Dry Eye Sufferer needs Tips for Traveling on an Air Plane for long periods of time

[theresa74]

Hi,
Hoping someone can help me. Recently, I traveled to Wisconsin with Dry Eye. This was my first time on an airplane since I have developed dry eye. The climate in Wisconsin was very cold and dry so of course my dry eye flared up. When I got back home from my travels I had corneal swelling and my eyes hurt really bad. I visited my Opthamologist and said the cornea was inflamed and he gave me anti inflammatory drops. He said I probably got a this swelling from the recycled air on an airplane. Since I have no tears to bathe my eyes, I got the slight infection. The anti inflammatory drops worked Thank goodness. I feel much better now. However, I was in much discomfort for two weeks. I have to travel again to Germany for work, and I am scared to death that I am going to have more dry eye problems again. This will be no fun when my job there will be to sell and be perky. Can't be perky when my cornea is inflamed. It hurts. Does anyone have anything they can recommend to wear on an airplane to protect my eyes? I am thinking of getting moisture chamber goggles, but I was hoping maybe someone with a similar experience can give me some product suggestions and some Guidance. I cannot keep running to the eye doctor like this and getting all these drops. It costs me a fortune. I would like to try to prevent it so when I travel I have no problems. I am currently on Restasis and under normal circumstances it works well. Looking forward to advice. Thank you and have a great day.

[willwork4tears]

I just got back from San Francisco and experienced terrible dry eyes/mouth....so I feel your pain. The air on planes is horribly dry.

My suggestions:
Tranquileyes moisture goggles. If you think they're too ugly, buy a Tini bikini to snap over them. It will make them look like a sleep mask (both available in Dry Eye Shop). Just make sure you don't wet the pads with water from the plane bathroom. I'm pretty sure it's not potable, so I wouldn't want to put it on my eyes, either. Too much risk for infection
Sleepmask
Lots of eye drops...use something long lasting like a gel or nighttime ointment. Or try something like Soothe which has mineral oil in it.
Drink a lot of water.

[theresa74]

Thank you

Thank you for the recommendations, I will definitely take your advice. I appreciate it very much. Do you have a recommendation for Gel? I am currently switching between TheraTears and Systane High Performance Lubricating drops. Would you recommend those two brands for gel drops?

Thanks for all your help!