet but the rice bags are 10 times better!
Also, giving a lid massage afterwards always helps too.

Diana, I'm glad your pregnancy is going without any additional dryness for you. I just gave birth to my third son a few months ago and felt fine during the pregnancy but my eyes are dryer than the desert during nursing!
Kim