newcomer

[lionleaper]

I am so happy to have found this board. I have suffered from dry eyes for many years-dont know exactly what caused them. Perhaps it was allergies as a child and teen,and I used LOTS of Visine so that I didnt always have red eyes.As the years went on( I am 50), my eyes got worse. I fly alot and often vacation in the desert, and live in a dry cold climate, so needless to say my eyes have their challenges.
I have sought treatment for the past 3 years with some help.I have lower lid plugs-the upper ones caused too much discomfort. I take Minocycline durine the winter months. I tried Restasis, but my eyes became very irritated(I dont know if this happened to anyone else?). Drops didnt really work, but I have recently used Systane-free with some success.
What about Freshkote, DQwell, Dakine, and Nutratears? Any advice on these as I am willing to try anything.....I do find that a portable steamer held near my eyes helps travelling, and steam rooms in my health club also works well.
Thanks for reading this. It is great to know that a site like this exists! I thought I was really odd to have my problems!

[neil0502]

Welcome! While I'm sorry you NEED to be here ... I'm glad you are

My little corner of this world: the damage caused by preservatives. Depending on WHICH Visine you used, it's quite possible that you've had a long-term relationship with the preservative Benzalkonium Chloride (a/k/a BAK or BAC). If you poke around a bit on this site (using the SEARCH feature), you'll find lots of information about what an evil thing that BAK really is.

I'd say the same thing (again, the SEARCH feature) about the various eyedrops (and Restasis) that you mentioned: others will surely chime in but there's also lots of good information on existing threads. You may want to poke around a bit to see how much the existing information helps you.

I like the steam bath at the health club, too! For some people, it only makes things worse. Not sure how much rhyme or reason there is to who's helped and who's not....

Again: sorry for the reason that you're here, but ... welcome aboard!

Neil

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi LL and welcome!

I used LOTS of Visine so that I didnt always have red eyes.

Yikes! Well, depending how much "LOTS" is, I'm with Neil on the BAK comment. Bad bad bad stuff.

Anyway, regardless of the cause, sounds like you've got a chronic condition AND challenging environmental conditions for it. I don't know how much you've already done or investigated, but at the risk of telling you things you already know, some suggestions...
- Check out the range of treatments available. I'd pay particular attention to the meibomian gland part as that is the part most frequently overlooked.
- Consider investing in good protective eyewear. Our eyewear page has some examples and suggestions. If steamers etc help you, I would think that something like tranquileyes would be a help to you while travelling. You'll find many posts about it on this board if you search or browse the eyewear forums. (This is not a sales pitch - yes we sell it, but you can get it from loads of other places too.)
- Re your question on Freshkote, Dwelle, Dakrina, NutraTear: As with any drop, no guarantees, but it can't hurt to try, and many people who did not respond well to other drops have found one or more of these helpful which is why we took them on. Freshkote requires a prescription, so you'll have to talk to your doctor about that one. You can get a sample kit of Dwelle, Dakrina and NutraTear for $10.00 at the Dry Eye Shop.

Meantime welcome, kick back, browse the forums and hope you find some practical tips here that will help!

[Silverlady]

Question for Rebecca

Rebecca,
Is Nutratear preserved with the same thing that the Dwelle and Dakrina are preserved with? I couldn't use Dwelle or Dakrina and wondered about Nutratear.

Thanks,
Billye

[Rebecca Petris]

All of Dr. Holly's drops incl. NutraTear and FreshKote have the same preservative. I think that any intolerance of the drops could more likely be attributed to sensitivity to other components than the preservative (except for the buffering system which can give a slight initial sting). The clinical testing of the preservative showed it no more irritating than plain saline even with frequent use, and it's been used in these drops for many years.