IF YOU COULD MOVE anywhere, where would you go?

[georgiav]

Due to the severity of my symptoms and inability to obtain any relief using all known dry eye remedies, I am considering trying to relocate (I live in Chicago). This would be very difficult, but it's unfortunately looking like I may not have a choice.

I am interested in getting opinions on locations that are dry eye friendly. In other words, if you could move to any location, where would you go, and why? (I realize that everyone is different, so I am just interested in YOUR personal opinion--and I thank you in advance for offering it).

[Tanner]

Louisiana is humid but not enough for me.

[Joseph]

I live in Chicago and it seems that this year is the worst year for dry eyes ever. I have heard from my allergist that this winter is really bad because of the warm winter. Did you notice that this winter has been bad for you, or at least more then others.

[georgiav]

Hi Joseph,

Nice to hear from a fellow Chicagoan. Yes, my symptoms have been at their worst, and I thought that they should be BETTER with the warmer winter and less cold, dry air in the environment. Is there something I am not taking into consideration possibly based on your experience and knowledge?

[Joseph]

I do not have an explanation as to way this year is bad but I work with several people who say that their eyes are really dry this winter. I always ask them if they have dry eyes and I always hear " Not until this year " or " I have never noticed it before " So something is in the air. BTW I am going to Florida this weekend on vacation and I hope things get better with the warm and humid Florida weather. If they do then it's something about this Chicago winter that causing the extra dryness. I will keep you posted.

[georgiav]

Thanks Joseph.

FYI--I just sent you a Private Message. You can access it by clicking on "Notifications" in the upper right hand corner (between Welcome/your user name and My Profile).

[Joseph]

I tried to send you a message to your inbox but not sure if I did it right. Hope you got it. P.S. Have a nice trip.

[jenny2008]

i live in Indiana-- a chicago neighbor. and yes this winter has been pure hell on my eyes--my glands have been so much more clogged than last year... and its been a lot warmer here too.. weird...

[Joseph]

Jenny do you feel like you have more sinus issues this year? From what it sounds like, the midwest is DRY, DRY DRY...........

[tommyboy]

Hi all ... I have been meaning to post the same question georgiav posted. I live in Fairfield, CT and the winter has been very mild. But it is still very dry. Aside from my eyes either burning, stinging, or just feeling plain awful I also notice my hands are pretty chapped and I rarely am outside. I am also running 3 humidifiers in the house, which I think help a little bit. And I just started using moisture chamber glasses (onion glasses) which help in my office at home with the humidifier going next to me.

This is my first winter as I had LASIK in mid September. And my doctors keep telling me getting through my first winter will be the toughest and I will be fine after that. I hate to be pessimistic, but do not believe that.

So I am also interested to learn if warmer climates with more humidity helps. I have also been on several business trips to SLC. A place I used to enjoy going to pre LASIK. But it is horrible there on my eyes and I found out that SLC is listed in the top 10 dryest cities in the country (number 7 in fact).

Anyway ... I am also interested in what others have to say in terms of better places to live and how the climate can make folks feel better. I see some folks on the site that live in Florida and would love to hear from them.

Thanks for starting this thread

Cheers,
Tom

[georgiav]

Joseph,

Yes, I did receive your message and just sent you a message back if you want to check.

[shanku]

Have been considering the same for a while now, but have not decided yet.

I live in NC where winters are usually mild and this year has been exceptionally warm winter...but symptoms are at their worst. My consideration for relocation is not only for environmental dryness but more importantly to escape from allergies. I have been a long time chronic Sinus sufferer but it improved after the surgery recently while eyes got worse. I started suffering from Sinus Infections and Dry Eyes shortly after I moved to North Carolina 6 years back and all this started with Sinus/Eye infections triggered by abnormal pollen levels. Before that I lived in California for 5 years but never had these issues. South East is a well known allergy hot spot. Only *1-2 out of dozens* of Ophthalmologist I saw for my eye problems, thinks my eye problems could be related to allergies and suggested me to consider relocating from North Carolina to a place where I lived earlier without these problems or consider immunotherapy(Allergy shots). However, Allergist does not think that my dry eyes have any connections with allergies and hesitant to try immunotherapy for my eye problems.

Therefore, contemplating whether moving out of NC can help me provide some relief with my eye problems, but not sure about it. In case it helps, leaving out the logistics part of uprooting oneself, this is probably medically easiest and safe (?) option. Even if it helps, the change may not be immediate, in fact may take years and have to keep the hopes up till the symptoms improve.

It's a big gamble, am wondering if there is way to establish before deciding whether it is a reasonable step or not.

[georgiav]

Shanku,

You may want to consider some sort of a trial period/vacation first to see if symptoms improve. You mentioned that your symptoms were better when you were in California--isn't California supposed to be dry for the most part?

[shanku]

Want to clarify - was in California *before* this Dry eye and Sinus saga started, so, not sure how that place will feel now with so severe/chronic Dry eyes in a short period of time. There I lived in bay area (close to San Francisco) where one can live without heating/air conditioning etc. and relatively less dry compared to other parts of CA. I could possibly try a vacation for a month but that may not be ideal enough to conclude one way or other. Also, ideally to replicate one's daily life during that trial period it should not be a vacation after all rather it should be working with computers in high stress environment just like one does 8-12hrs regularly. Also, if the cause is allergies one may not experience any difference in this short period; but if it is because of environmental dryness then it may be helpful.

[regina]

I actually googgled the what state is the most humid and moist...and Seattle was at the top! I am better at home than in desert areas..thats for sure. As soon as I get off the plane I can tell whether I will have a good vacation or not..lol