Three simple questions...

[CC00]

I have very uncomfortable dry eye... apparently my tears are ok. Seems I could have an issue producing enough oil. My doctors haven't been helpful. Anyway, would the PROSE lenses be appropriate enough for me to get? Or is it only for someone with a more severe condition?

How do these lenses help eyes feel less dry? And can they be prescription?

[Rebecca Petris]

BFS can answer these questions better but my opinion for what it's worth: I think that the most important measure for eligibility is severity of symptoms, that is, how much it's interfering with normal life (as opposed to severity of clinical condition, test results etc). Clinical condition however may help predict probability of success with the lenses. I know plenty of people with PROSE whose main problem is MGD (oil issues) as opposed to absence of lacrimal tear production - and some who attempted but weren't helped enough. Just depends. - If you haven't already you might want to complete the OSDI questionnaire to have a way to gauge the severity of your symptoms. - Another thing they'll look at though is what all kinds of treatments have already been tried. PROSE is expensive and a big deal in general so it's best suited for people who have exhausted conventional treatments as well as palliative remedies.

Yes they can be prescription. They cannot however be multifocal i.e. if you have bifocals or progressives now, you would need reading glasses while wearing PROSE.

They work by holding fluid over the entire cornea so it's basically hydrated and insulated from air movements or anything else that can stimulate hypersensitive nerves.

[spmcc]

Another consideration (IMO) is whether your lids/skin is/are involved in your eye problem. I found with ocular and facial rosacea that sclerals weren't the best thing for me even though I had tried standard treatments for years.

But that could just be me...

[CC00]

Thanks Rebecca for the input - good to know!

Spmcc - how is ocular rosacea diagnosed? What tests need to be done?

[Rebecca Petris]

Agree with spmcc about lids by the way. There's so many factors that can play into whether the lenses will work out for somebody but MGD in general, personally, I would guess is not one of the conditions with the highest success rates esp when there's inflammation/pain/irritation in the lids themselves. At the end of the day any rigid lens is still a big hard foreign object in the eye

[spmcc]

Spmcc - how is ocular rosacea diagnosed? What tests need to be done?

There are no tests for facial or ocular rosacea.

I was diagnosed with rosacea in the mid-1980s. I'm a classic case (Irish father has rosacea and I have all the signs/symptoms - fair/freckled skin that flushes/blushes easily).

Ocular rosacea was diagnosed mid-1990s. Some ophthalmologists say there are some tell-tale signs of ocular rosacea (read that on the internet, google "signs of ocular rosacea"), but I think they are the standard dry eye signs/symptoms.

Still I would say that I'm probably a textbook case for both. It's best to see dermatologists and ophthalmologists for their knowledge and experience.

[CC00]

Can you develop ocular rosacea at 29? ...with symptoms starting suddenly?