What have you done to make life easier at work and home?

[MOC]

Hi,
Just signed up yesterday for Dry Eye Talk and already have found a wealth of very helpful information. Best of all, it is wonderful to know that there are folks out there who know so much about this issue and are willing to share what they know.
I am hoping that you can share with me some of the little or big things you have done that make a difference in coping with dry eye. I have found that my dry eye problem has had a profound impact on the way I conduct my daily life but I am not willing at this point to go down without a fight.
Here is a little background. I have of a long drive to work each day and am starting my workday with very stressed dry eyes. Once at the office, I am not able to work for a sustained amount of time without experiencing severe dryness and pain. Working all day in front of a computer terminal is probably not helping. By the end of the day, when I have to get back in my car and drive home, the drive is pure torture. Once home, I am so exhausted all I want to do is plop down somewhere and veg. Since I can no longer watch TV without severe dryness and pain, that is out of the question as a mode of relaxation. I find I can do some close work, so I do crossword or sudoku puzzles.
So, my question is, how do you all cope? For example, have you found that looking down at a computer screen helps? Do you need to take breaks during the day? If so, what do you do to help restore some comfort to your eyes? The list of possibilities is endless, and I am hoping that by sharing our ways of coping we can all benefit.
To get the ball rolling, I offer my number one way to cope with dry eye. Promise you won't laugh because I swear this works. When I am driving to work I have found that if I sing, yes that is correct, SING, my dry eye is greatly relieved. Now, this can't be just any old singing, I am talking about belting out the Dixie Chicks or Aretha Franklin. Try it (I would recommend being alone in the car at the time) and see if it doesn't work for you.
Ok, now it is your turn!

[Flick]

Hey MOC,

Welcome to DEZ. Thanks for the singing tip, I will give it a try next time I am driving alone. Another thing that may help your drive is wearing Panoptyx goggles that create a seal around your eyes so that you have less tear evaporation. Some people dont like wearing them in public but driving to work by yourself is probably a time when you wont be seen by many people. You can search the forums for more info on Panoptyx, they are also sold in the DEZ store and often at Harley-Davidson stores.

Good luck!

[Mellie]

Hi Moc,
I totally relate to you in trying to find ways of coping with dry eye. I had to stop working because my job involved looking at a computer screen for 12 hours a day. That's no longer possible for me-I can do it in short spurts at home. I also have enlarged everything I can on the monitor so it's easier to read and I keep a magnifying glass handy for the things I can't enlarge.
As far as relaxing at home-I am a big time reader and can't stare at a regular print book any longer. I have found on good days I can read large print books, again in short spurts, but the majority of the time I listen to audio books now. It took some getting used to, but I find it to be relaxing and it's a good way to rest your eyes while "reading". I use my local library and also the state talking book library to borrow large print books and audio books. If reading is something you enjoy, you might try these options.
TV and going to movies are a challenge for me too. What I usually do is close my eyes during commercials to rest them and during a movie I just have to close them for a minute periodically. You just have to experiment and find what works for you. For me, lots of artificial tear lubricant and lots of rest helps me get through. I know I pay for it on days I try to do too much-too much driving or just too much running around town with my husband. Too much looking basically! I don't know if any of this helps at all, but I hope it does a little. It seems to be a trial and error of finding whatever makes you feel more comfortable-I think it's an ongoing process with this frustrating condition we all share here. Anyway, hope this helps some and take care!