Newbie here and VERY depressed.

[SouthCarolinaBoy]

Hey everyone! I am glad I finally found a forum to come and share my story and seek advice. I am 31. I have had dry eyes since I was about 15 or 16. In the past few months it's gotten worse. To the point I can't even live my life anymore. I wear contacts and glasses. I usually wear contacts to work and when I am at home I wear my glasses. I have tried to wear glasses to work but my Rx is so strong that they give me a headache doing computer work all day. Also they distort my eyeballs so I look like I have tiny eyes. The first day I wore glasses to work I got so many snickers and laughs I went home sick. When I wake up in the mornings my eyes are bloodshot to the point of looking bloody and so dry it's uncomfortable to even keep them open. The only thing that helps is Visine A but that only is a temp fix and an hour later they are bloody looking again. At work I get stares all day because my eyes are soooooooo red. I have tried every brand of contacts, eye drops, Restasis, everything. Now I don't have medical insurance so I have to hold off going to a specialist. Is there ANYTHING I can do to help relieve the symptoms during the day at work to keep my eyes from looking bloody until I can get to a doctor?

[PotatoCakes]

First things first, STOP using Visine. Not only is it only a temporary fix for the redness but it will actually make your dry eye and redness WORSE in the long run. Stick with preservative-free (individual vials) tear replacements (Refresh Plus, Systane, there are a number of brands out there). I know you're focused on the redness right now but doing something that will cause longterm damage is not what you want to do.

Can you talk to your boss about possibly working from home for a period while you figure things out? That might make things easier emotionally plus, it gives you more of an opportunity to create an atmosphere that will be less painful. For instance, have you tried running a humidifier at night and during the day, if possible? While humidity won't cure you, it can certainly help, to some degree. Perhaps you can take a humidifier with you to work? There are travel humidifiers that could easily sit on a desk. I have one that I travel with sometimes and it's quite compact. It isn't as useful as a full size humidifier but it's much more discreet.

While you're talking to your boss, mention your discomfort around your co-workers. Some education may be necessary. Dry Eye Disease is basically a disability (not sure if it's legally classified as such but if it isn't, it should be given how it can be extremely disabling for some people). There are legal protections for people with disabilities and workplace harassment is covered, as well as the requirement that your workplace has to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities to do their jobs http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm This can include allowing you to use a humidifier, take scheduled breaks, work from home (depending on the situation, of course), provide sensitivity to employees, etc.

Besides drops, have you tried warm compresses (not hot!)? That can help the oils flow giving you more lubrication. It doesn't work for me but it really helps some people.
Have you tried placing cold (run cold water over bag, squeeze excess out) green tea bags over your (closed) eyes? I find this helpful in diminishing the inflammation and redness.
Keep in mind, neither of the above are long-term solutions but they are good temporary fixes for now and they won't cause more damage to your eyes.

I have to run to an appt right now but hang in there. There are some really good threads and suggestions on this website (use the search function and look at the Open Forum section too). Not only can this site be great emotional support but you'll learn a lot.

[littlemermaid]

You've got to wear glasses, if not wraparounds, if you're working on the computer. And change the environment to humid, as Potatocakes says. Visine will trash your eyes. My daughter needs frequent eyedrops for computers. Lower your screen if possible, or raise your chair, so that you are looking down with minimum eye surface exposed. Set a blink reminder (one on Dryeyezone) so that you are not over-staring. Set a strict regime of closing and resting your eyes. Take regulated breaks. You may not be able to continue working on computers if it's not possible to change the environment. Could be you are overwearing the contact lenses in an air-conditioned room?

They are laughing now, but if it's a desiccating environment and they are on computers all day without being careful, it could be them next. This is an increasing problem - my husband is IT manager.