Anyone like me?

[david2404]

Male, 30, GSOH, seeks someone with dry eyes for chit chat and buddying up for research. I'm joking, well half joking. I'm wondering if anyone has similar symptoms/triggers to me and what they've tried.

The main triggers for me are computers and lights. Otherwise I can lead a fairly normal life. I've been to many docs and basically my eyes seem healthy although my meibomium glands are not working at all or very little. They dischage some white oil if pressed hard enough. I'm guessing it's inflamation and not blockage as they are not capped by the little white caps typical of blockage. But as i said away from computers and lights and some general photophobia I'm generally not bad. Unfortunately computers and lights are omnipresent and i have to make a living - I'm not exagerating to say that I can't last 5 mins in front of a bright computer. And I'm not exagerating to say that this condition has dictated my life for the last 4 years or so.

I'm currently going down the allergy route (I'm big time allergic to dust mites). And the biggest help for me in the last few years has been wearing 1 day Acuvue moist which I've started using sparingly in the last 2 months. I say sparingly because I know contacts can be a cause of dry eye, but they do help me get through the day. They dry the eyes a bit but help prevent the burning - they seem to help protect the cornea. Also, I love being outside, especially in the cold - the wind outside doesn't bother me.

Finally, curious to know if this applies to anyone else: When i wear glasses under lights it can exacerbate my symptoms as the light bounces off the inside of the glass causing glare. Hence i always wear a baseball cap when I'm wearing glasses.

David

[JAH1973]

I, too, have been having a problem with glare from glasses. This glare is located in the corner of my right eye and is approximately 1" and drives me crazy. This ocurrs both when wearing polarized sunglasses (2 pair) and a new pair or transitions. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[calli66]

The baseball cap at work----I like that!

Since I wear glasses, I use the Fit-Overs (polarized) and they seem to cut glare pretty well....part of the frame sort of "boxes in" the brow area, so that light doesn't enter from above.

With any glasses, there are various anti-reflective coatings you can get for the lenses. The high-tech coatings are expensive, but I have found them to be very good.

C

[Lucy]

Also try having your maintenance staff take out one of the lights above your desk. This eliminates much of the glare. That's what I did when I was still working. Lucy

[SallyP]

I too had the light taken out above me at work. Most places these days are very pro health and safety, and to be honest it was either that, or my colleagues ended up in virtual darkness to keep me happy, which wasn't great at 4.30 on a winter's evening.

I only wear glasses for close up work and computers, so they're not a problem generally (yet), but lights in shops do aggrevate my eyes quite badly, particularly Tescos, where they smart and water and I end up with a headache, although that could be the result of picking the same dam trolly every time I go, which starts of fine, but with a trolley full of stuff ends up veering a different way to me!!

This whole dry eye thing is all dreadful, I hate it and would do anything to resolve it. I too have blocked glands, and even though they are slightly better now I'm in a regular routine of expressing the oil myself, they are a long way from being normal, and like you, it has pretty much changed my life over the last 2 years since I started with it, particularly the evenings.

[irish eyes]

This whole dry eye thing is all dreadful, I hate it and would do anything to resolve it. I too have blocked glands, and even though they are slightly better now I'm in a regular routine of expressing the oil myself, they are a long way from being normal, and like you, it has pretty much changed my life over the last 2 years since I started with it, particularly the evenings.

Yes Sally, it is rotten. The thing is, no matter how long you've had it, it makes no difference to your attitude to it. I started long before you did but never a day goes by without me feeling dreadful because of it.

I have had a few bouts of acupuncture over recent weeks as the muscles of my face were becoming so knotted up due to the constant discomfort and burning in my eyes. I think the `frowning' muscle is called the corrugator - and the acupuncturist commented that it was unusually tense and hot as though the muscle itself was in a constant spasm. The massage hurt quite a lot but it felt better afterwards. My forehead feels a bit wider now! I blame all that on my eyes.

Re; lighting. I'm fortunate to have my own office so my `needs' don't really affect anyone else - thankfully. It wasn't ever thus but I realised that if I didn't exercise a little assertiveness - then I couldn't expect any understanding. I always make sure that it is give & take though; I express my appreciation to anyone who helps and try to make sure that I show similar empathy to anyone else who may have problems. It makes me feel less like a victim.

[david2404]

howdy, yeah i've had the lights above me in work removed. I've also got a "shield" around my monitor to block light from behind. So between that and the baseball cap i'm getting a bit of a reputation as a vampire. I'm not sure i can bring myself to wear the sunglasses fit overs in work yet. I wear sunnies to the cinema all the time and i have tried wearing sunglasses in front of the computer and it does help, but it doesn't solve the problem.

Also i can read books without problems, and so this is the crux of what i can't understand. I blink less when i read but i'm ok, i blink less on a computer but i'm NOT ok. So it must be the light/glare!? but then just reducing the light (although it helps immensly) isn't the solution. What else is going on?

[SallyP]

I've come to the conclusion that there's no rhyme or reason for this thing. It does as it pleases and when it dam well pleases. I have the odd good day (and believe me, it's very odd these days), and I haven't got a clue what I did differently, or equally if I have a particularly bad day, again not a clue what I did differently. I'm going to address my diet next........