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Hello. I am 40+ y/o male that had a sudden onset of severe dry eyes about one year ago. I attacked the problem vigorously and tried many different things and wanted to share what has worked for me and what has not. By using the strategies that have worked, I have gone from having dry eyes unable to sleep at night to about 90% - 100% cured. I am not writing this as a cure all for everyone with dry eyes (obviously) but just wanted to let others know what specifically worked for me and what did not. If this list helps one person just a tiny bit in any way, then I am happy.
Background:
My symptoms started one year ago. Out of nowhere ... Dry eyes most severe at night waking up with eyelids stuck to eyes. Dry eyes all throughout day as well. Had to stop wearing contacts altogether. Got to the point where I could not sleep through the night without pouring some type of lubricant into the eyes every hour or so. I am very healthy. Contact wearer. Long hours at computer. Fairly healthy diet and lifestyle. Had a history of allergies when young, but cured that through diet change so no allergies as of now. My hunch was that this dry eye situation is some type of autoimmune problem. I have very little faith in Western Medicine, but I did see a doctor and was told it was Ocular Rosacea and was prescribed a steroid / antibiotic / lubricant which did nothing but make the symptoms worse. Told the doctor and his response was telling me to simply stop using it, with no other suggestions.
Over the course of about 6 months I began doing tons of research, including the use of this site. By trying various methods and throwing out the ones that failed, I have definitively cured my dry eyes. So here is the list. I am ordering the list from most effective to least effective.
What worked:
1.) Quadrupled my Water Intake. - Set a goal to drink up to 1 gallon per day. What I have found is that not drinking enough water will not matter after one or two days, but if I dont drink enough water for about three days, the dry eyes come back. I also got a Burkee filter with the Fluoride filter option and changed my toothpaste to fluoride free.
2.) Changed my diet to a more Paleo type of diet. - This has been beneficial not just for dry eyes, but overall health. There are all sorts of studies out there, but my main focus was on reducing "lectins" as it seems these may trigger an autoimmune response to our own cells. Taking out grains and beans seems to have the most dramatic effect. Also, garlic seems to cause dry eyes for me, so minimzing that has helped as well.
3.) Lubricate eyes before bed - This one is tricky because I had tried all sorts of products before finding one that really works. The combination that I use now is to put Coconut Oil in my eyes, then wipe an ever so small amount of 100% Tea Tree Oil around the eyes. Also, adding Genteal Gel on top of the coconut oil directly in the eye is very good. This combination is absolutely AMAZING. I find that even without dry eye symptoms I like to put it in my eyes at times because it just feels so rejuvenating to the entire eye area. If you do try this, please be very careful with the Tea Tree oil. NEVER put it directly in your eye as it will burn very bad. Also, there is some question whether or not Coconut oil is sterile enough to put in your eye. I have done it for months with no issue but please research this before trying.
4.) Wash eyes night and upon waking - Nothing fancy just was the face and around the eyes with a mild soap before bed and upon waking. I started using baby shampoo, but found a good healthy face wash soap is just fine. You can research on how to clean the eyelids and around the eyes. Also, splashing cold water in and around the eyes seems to help. You can do this if you don't have time for a complete wash. Something about the cold water is very soothing.
5.) Increase antioxidant intake. - I use astaxanthin, green tea, vitamin c, wellness formula... Not all at once but varying throughout the week. Not sure if it really matters which antioxidant, but I do notice a difference when taking them. i also started taking .5 mg of melatonin at night. I know this is also a type of antioxidant. Please research this as well because it is a hormone and long term use may not be good.
6.) Increase fiber intake - I just use psyllium mixed with a soluble fiber once or twice a day. Also adding probiotics seems to help the process. Sometimes I will mix a Rice Protein or Whey Protein in with the fiber. I think this goes hand in hand with any positive diet change, but wanted to add it since it is now part of my protocol.
That is it!! It took me a long time to find this combination. After trying a lot of things that did not work...
What did not work:
1.) Steroid Ointment
2.) Antibiotic Ointment
3.) Castor Oil, Petroleum Based Oils, any other type of lubricants besides the ones listed above just made it worse.
4.) Accupuncture and Chinese herbs (saw two Eastern Medicine Doctors and spent lots of money, but no help)
5.) Hot compresses. Did these consistently night and day and saw only a little bit of temporary help.
6.) Fish Oil, Black Currant Oil, Ghee, etc... There are so many studies on how these help dry eyes, but they really had no effect on me. I even tried megadosing and taking for several months with no effect.
7.) Taking out Caffeine and other stimulants. Had no effect at all. Which is good because I love coffee!!!
8.) Humidifiers.. Both hot and cold type. Helped a tiny bit, but not much.
9.) Goggles - Tranquileyes, etc... No help. Very uncomfortable.
I have many theories as to why the above list has helped me. To summarize without going into detail I am 100% sure that I am treating some type of autoimmune situation. Of course the other part of this that should be mentioned, is your state of mind. Really try to remain positive at all times. Whatever you can do... Meditation, positive affirmations, prayers, etc. This will help you see the positive aspect of the experience (which actually does exist!). For me this situation has been a real blessing because in the process of curing my eyes, I have found that many other aspects of my health are now improving as well.
I hope this post will help someone out there. I am happy to answer any questions or to clarify anything I might have left out. Good health to you all!!!
Background:
My symptoms started one year ago. Out of nowhere ... Dry eyes most severe at night waking up with eyelids stuck to eyes. Dry eyes all throughout day as well. Had to stop wearing contacts altogether. Got to the point where I could not sleep through the night without pouring some type of lubricant into the eyes every hour or so. I am very healthy. Contact wearer. Long hours at computer. Fairly healthy diet and lifestyle. Had a history of allergies when young, but cured that through diet change so no allergies as of now. My hunch was that this dry eye situation is some type of autoimmune problem. I have very little faith in Western Medicine, but I did see a doctor and was told it was Ocular Rosacea and was prescribed a steroid / antibiotic / lubricant which did nothing but make the symptoms worse. Told the doctor and his response was telling me to simply stop using it, with no other suggestions.
Over the course of about 6 months I began doing tons of research, including the use of this site. By trying various methods and throwing out the ones that failed, I have definitively cured my dry eyes. So here is the list. I am ordering the list from most effective to least effective.
What worked:
1.) Quadrupled my Water Intake. - Set a goal to drink up to 1 gallon per day. What I have found is that not drinking enough water will not matter after one or two days, but if I dont drink enough water for about three days, the dry eyes come back. I also got a Burkee filter with the Fluoride filter option and changed my toothpaste to fluoride free.
2.) Changed my diet to a more Paleo type of diet. - This has been beneficial not just for dry eyes, but overall health. There are all sorts of studies out there, but my main focus was on reducing "lectins" as it seems these may trigger an autoimmune response to our own cells. Taking out grains and beans seems to have the most dramatic effect. Also, garlic seems to cause dry eyes for me, so minimzing that has helped as well.
3.) Lubricate eyes before bed - This one is tricky because I had tried all sorts of products before finding one that really works. The combination that I use now is to put Coconut Oil in my eyes, then wipe an ever so small amount of 100% Tea Tree Oil around the eyes. Also, adding Genteal Gel on top of the coconut oil directly in the eye is very good. This combination is absolutely AMAZING. I find that even without dry eye symptoms I like to put it in my eyes at times because it just feels so rejuvenating to the entire eye area. If you do try this, please be very careful with the Tea Tree oil. NEVER put it directly in your eye as it will burn very bad. Also, there is some question whether or not Coconut oil is sterile enough to put in your eye. I have done it for months with no issue but please research this before trying.
4.) Wash eyes night and upon waking - Nothing fancy just was the face and around the eyes with a mild soap before bed and upon waking. I started using baby shampoo, but found a good healthy face wash soap is just fine. You can research on how to clean the eyelids and around the eyes. Also, splashing cold water in and around the eyes seems to help. You can do this if you don't have time for a complete wash. Something about the cold water is very soothing.
5.) Increase antioxidant intake. - I use astaxanthin, green tea, vitamin c, wellness formula... Not all at once but varying throughout the week. Not sure if it really matters which antioxidant, but I do notice a difference when taking them. i also started taking .5 mg of melatonin at night. I know this is also a type of antioxidant. Please research this as well because it is a hormone and long term use may not be good.
6.) Increase fiber intake - I just use psyllium mixed with a soluble fiber once or twice a day. Also adding probiotics seems to help the process. Sometimes I will mix a Rice Protein or Whey Protein in with the fiber. I think this goes hand in hand with any positive diet change, but wanted to add it since it is now part of my protocol.
That is it!! It took me a long time to find this combination. After trying a lot of things that did not work...
What did not work:
1.) Steroid Ointment
2.) Antibiotic Ointment
3.) Castor Oil, Petroleum Based Oils, any other type of lubricants besides the ones listed above just made it worse.
4.) Accupuncture and Chinese herbs (saw two Eastern Medicine Doctors and spent lots of money, but no help)
5.) Hot compresses. Did these consistently night and day and saw only a little bit of temporary help.
6.) Fish Oil, Black Currant Oil, Ghee, etc... There are so many studies on how these help dry eyes, but they really had no effect on me. I even tried megadosing and taking for several months with no effect.
7.) Taking out Caffeine and other stimulants. Had no effect at all. Which is good because I love coffee!!!
8.) Humidifiers.. Both hot and cold type. Helped a tiny bit, but not much.
9.) Goggles - Tranquileyes, etc... No help. Very uncomfortable.
I have many theories as to why the above list has helped me. To summarize without going into detail I am 100% sure that I am treating some type of autoimmune situation. Of course the other part of this that should be mentioned, is your state of mind. Really try to remain positive at all times. Whatever you can do... Meditation, positive affirmations, prayers, etc. This will help you see the positive aspect of the experience (which actually does exist!). For me this situation has been a real blessing because in the process of curing my eyes, I have found that many other aspects of my health are now improving as well.
I hope this post will help someone out there. I am happy to answer any questions or to clarify anything I might have left out. Good health to you all!!!
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