Can dry 'patches' return to normal?

[cupcakes]

Hello, i have significant dry 'patches' on my left eye which my optician thinks is from sleeping with my left eye slightly open. My right eye does not have patches, it is still dry in that my tears aren't lasting long enough but no actual patches.
My question is: can these dry spots or patches ever heal?? My eyes are generally feeling better following supplements, night time drops and a sleeping mask but my left eye still has the same dry patches even though the inflammation has gone down slightly.
Is it possible for these patches to ever go?

[alisonW]

Yes, dry patches can be healed/can go away.

[Guest]

Yes, dry patches can be healed/can go away.

Agreed!

....

[farmgirl]

Absolutely. Since starting on serum drops over a year ago I have not had any 'dry' patches. Not sure if the ones I had before serum were the same ones or if they came and went. I just know that I had them every time my eyes were checked and haven't had them since starting the serum tears. If you are really concerned I think that patching the eye closed for a few days (maybe adding drops once in a while if needed) for sure will clear them up....F/G

[cupcakes]

Well this is good news! Thank you. At the moment I don't use drops during the day as my eyes are coping alright but I'm wondering whether to try constantly dropping my left eye just to keep it lubricated enough to heal up the patches...is that a bad idea??
Farmgirl- what serum drops do you use?

[cupcakes]

This might sound a bit stupid...but how do I patch my eye closed safely? Just some tape? Or do I need to use a cotton pad over it?

farmgirl- I just looked up serum drops and realised what they were, was a bit taken aback, sounds so advanced!

[farmgirl]

By patching I just mean to get one of those pirate type patches at the drug store and put it on for a few days to rest the eye. Maybe someone has a better way but that is what I would do. I do know for a fact that were I to do that I would still have to add a drop a few times a day because even in sleep with oniyx goggles on my eyes still get dry enough to need to add a drop if I wake up in the middle of the night.

Serum drops are great for me, they contain stem cells and nutrients to feed and heal the eye not found in wetting drops and because they are made from your own blood they are very safe to use. I know I will never be without mine as long as I continue to have problems....F/G

[cupcakes]

Hi farmgirl,

Thank you so much for the advice! I saw my optician today and after 2 weeks of patching my left eye shut every night (after using eye drops), my dry patches have vanished! An they were pretty bad! Am going to swap now to just wearing a sleeping mask and hopefully this will keep my left eye shut enough whilst sleeping.

My eyes are still dry in that my tears aren't lasting long enough but the main discomfort/pain was coming from the inflammation in my left eye which is so much better now. Thanks again!

[farmgirl]

So happy to hear that cupcakes. I hope that you can keep them at bay with the sleep mask. What I really like are the Onyix mask available from this website store. The eye cup fits snug enough that you can place a piece of dAmp gauze behind it to apply enough gentle pressure on the eyelid to keep the eye from opening during sleep....F/G

[cupcakes]

Yes, fingers crossed the sleep mask will be enough but if its not, I'm going to have a look at a long-term solution for nights such as the Onyix mask.

Off topic (back to dermatology), but my Psoriasis is flaring right now, incredibly frustrating. I haven't flared like this in YEARS (I suspect its the Vitamin C I've been taking as part of my dry eyes supplements, far too much, its a known trigger). As such I can barely remember all the things I used to try. Anyway, so I had a look at PsoriaGold again. I can't afford it at that price but I figured if I could find out the active ingredient then maybe I could find an alternative. Well, its curcumin! There have been numerous threads on this at the Psoriasis-help. Doesn't work for everyone but some people have had good results by taking curcumin supplements. So I've bought some from Holland&Barrett. Its Tumeric 400mg and, thank goodness, was in the penny sale so two bottles for just under £9. You take 2 a day so that's 800mg. Apparently its hard to absorb so can been hard on your stomach, hence you work your way up to possible 2000mg. Will let you know how I get on.