frequency of drops??

[Mawsky]

OK, this may seem like a silly question, but I was wondering, how often do you put drops in your eyes? I have some days, not many, when my eyes are doing really well, and I can go a few hours maybe, and then I realize that I have not had to constantly put in drops, but most of the time I'm pretty much constantly having to drop, I can't go to a movie, or sit through church with out having to put drops in several times, I can say I have never seen anyone putting eye drops in their eyes while sitting at work, or in a theater, I imagine everyone sees me and wonders, whats wrong with that woman?? I have had a few friends ask me, when my eyes are especially bad, How many of those drops do you use? I'm beginining to get really self concious of it, I have had to stop and appologize, while in conversations to put in a drop or two. Are most people with dry eyes not as frequent as I am? I just want this to get better. I think my frequency is unusual, or I would see others with their drops, with what is said about dry eyes being a somewhat common ailment. Just wanted to know if I'm alone here

[Gabriel]

Mawsky, I totally understand what you mean. I use drops quite often every day. I noticed during the summer months I don't use then as often. When I go to the movies I get there early so I can get the back row. I have to drop at restaurants and everywhere else. If Im at someones house I will sometimes go to the bathroom to put drops in so I don't get so much attention. But really most of the times I don't care what others think. I just do what I have to do. The reason you don't see others dropping like we do is because it not exactly a common thing to have extremely dry eyes. Its moisture chamber goggles that I'm more self conscious about. I wish I could wear my wileyx clear glasses in public but they just look to silly. I could just imagine the looks I would get, so I just put my drops in often.

[PotatoCakes]

I had a doctor tell me to put my serum drops in hourly. If I'm having a good day or am not having air issues (dry, movement, etc), I do it less but I also find that even in areas where the air is good, if I'm use OTC preservative free drops, I need them more frequently. I, too, feel self-conscious about putting drops in, particularly when I'm eating (I know some people are freaky about anything going into eyes, touching, etc) but to try to make everyone feel more comfortable, including me, the first time I pull out my drops, I offer a simple explanation. "I hope you'll excuse me, I don't produce tears so I have to regularly put drops in." Sometimes they ask questions, sometimes not but at least it gives me 'permission' to put drops in as needed and I just try to be as quick about it as possible. Depending on how well I know the person, I'll keep my eyes closed the required 2 minutes (which makes it last longer) but if I don't know the person well or it would be too weird, I just put them in more frequently instead.

[Mawsky]

Thanks for the responses, I'm sorry that you two both have my problem, but I thought my situation was unusual, and extreme so I guess it feels better to know that it's not just me. Sometimes I'll use the gel just to last longer, but it blurrs my vision so much that I'd rather not use it often. I wish there were glasses that looked normal that would help too. I haven't looked at any except here on this site, I'd really like to find some to try on somewhere just to see if that would help.

[PotatoCakes]

It's not an ideal solution but if you don't have sensitivity to petroleum products (I do), and you don't need to see well, you might keep some of the nighttime ointment handy and use that on occasion. Even though I have a reaction (more redness and inflammation followed by a bad day), I carry it with me on planes just in case everyone around me insists on having their fans on or something. I still have to put a lot of drops in but it buys me a little extra time between applications.

[Trac]

It depends on how bad my eyes feel. I have put in eye drops every 15 minutes and I have gone hours between eyes drops. I was putting in drops about 10-15 times a day, plus two different ointments at night. I saw a doctor at UCSF and he told me that the restatis did no good at all at such low levels. I was using it four times a day and I thought it was helping. Then it started to burn my eyes, so I stopped using it. Then I cut back on all of my drops. My eyes feel better than the worse they have and they really don't feel that bad. I do wear my wiley X eye moisture chamber goggle ALL of the time. I could not live without them. I no longer care how I look with them on, I can feel the moisture leave my eyes when I take them off.

[PotatoCakes]

Trac - Have you tried compounded Restasis? When I started having problems with the commercial stuff (burning, etc), I switched to Leiter's compounded and no longer have a problem with burning. It's been about 9 months since I started using it and while I can't be sure, I *think* it might be helping some. I still don't produce normal amounts of tears and have no lipid layer but I can tell that I need drops less than I did a year ago at the same time.

[Trac]

When I started using Restasis 4 times a day, like it was recommended here, it seemed to help a lot. But since I have gone off most of my meds my eyes still feel pretty moist, which is weird. But they still burn and feel gritty some times, often actually. I was out of serum drops for 3 days and nothing serious happened to my eyes. I drove to Leiter's to pick up my serum on Monday, they 50% instead of 20% I had last time, the increase was recommended by the UCSF doctor I saw last month.

My eyes seem to be a little better since I have gone back on the serum, but it still feels like I have mucus in my eyes a lot and in fact I can often pull mucus out of my eyes. If that would go away I would be much better. I was on mucomyst for a while and that did help dissolve the mucus, but it left my eyes feeling sticky. Plus it is $100 out of pocket for a month’s worth.

[MaryVa61]

Trac, just a quick note in case I've failed to update you about my daily problem with those painful mucus threads and filaments I used to have. They have been completely gone since I got completely off everything containing BAK and eliminated my chemical allergens from my home (for me it was formaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals). It's such a huge relief! I hope you get rid of yours somehow too! -Mary

p.s. I don't have to use lubricating drops every 15-30 minutes anymore either. Only use them about every 2-3 hours now.

[Trac]

Thanks for the input. How did you eliminate the chemical allergens from your home? What about at work? My eyes are actually much moister without all of the drops I use to put in, but they still fill uncomfortable, especially if I use them a lot.

[MaryVa61]

My workplace isn't a huge problem because we had a chemically-sensitive employee (recently retired) who convinced the management to be careful about the cleaners and air fresheners they used, and to use formaldehyde-free carpeting and VOC-free paint, etc. Also, I'm not using products from work on my face and hair like at home, or resting my head on anything. So eyes are pretty safe there from chemicals. AC vents can be a problem for the DES but not the chemical allergies.

I started by getting skin allergy tests by a dermatologist (not an allergist), but if you don't want to do that you could experiment with elimination. It'd be challenging and it can be expensive to replace the chemical products in your home though. And if there is anything you're still using that you're allergic to you won't see much improvement even if you got rid of most of the allergens.

To experiment, you could read the fact sheets on the various allergens at the TRUE Test website. Click on "common allergens", then the allergen you want to read about. Quaternium-15 would be a good starting place since it's in so many hygeine, skin and haircare products and is a carcinogenic in addition to being a common allergen. I'm finding that most ingredient labels for personal care stuff actually uses the name "Quaternium-15" or the other bolded names of the other formaldehyde-releasing products on that fact sheetg rather than the synonyms, but if I'm suspecting a problem with a product I'm using I look for the synonyms on the label.

My main focus has been on eliminating things the bad products that actually touch my face, hair or hands or that resease strong fumes (like household cleaners). You can't eliminate everything, especially things your home was built with. Toughest thing is pillowcases since they aren't labeled as containing formaldehyde in the US and those will flare up my eyes badly and I get the filaments. Just have to experiment.

Reactions last about 5 days or so, so it takes a week to see if eliminating a certain item is going to help your eyes. It's a ton of work. So you may want to see if you can get the skin allergy tests first.

Being strict with BAK avoidance was just as important to my eyes. It took awhile to get off the BAK due to searching for a different Glaucoma drop that would work.

I buy all shampoos, soaps, lotions, saline nasal sprays, laundry and household cleaning procuts at The Vitamin Shoppe, EcoDiscoveries, Shaklee or my local health food stores or Whole Foods. Many I order online. They last a long time, so it's not too inconvenient now. Those places do a good job of avoiding formaldehyde, though there are some other potential allergens there, but not ones that bother me. I don't like their toothpastes and mouthwashes, but I do fine with Biotene brand.

Besides the TRUE Test website, this one below is also helpful. Also check out the Skin Deep Database for product ingredient info if needed.

http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/contact-allergens.html

It's been a very worthwhile change for me to make. Huge improvement. Now my DES acts like normal DES and not some mutant version that the doc doesn't know how to handle. No wonder he hadn't known how to help me!

Mary

[Storm]

I use drops every 20 minutes. In public or in meetings, I will often go longer because its embarrassing to use drops in front of people or fellow employees.

[forbetterlife]

Please get rid of the drops unless your eyes have inflammation. You can try massage. Massage your eyes as much as possible. Hope you experience the excellent effects of massage.

[Rowanberry]

When my eyes are particularly bad I use drops every fifteen minutes as instructed by my consultant. I had RCEs but I do not have such dry eyes during the day. It amazed me when he said the daytime drops would help the night time symptoms but he was right. I use preservative free celluvisc. I am a wheelchair user and just go to a quiet corner of a shop and put some drops in. I discovered sweet tins that hold a few ampoules of drops and I have them in every bag as well as an emergency kit containing a set of all my drops and a pair of tranquileyes goggles! Hospitals will not have drops available if I am in an accident.

I wear padded biker sunglasses when I am out as they help photophobia, keep out dust and reduce evaporation. As was said better to look weird than to damage eyes. It helps being in a wheelchair, you can get away with being as weird as you like and you have already got over the "embarrassment" factor

R.