advice on artificial tears at night.

[Ben]

Hello all

i am a little bit confused if i have bought the right drops, so i i thought i do the sensible thing and ask you all.

My eyes seem to be getting no better in the overnight department despite doing hot compress late at night and reading as little as possible when i go to bed(hard though as i have a good book at the mo!). Mornings are not good time.

I have been out and bought some Viscotears to put in, this is a preservative free sterile eye gel, they are in single use doses.

Will this help overnight? I am a little worried after a bit of reading on the website that gel's can do more harm than good. I had tried lacrilube about a year ago and the effects where so painful it put me off this long trying something new, until now i have just put up with it.

Any advice gratefully accepted.
cheers
ben

[Guest]

Trial and Error

Unfortunately Ben, you are going to have to persevere with a little trial and error to find the drop that works for you overnight.

It is difficult here in the UK as we don't have many options at our disposal. All I have found here is Viscotears and Celluvisc that are a little thicker than most others out there for night time use.

One thing a lot of us on this board tend to agree on is that Lacrilube has its applications but regular use may cause you more problems as it may reduce the wettability of the eye (this was my personal experience and that of many others).

Unfortunately in the UK, it seems to be in the eye dr's handbook to prescribe Lacrilube first (I think this is because of the complete lack of alternatives).

I currently use a gel of a night and have done for months. I was using Viscotears until I had someone in Australia send me some Genteal Gel, both are made by Novartis (??sp) but they are very different products.

If you find that Viscotears tears isn't working well enough for you, maybe you could try Celluvisc (you can get it on an NHS prescription OTC it is £10 per box so see if you can get 2/3 boxes on your prescription).

Not sure if you are aware that you can get Viscotears on prescription as well (I got 3 boxes for £6.65) OTC it works out at £12/box.

If you want to try Celluvisc, I have quite a bit of it as I don't tend to use it anymore, it was one of my earlier drops that I no longer use. If you send me an email (ian@ianpratt.com) with your address and I will pop a couple in the post to you so you can "try before you buy" at your own risk.

Cheers

Ian

[woodart]

What problem are you having that you need something at night? Eyes not closing enough? Just general dry eye? Makes a difference. My eyes do not close tight at all. Have used Lacrilube for many years. and seems fine for me. I just started using the Tranquileyes(spelling) sold off this site to close in my eyes and provide humidity and even though it has been only 3 days that seems to work well for me. Also tried them with the heat 3 times that they sell and they are comforting. At least it gives you some options to try. Maybe try increasing omega 3's in your diet. Did well for my eyes. In any even, good luck.

[Ben]

I don't think i have a problem with my eyes not closing, but then again how would i know? all i know is that come morning my eyes feel so heavy and sore and are difficult to open without discomfort. A shower does make them feel better, but they can remain red and sore for the rest of the day.

I have tried early nights, not reading in the evening, not watching TV in the evening, allsorts, but the eyes still feel the same each morning.

I am only just starting with experimenting on the viscotears before bed. since using the lacrilube about a year ago. No change this morning, but that is only one day i suppose and in no way am i weighing up the pain of using the lacrilube and forceably taking my eyes out of their sockets to give em a good wash.

Here's hoping tomorrow morning brings some benefit.

cheers
ben

[kitty]

Another tip, you might try getting up half way through the night and putting more drops or gel in. Also sleep with a humidifier in your room. You might try and see if you can get your hands on some GenTeal gel. That is what works best for me. Our eyes naturally produce fewer tears when we sleep. So, it is not surprising that those of us with DES find the night/sleep hours the most uncomfortable of the day. Good luck!

[CarolynYvonne]

Good info, Kitty

Another tip, you might try getting up half way through the night and putting more drops or gel in. Also sleep with a humidifier in your room. You might try and see if you can get your hands on some GenTeal gel. That is what works best for me. Our eyes naturally produce fewer tears when we sleep. So, it is not surprising that those of us with DES find the night/sleep hours the most uncomfortable of the day. Good luck!

Kitty,
Thank you for posting this. I have been waking up several times a night with really parched, dry, burning eyes and I did not realize that it is normal to produce less tears while sleeping, but it makes good sense. I've been using Systane Free and ISO preservative-free saline and my TranquilEyes. It helps a lot but I still generally have to get up at least once or twice to put in some drops or apply more heat. Still that is much better than it used to be. Thanks for sharing this.
CarolynYvonne

[calli66]

humidifier question

I own one, but haven't used it much--it's a big floor model. I stopped using it because it gets moldy inside, and in order to prevent the mold, you're supposed to add some chemical (?) to the water. I just figured, how can that be good--breathing in vaporized fungicide?

How do you guys deal with this? Or do you just use a table-top sized model.

Thanks,
C66

[kaypeeoh]

Whatr about sleeping in goggles? They'd create a moist microenvironment around your eyes.

[kitty]

A tiny amount of chlorine bleach should stop mold production.

[Silverlady]

Warning!

Don't put the chlorine bleach in goggles, you can get severe burns from this. I thought most of you would realize this but thought I should mention it in case someone got confused. I personally would not put chlorine bleach in my humidifier.

Billye

[Silverlady]

Tips on using and maintaing a humidifier

This is from the Environmental Protection Agency:

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/humidif.html

Hope it helps.

Billye

[woodart]

Look for a dry warm place to put them. I store mine when I get up in the kitchen cabinet over the fridge after using paper towel to dry them as much as possible. Once the heat is on for the Winter I can put them on the rediators. Same as I do for my cpap masks. Nice and warm and dry which is what you need. I have to be careful in the fact I am allergic to mold and other stuff.

[kitty]

Don't put the chlorine bleach in goggles, you can get severe burns from this. I thought most of you would realize this but thought I should mention it in case someone got confused. I personally would not put chlorine bleach in my humidifier.

Billye

I was referring to the humidifier in my post. I guess if you have moldy goggles, you could wash them with bleach put personally I would toss them in the trash

[Ben]

Chlorine and Bleach!! my eyes are suddenly starting to feel better.

Would a black out mask do any good i.e used for sleep/travel? rather than googles, still at the experimental stage and thought i should try stuff in stages. Sure i'd be able to pick up an eye mask relatively cheaply to try, perhaps this combined with eye gel ?

[Guest]

Tranquil Eyes,

I clean mine with Baby Shampoo and leave them to dry in the sun (the sun part is a bit of a challenge at this time of year in the UK).

As for the goggles in the UK, there aren't a great deal of options, I hunted around for ages but couldn't find much. The tranquil eyes are a little expensive but are worth it in my honest opinion.

Ben, send you some Celluvisc and unpreserved saline to try.

REgards

Ian