Any advice for nighttime dryness/redness?

[ryanross]

Most of my troubles with dry eye are during the night while im sleeping. EVERY morning I wake up barely being able to open my eyes without the aid of my trustee systain PF eye drops. After this, they are generally bloodshot (Not terribly, but still noticeably for and hour or so). Does anyone have any advice for getting around this. Nothing I have tried works including: eyedrops before bed, ointments before bed (even though I would rather not depend on ointments), warm compresses before bed, and the quartz goggles. I do not understand how my eyes are manageable (manageable, not perfect) during the day, but sooo dry while I sleep. Also, I dont think that I sleep with my eyes open (as masks and goggles and tape didnt help). Any suggestions would be appreciated.
PS: TODAY IS MY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST UNFORGETTABLE DAY I WOKE UP WITH DRY EYESS!!!!!!!

[NeedMyEyes]

Paper tape has worked for me so far

I have used paper tape (I think it is called "Micropore"?) that I use to tape over my eyes. I start taping at the lower lid and then make sure I close the upper lid onto the lower lid very tightly and then finish taping the upper lid. I have to let the tape come off in the shower, so my vision is blocked a bit until I get out of the shower, but so far it has helped alot.

Sorry about the anniversary.... I'm only at 9 months now and determined not to have dry eyes on my anniversary.

[Jesslin]

I have exactly the same problem I'm afraid. I find that using goggles, drops or ointments seems to provide no more comfort than doing nothing. My left eyelid always sticks, sometimes it slides open dry as anything and gets stuck in various open positions and sort of smarts and stings until my eye produces enough tears to lubricate itself, or I put drops in. Other times it is stuck dry and needs drops and a few minutes to open it. Both happenings are very painful and leave my eye very bloodshot. I'm sorry I can't be of more help but one thing I have noticed is that my eyes are always stuck much worse if I've done hot compresses, without them they stick less, maybe that could be causing it for you? Sometimes I wonder how much they help anyway! At the moment I'm using blink intensive tears and dwelle at night with the onyx goggles. I'm experimenting with waking myself up every two to four hours to reapply. Sounds awful but I seem to be able to get back to sleep ok mostly, in fact I'm such a heavy sleeper I find myself slumped near the nightstand side of the pillow an hour after the alarm with my goggles half off and no closer to putting the drops in. I'm waiting on a delivery of Theratears supplements and genteal gel, so hopefully that may help. I'll let you know if I find a good solution.

Good luck with a good night's sleep!

Jess

[PotatoCakes]

I've been using TranquilEyes lately and have found that's been helpful, although not perfect. I'm still trying to figure out the best method for me. The TranquilEyes helps keep my eyes shut at night and provides some moisture but I still wake in the night to put eye drops in periodically. In the past, I used Genteal but one of my eye specialists doesn't like it because it contains a preservative. My new specialist prefers it (if it works for me and it did) over the ointments that my other eye specialist likes (but cause irritation for me). I'm going to get a new container of Genteal and try it out again with the goggles. So far, I've tried a number of drops and none of them have stopped me from waking in the night due to dry eye. I do need to try Celluvisc again -- I haven't used it since my goggles arrived and it was helpful in the past.

[Rebecca Petris]

It takes a different 'recipe' for everyone. At the end of the day the components to the problem really have to be sorted out to tackle nights successfully.

For example:

1) Rule out reactions to things that your eyes might have more exposure to at night than any other time:

• Your nighttime drops or goop: For some people, gooping up at night is essential; for others, the goop or drops might actually make them worse overnight so for those of you who are using a lot on the assumption that you'll be worse if you don't, it might make sense to keep an open mind. If you're using lubrication at night which most are, do not assume that the thickest is the best, and consider trying out types with totally different ingredients to what you have now.
• The foam on Tranquileyes (rare, but for some people it's an issue)
• The humidity level in your room
• Mold - I think this is often an unrecognized culprit
• Your pillow
• Your laundry detergent

2) Explore lid closure issues. If you want to know whether you've got nocturnal lagophthalmos, make an appointment with your eye doctor in the very first slot they have in the morning, because they'll probably still be able to see the effects of exposure of the unprotected area of the cornea.

3) Moisture retention: Experiment with getting enough-but-not-too-much protection over the eyes at night. For a lot of people this is Tranquileyes, Onyix or Quartz; for some people it's a sleep mask; for some people it's the dreaded tape; for some people it's bandage contact lenses. I talk with people every day about their experiences with night protection and I still find it impossible to reliably predict what will work for whom. The product that is a lifesaver for A will have no effect on B and will irritate C. Just the nature of this beast.

4) Erosions: I think that sometimes "baby" erosions during sleep are responsible for chronically painful, red eyes on waking. Sometimes these aren't recognized/diagnosed because the signs aren't as dramatic as abrasions.

5) Blepharitis is commonly blamed for that lids-sticking-down-in-the-morning feeling.

6) Taking care with opening lids: A really practical trick is to dip your fingers in water and put them on your lids and just let them soak a bit before opening your lids. Or use artificial tears the same way (before opening your eyes), or a damp cloth.