Adventures with cling film!

[lisiamc]

A little while ago, someone wrote that they had good results putting Glad Press N Seal over their eyes at night.

Since they don't sell Glad Press N Seal in the UK, I decided to have a go with regular cling film last night. And it worked really well!

I normally sleep with Tranquileyes goggles and get up every 90 minutes or so to add more Genteal gel. I've been trying to get back to at least two hours between gel top-ups, but I keep feeling like the gel has dried out and gone sticky, and I'm too frightened of another erosion to tough it out for even half an hour.

So last night I set the alarm for 2 hours and gelled up, then put a bit of cling film over my eyes, followed by a sleep mask with moulded eye cups that don't touch my eyelids. It took a little adjusting to get the cling film to lie loosely over my eyelids but still lie flat on my eyebrows and cheek bones to make a good seal, but I got there. And when I woke up, it felt like I had just put in the gel - my eyes felt just right.

So I re-gelled anyway just to be safe, and then tried 2.5 hours, and another 2.5 after that. Tonight I'll try three hours and see how it goes. I think I'll try it under the Tranquileyes as well. My dream would be to only have to get up one time each night.

The cling film seems to really hold in the moisture, just like it does with food, and it's pretty easy to use. I wonder what the cling film and tape manufacturers would think if they knew what we get up to with their products!

Lisa

[liz56]

Hi, Lisa.

Thanks for the suggestions and explanation of your trials. I'm really glad to hear that it is working.

I used to get up every two hours, too, and I was so glad when I got to three hours. That's really only twice each night, and one rests much better that way. Every two hours is not enough to get the right kind of sleep, so that sort of drove me nuts. I hope that you are doing okay with the amount of sleep.

I have not had an erosion in five months (knocking on wood!), and I am up to re-applying Genteal Gel and Dwelle only once each night. It took me a long time (almost a year) to get here, but the suggestions here at the DEZ are really for the long-term management of dry eyes. So, knowing that has helped me a lot. I hope to get to a point where I can use Dwelle only in the mornings and at night, but I am still on it every three hours or so. (I'm not sure if I need it or if it is just my security blanket.) Little by little, we'll get there.

Take care,
Liz

[FairfaxLady]

HI,
I just read you message about the gel drying up. I use a sleep mask because I love to sleep with a fan on at night. I never had luck with the gels and ointments. I put mineral oil in an old eye dropper bottle and put mineral oil in my eyes at night. It doesn't dry up at all and they feel very moist in the morning. I used to have to put Systane in my eyes several times a night. Not anymore. If I awake I will replenish a drop of mineral oil in each eye for further relief. I also spread a little erythromycin ointment along the lash area. No more crusting in the morning. Good luck!

[Hangus]

Adventures with clingfilm!
Not sure if it will do any good with your eyes but it sounds like a movie I would pay to see!
Barry

[lisiamc]

Maybe it's a male thing - my husband had some "interesting" suggestions as well... Hmm, this could be a lot more fun than I originally thought!

Lisa