so much better

[eva b]

magic wand...I wish!

Oh yes, Stella, wouldn't it be lovely!

sorry, I forgot about the lanolin in Simple ointment - now you mention it I do recall seeing it listed, which is why I couldn't tolerate it probably. I think I'm allergic to lanolin - certainly can't wear wool at all.

I wonder if any compounding pharmacy would be able to make up an ointment for you containing just the base ingredients of the ointment you're currently using?

I used to have a friendly pharmacist near where I lived who used to make up his own remedies for people...it can't be rocket science, surely, just mixing up some soft jellies?? might be worth asking.

I've found my current local pharmacist very knowledgeable about things - he knew a lot more about preservative free eye drops than my GP, (not surprising) but also than my opthalmologist at Moorfields!!!

best of luck - sorry to hear about your back...I have similar problems in my neck and when you add it all up it doesn't help at all, does it?

[eva b]

p.s.

just another thought, Stella.

I've sometimes wondered about the effect of pain meds on our dry eyes. My GP prescribes both diclofenac and co-codamol for me, for occasional use, and I do wonder if either of those actually aggravate the condition. I've tried to do a "trial" but haven't really reached any conclusion because there are so many other factors.

[stella]

I constsntly take naprosyn - I have to, so it is not an option to do without NSAIDS I also take co -codamol as and when
Compounding pharmacies ? i dont know of any in my neck of the woods .
I understand that blepharitis waxes and wanes so i will just have to sit it out again i guess until it passes (I may try more doxycillen if this continues)
Fighting pain and discomfort makes me sooo tired too

[Mercedes]

Dry eyes/Olive oil

I had lasik surgery last December 30, 2008. I had moderate dry eyes before surgery and after surgery it did not get any better. I incorporated nuts, fish oil into my diet with little relief. I ran into this sight and read about olive oil. I use it at night on my eyelids and put Celluvisc drops and wear the moisture chamber goggles overnight, this has created a tremendous relief. The use of eyedrops during the day has decreased. I actually have gone a whole day without using eyedrops. GLAD I found this site.

[calcan]

olive oil

I had lasik surgery last December 30, 2008. I had moderate dry eyes before surgery and after surgery it did not get any better. I incorporated nuts, fish oil into my diet with little relief. I ran into this sight and read about olive oil. I use it at night on my eyelids and put Celluvisc drops and wear the moisture chamber goggles overnight, this has created a tremendous relief. The use of eyedrops during the day has decreased. I actually have gone a whole day without using eyedrops. GLAD I found this site.

What brand of olive oil are you using?

[Sammy B.]

I wanted to bump this post. I recently remembered that I used to use olive oil to take my makeup off after I had undergone LASIK, but had switched to some sort of lotion earlier in the year...until I came across this post.

It's no magic bullet but putting some olive oil around your eyes right before you retire at night and then right before you leave for work in the morning does bring some relief - to me, anyway. Seems to keep the whole area more moist. Now if only I could somehow rub it onto my dry corneas and eliminate that issue.... EW!! GROSS!!

- Rose

[Guest]

Thanks for bumping this Rose... I'd read this thread ages ago, but forgotten about it completely... At the time, I remember being skeptical that this could provide any relief...

BUT...

It's very interesting to see everyone's results with trying this... I'm still going to continue with exclusive Dwelle for now, but once I see my improvements reaching a plateau, I think I will consider trying the olive oil thing.

If anyone else has tried this technique, please post and let us know your results...

Here's what I found most interesting about the results so far...

7 people posted on this thread who specifically said they had tried either olive oil or petroleum jelly, AND those 7 people also posted whether or not this treatment had helped them.

Bev, Filazafer, Claire, and Mercedes had all previously had lasik (see user profiles), and found some degree of relief with either Olive Oil or Petroleum jelly.

Yoganut, Eyeburn and Stanza had NOT previously had lasik (see user profiles) and all found no relief from this treatment.

I realize that these 7 people are a very small sample size, but it was interesting to note that 100% of the people who had lasik reported some success with this technique, whereas of the remaining people who had not had lasik, 100% of them did not have success with this treatment.

I'd be curious to see if this pattern continues...

If anyone else finds any relavent studies that haven't been previously posted on this thread, please share them! I'll be looking for some myself... if I find any that might be of interest, I'll post links here.

Sheralyn

[Sammy B.]

Lipid Deficiency

Sheralyn,

You know that I fall into the LASIK category so there's one more for the tally.

The ONLY thing I can conjure up is that more and more doctors are beginning to believe that LASIK patients are suffering from a compromised lipid layer in their tear film due to meibomian gland dysfunction (Dr. Tseng in Miami recently wrote about this).

So, while this technique doesn't really get any sort of lipids into our actual tear secretions, the olive oil might somehow leak into the eye to help with coating of the surface....? Or maybe it simply weighs down the upper lid of the eye so it sags closed a bit more? That would prevent the eye from being "open" so much, and exposed to the elements...?

I'm planning on asking Dr. Hector when I see him next Friday if there's any harm/merit in it.

- Rose

[Lucy]

I'm planning on asking Dr. Hector when I see him next Friday if there's any harm/merit in it.

Dr. Hector spoke at a Dry Eye Zone seminar a few years ago in Tampa. I with I had him as my ophth! He seemed like a good eye doc, funny tool
Lucy

[Guest]

Sheralyn,
So, while this technique doesn't really get any sort of lipids into our actual tear secretions, the olive oil might somehow leak into the eye to help with coating of the surface....? Or maybe it simply weighs down the upper lid of the eye so it sags closed a bit more? That would prevent the eye from being "open" so much, and exposed to the elements...?
- Rose

I read an explanation on another site... it goes something like this: (first, a diagram)

---------------------your skin
---------------------oil layer against your skin (A)
---------------------oil layer in contact with the air (B)

Layer A is warmer (and therefore more fluid) than layer B because your skin is warming it.

Layer B is cooler than layer A (and therefore more solid-like and able to slide around)

Layer B slides around on top of layer A, and therefore layer B slides off layer A and spreads onto the surrounding skin.

This newly oil-covered area now forms it's own layer A and layer B of oil.

The whole process keeps repeating until the layer of oil is so thin that it no longer spreads noticeably. Presumably, this is when one would feel the need to apply more olive oil to the lids.

This spreading process is what causes the oil to migrate from the skin into the eye.

Apparently this is all explained by fluid mechanics

So... it kind of makes sense... I suspect that this is the mechanism by which the lipid spray (Clarymist aka Tears Again?) probably is supposed to work. They say to apply that lipid-containing spray to your lids, right?

I did a quick google scholar search for olive oil and dry eye... it appears that they have studied cyclosporine in... you guessed it... olive oil... This makes me wonder why castor oil was chosen as the oily component of the vehicle for Restasis instead of olive oil...

[Aaron77]

I think Castor Oil is also used in the Refresh Endura drops, seems like I can go longer on the computer with the Refresh Endura then with other drops. Eyes still feel like crap the whole time its just that its a different feeling and a little less painful. I'm going to continue to take them at least until my restasis gets in, hopefully it makes the restasis a little bit easier to take.

The Dwelle is also suppose to get in at about the same time as the restasis so I'll see how that feels as well.

[ninja.angie]

I would like to try this, but have a question first.

After reading all the posts in this thread, I got a little confused as to which one is better to be used, extra virgin olive oil or virgin olive oil?


Angie

[Sammy B.]

First off - Sheralyn - nice sleuthing!!

And Angie,

I'm not really sure if there is a difference in the products. We have EVOO (extra virgin) in the house so that's what I've been using. I just filled up a small plastic travel bottle with it and keep it next to my sink in the bathroom (reminds me to use it).

I must say, the soothing effects are immediate. As for how long it lasts, I'm not sure. I still have some foreign body sensations in both eyes, but no burning (that subsided with the Dwelle, however).

And hey, it's olive oil. It's probably safe as long as you aren't dumping mass amounts into your eyes! Just try it around the upper and lower lids and see if you have any luck.

- Rose

[Sammy B.]

I'm back from Dr. Hector's office and wanted to give everyone who was interested in this thread an answer.

Dr. Hector said that he had heard of people who had found relief using olive oil, vasoline, and tea tree oil around their eyes. The theory is simple - No additional moisture needs to be redirected from the glands to the area around the eye, instead the glands can focus on the eye itself. A well-hydrated eye socket seems to do the actual eyeball some good!

He further explained that the tea tree option would be for those who have inflammation as well. I do not so I am going to continue with the olive oil.

Hope this helps!!

- Rose

[Drops]

Olive Oil

I have had good luck with coconut oil, jojoba oil. Don't drop it into the eye, just a small amount around the eye socket. Also, jojoba oil seems to calm down the roseaca on my nose.