question about goggles vs masks, & covering your eyes at night

[chimera]

so Im confused about something, is it good or bad to cover your eyes all night when you sleep? I use a cotton/satin eye mask, a small blanket & a pillow case to cover my eyes & that along with covering the vents of my air condioner lets me sleep at night. I only have to wake up once or twice to put drops on (& one of those times I already wake up anyway b/c I need to take a thyroid med at night.) But Dr Tseng told me I have floppy eyelids & my side sleeping is bad for my eyes so I need to use goggles. He also says the regular mask I use doesnt allow for oxygenation of the eyes.

But its our eyes being exposed to air that dries them out so we are all trying to cover up our eyes & Ive read some people even use plastic wrap to shut their eyes so are we actually making ourselves worse?

I would think that my 3 covers(mask, blanket, pillow case) keep my eyes from opening up at night anyway but maybe they are being harmed by the lack of oxygenation.

despite all that I still wake up with dry eyes in the morning & some redness & have to redrop, though they are also less tired & painful during the morning.

[Dog2012]

It is very good point!! Actually one Famous oculoplastic surgeon told me don't use a plastic ..Myself i use Gentle Gel and what i do i seal eyes by spreading gel with fingers Once it is dried it stick/glue them together and keep it close ..What do you think ?

[BigNate]

I have had an ophthalmologist tell me that I am someone whose eyes don't completely close when sleeping. His recommendation is to sleep with tranquileyes goggles tight enough to keep the lids completely closed. Under those, he suggests glad press n seal as well as soothe ointment.

[Dog2012]

O..my it doesn't it sound right to me..it is like get a short term result at the long term consequence.

I have had an ophthalmologist tell me that I am someone whose eyes don't completely close when sleeping. His recommendation is to sleep with tranquileyes goggles tight enough to keep the lids completely closed. Under those, he suggests glad press n seal as well as soothe ointment.

[chimera]

yeah thats what has me confused, arent you supposed to let at least some air(oxygen) in? doesnt plastic wrap or a mask that presses your eyes closed prevent that?

I think I might buy the cheaper lasik goggles first just to see if i can tolerate sleeping with goggles. And to see if it makes any difference. Tranquileyes/Onyx/Quartz are so expensive.

wish i could just keep sleeping with my mask/blankets, they are comfortable & I have no problem sleeping on my side w/ them. Not sure Ill be able to do that with goggles.

[Dog2012]

Please let us know what do you mean by "sleeping with my mask/blankets" ? How do you make it ? I can tape my eye lids and put Tranquileyes on top and still have a dry eyes in the morning.. Just Gentle Gel helps

[Rebecca Petris]

I'm not sure I've ever heard of a doctor objecting to protective night eyewear on the basis of oxygen deprivation. Google oxygen deprivation to the cornea and you'll see a gajillion hits - but they're all about contact lenses which are the supreme deprivers of oxygen

Lasik goggles, despite being not the most comfortable things in the world, are my favorite tool for floppy eyelid syndrome as they have a rigid outer surface to prevent any contact between the eye and your pillow and also have a nice firm strap to make sure they stay in place. Incidentally they don't seal all the way around (they have a gap at the far left and right) but the strap covers most of that up, so they're good at moisture retention.

[chimera]

dog2012,
I use a regular cloth/satin sleep mask(the brand is Earth Therapeutics) & thencover that with an old light cotton cloth blanket & then a pillow case. It keeps my eyes warm & covered from the air. I also sleep wth the AC vents covered. So I can sleep fairly well without discomfort from dryness. However when i wake up my eyes are very dry. And they stay dry for the rest of the day. I need to drop every hour.


Rebecca,
Dr Tseng does want me to wear sleep goggles at night. What he desnt think i should wear is the sleep mask, he thinks it might be depriving my eyes of oxygen, and maybe also doesnt keep my lids from moving/opening at night.

what do you think of regular masks that touch the lids? do you think they can be harmful or deprive eyes of oxygen?