anyone else find moving air helps

[jamino]

Hi Everyone

Contrary to what i thought would help or hinder, moving air seems to be good for my eyes. I've had dry eyes for 18 months, which effects my life considerably, although i don't think i'm as bad as many other people.
It's currently winter here in Australia and outside is good for me as well as putting the windows down in the car (but i must put them back up when in traffic as the pollution or something seems to make them worse).
I was told that i don't have enough oil in my tears so they evaporate too fast, but what I've found recently seems to go against that as moving air will aid in evaporation.
Can anyone else shed any light on causes or fixes or if they've had any similar observations?

Cheers
Jamino

[PhoenixEyes]

On the Facebook dry eye groups I saw some say they felt the air in certain climates helped. Some of them were near the sea and I felt it might be the salt in the air, which is a natural component of tears, but I can't prove anything of course. Saline has 0.9% salt and Muro 128 has 2% or 5%, or you can get it generic as sodium chloride eye drops / ointment. Some on the forums have mentioned it helping their dry eye.

[jamino]

near the sea definitely helps, but i don't know how much of that is because of the sea or just being outside.
even recirculating air from the same room or car is better

[PhoenixEyes]

I see, maybe it could also be sensitivity to irritants in the air without an oily barrier to repel them and certain 'fresh' air feels better?
You could try getting tested for allergies such as dust mites, pollen etc.

There are HEPA filters you can get for the home that remove particles in the air, here's someone showing off what one can attract:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn2RLJr74nk

There's also balms like HayMax you put around the eyes to draw and catch particles away from going into the eyes, some say Vaseline works just as well though.

Of course this is just an idea.

[CharlieGreenEyes]

Hi Jamino,

I'm the same. Don't know why - perhaps it's as PhoenixEyes suggests to do with irritants in the home. Maybe also just because being indoors the air is just more stale?

I definitely find fresh air - being outdoors feels better. Even when it's windy (except when the wind blows things like grit, etc into my eyes...). I also find my eyes worse when the heating is on. As it's your winter I guess you might have had the heating on - and perhaps the fresh air outdoors helps your eyes recover from that? But it's the same in summer for me - fresh air outdoors is better for my eyes than being indoors.

Not really a fix - but I just try to keep the windows open as much as possible even in winter. Also stick my head out the windows when stuck indoors for long periods.

[jamino]

Thanks Phoneix for the suggestions. I've made an appointment with an immunologist, hopefully that reveals something.
The vaseline is an interesting idea though.

it's nice to know there's someone else with the same problem as me (although not nice for you, sorry). hopefully we might be able to help each other.
I used to keep my windows open all the time, but i found that it was only effective when windy. and because i live on a busy road with much traffic, when there was no wind, I felt worse. I'm guessing because the pollution was getting inside.

[CharlieGreenEyes]

I understand - it's bad other people have the same problems and suffering, but good to be able to meet/talk with each-other to share experiences, tips, and advice.

Hope the immunologist appointment went/goes well. Be interesting to hear back from you once you have seen them.

I used to live on a busy road too - and hated it. The pollution and the noise. Definitely felt better walking outside where I live now - and the best place was when I was abroad a few years ago. Less traffic there and my eyes felt a lot better (aside from being on the plane, which was horrible for my eyes).

[jamino]

Hi All (especially charlie)
well im not allergic to anything. so that's a dead end. but he did prescribe hi dose vitamin D as apparently im quite low. he knew about eyes too, and has said that he will write a specific referral to an opthamologist if i don't improve.
on another note, it seems air conditioning helps, which makes no sense, especially as many people on this forum say AC is the worst for them. on my drive home from work i have it going straight in my face and i feel so much better.
CharlieGE, do you find similar?

if anyone else has any suggestion about the cause, i'd love to know

[farmgirl]

Possibly the reason that the wind, if it is not hot and dry, seems to help is that the eye is producing reflex tears in response to the wind coming at it. I have found I can tolerate a bit of wind if it is a cold wind and I think that is the reason (I am aqueous deficient)

Quote: The second type is reflex tears, which serve to protect the human eye from harsh irritants such as smoke, onions or even a very strong, dusty wind. To accomplish this feat, the sensory nerves in your cornea communicate this irritation to your brain stem, which in turn sends hormones to the glands in the eyelids. These hormones cause the eyes to produce tears, effectively ridding them of the irritating substance.

[jamino]

I was told I had low oil, so wind should make evaporation worse, so your statement makes sense. Possibly misdiagnosis.
Is there anything else you can add about aqueous deficiency that might ring true for me? And how do you treat it?

[farmgirl]

What has helped me the most is Moisture chamber glasses and being quadra plugged. Restasis is supposed to be helpful for aqueous deficiency but I used it for a year and could not really tell if it helped or not. It didn't do any harm but the difference was so minimal I finally quit. Normally wind is killer for me, any kind of air movement for that matter, but I have recently noticed that cold wind actually makes me produce some tears. Having said that of course they are not quality tears but any tear feels good in the moment...lol.

[jamino]

thanks for the feedback.
Im using glasses with a silicone cup around them and they help.
but cool wind is the best for me, i feel a bit different to others here.
i hope you continue to improve and find other ways of coping.
thanks