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This information is for all those who need to seal their eyes while sleeping and have had difficulty with a good, effective way to do this. I have severe dry eye in the form of both Blepharitis and severely low tear production. The problem for me began 18 months ago with the hormonal imbalances of perimenopause which I am still in. My eyes are also sensitive to most ointments, lubricant drops, prescribed eye medications, etc. Additionally, I have tried at least 10 different masks to seal my eyes and I cannot tolerate them for 2 reasons; one is that in order for there to be a good seal I have to tighten the strap to a point that is uncomfortable for both my head and my eye area, and the second issue with the masks is that I am a side sleeper. Even the flushes of eye seal masks has made side sleeping a challenge. So, here is what I have come up with that has worked well for me, so far, and may work for you too if you need an alternative method to comfortably seal your eyes while sleeping:
1. I apply an oily eye ointment. Refresh PM was working great for me and now it's out of production. Given my sensitive eyes, so far the only other eye ointment I can use that does not cause me eye irritation is Equate PM Sensitive which is the Walmart generic brand of Refresh PM. I tried the generic CVS version of Refresh PM and it caused eye irritation. I have also tried other versions of nighttime ointments and they have all caused irritation.
2. Next, I use medical paper tape and flat 100% cotton rounds. My left eye has the most severe issues so I place a small piece of the tape over the inner corner of my lids only. Then, I place tape over each cotton round with 2 pieces of tape in a crossed fashion. In other words, one piece of tape is vertical down the center and one piece of tape is horizontal to it down the center. And, there is about 3/4" to 1" of overhang on both sides of each piece of tape. I then place the taped cotton round over each eye at night when I go to bed after applying my ointment and the small piece of tape on the inner corner of my lids. The cotton round typically stays on all night and doesn't hurt when I peel it off in the morning. And, I can sleep on my side comfortably.
As a side note, we run our A/C all night long. While the cool air does not hit me directly, it does circulate in our bedroom and this method of sealing my eyes is almost always effective at protecting my eyes from the dryness the A/C creates.
Lisa
This information is for all those who need to seal their eyes while sleeping and have had difficulty with a good, effective way to do this. I have severe dry eye in the form of both Blepharitis and severely low tear production. The problem for me began 18 months ago with the hormonal imbalances of perimenopause which I am still in. My eyes are also sensitive to most ointments, lubricant drops, prescribed eye medications, etc. Additionally, I have tried at least 10 different masks to seal my eyes and I cannot tolerate them for 2 reasons; one is that in order for there to be a good seal I have to tighten the strap to a point that is uncomfortable for both my head and my eye area, and the second issue with the masks is that I am a side sleeper. Even the flushes of eye seal masks has made side sleeping a challenge. So, here is what I have come up with that has worked well for me, so far, and may work for you too if you need an alternative method to comfortably seal your eyes while sleeping:
1. I apply an oily eye ointment. Refresh PM was working great for me and now it's out of production. Given my sensitive eyes, so far the only other eye ointment I can use that does not cause me eye irritation is Equate PM Sensitive which is the Walmart generic brand of Refresh PM. I tried the generic CVS version of Refresh PM and it caused eye irritation. I have also tried other versions of nighttime ointments and they have all caused irritation.
2. Next, I use medical paper tape and flat 100% cotton rounds. My left eye has the most severe issues so I place a small piece of the tape over the inner corner of my lids only. Then, I place tape over each cotton round with 2 pieces of tape in a crossed fashion. In other words, one piece of tape is vertical down the center and one piece of tape is horizontal to it down the center. And, there is about 3/4" to 1" of overhang on both sides of each piece of tape. I then place the taped cotton round over each eye at night when I go to bed after applying my ointment and the small piece of tape on the inner corner of my lids. The cotton round typically stays on all night and doesn't hurt when I peel it off in the morning. And, I can sleep on my side comfortably.
As a side note, we run our A/C all night long. While the cool air does not hit me directly, it does circulate in our bedroom and this method of sealing my eyes is almost always effective at protecting my eyes from the dryness the A/C creates.
Lisa