Curious, what kind of work environment do you work in?

[Topher3]

and how does it affect you in regards to your condition?

I was working in a heavily airconned warehouse in ikea, until I had to quit as I couldn’t handle any air conditioning and have yet to be able to get back to work. Apart from Uber Eats on my own terms as I can control the environment mostly.

[Alix]

I work in an air conditioned office with no natural light to speak of. There are windows but they face the building next door, so it’s dark, the room is lit with bright yellow fluorescent lights. There are air vents in the ceiling which whir, blowing out dry air all day long. I have 2 computer screens and my job obliges me to stare at them all day long. Needless to say this is h***.

[Topher3]

I work in an air conditioned office with no natural light to speak of. There are windows but they face the building next door, so it’s dark, the room is lit with bright yellow fluorescent lights. There are air vents in the ceiling which whir, blowing out dry air all day long. I have 2 computer screens and my job obliges me to stare at them all day long. Needless to say this is h***.

I’m sorry to hear this. This is becoming a very worrisome norm for a lot of people nowadays. Thank you for sharing I appreciate it.

[Dryinvancity]

I work in an air conditioned office with no natural light to speak of. There are windows but they face the building next door, so it’s dark, the room is lit with bright yellow fluorescent lights. There are air vents in the ceiling which whir, blowing out dry air all day long. I have 2 computer screens and my job obliges me to stare at them all day long. Needless to say this is h***.

How do you manage this? I have been working from home since January. I don’t find the computer scree. As bad as the poor air quality...20% humidity. I went to the office today for two hours and my eyes inflamed!

[Guest]

I work from home or coffee shops on the computer. I could not work on the computer at all last year in the winter/early spring. I no longer go to the office, humidity is st 40% or less. If I was just hanging out in this environment than that would be tolerable but staring at screens in this type of environment does not work. I work part-time.

[Alix]

How do you manage this? I have been working from home since January. I don’t find the computer scree. As bad as the poor air quality...20% humidity. I went to the office today for two hours and my eyes inflamed!

I have asked to get anti glare sceens fitted over my monitors but as they are apparently very expensive I’m still waiting for HR to sign this off. Even if I get these I’ll still have to face the problems of poor quality air as well as the artificial lighting.
It is hard working in this kind of environment. Even if I change jobs it will be the same wherever I go unless I completely change industries but that would mean years of retraining plus I enjoy my job otherwise so I can’t imagine not doing this anymore.
I have been experimenting with scleral lenses since last December but they make my eyes sore after a couple of hours. I’m running out of patience.

[Dryinvancity]

I have asked to get anti glare sceens fitted over my monitors but as they are apparently very expensive I’m still waiting for HR to sign this off. Even if I get these I’ll still have to face the problems of poor quality air as well as the artificial lighting.
It is hard working in this kind of environment. Even if I change jobs it will be the same wherever I go unless I completely change industries but that would mean years of retraining plus I enjoy my job otherwise so I can’t imagine not doing this anymore.
I have been experimenting with scleral lenses since last December but they make my eyes sore after a couple of hours. I’m running out of patience.

I have anti glare on my desk and lap tops. It helps and will get blue light blocking on my glasses as well. I use an app for blink exercises.

I have an office and can turn the lights off...it’s the nasty air that affects me despite 3 humidifiers in my office! It’s the whole building so it’s a real challenge. I love my job and refuse to give up finding a solution. Is working from home even part time an option for you? All the best to you!

[Alix]

I have anti glare on my desk and lap tops. It helps and will get blue light blocking on my glasses as well. I use an app for blink exercises.

I have an office and can turn the lights off...it’s the nasty air that affects me despite 3 humidifiers in my office! It’s the whole building so it’s a real challenge. I love my job and refuse to give up finding a solution. Is working from home even part time an option for you? All the best to you!

I think I’m going to have to get blue light blocking glasses as well, as I have a feeling HR are going to say no to the anti glare screens because everyone will start asking for them.

I am able to work from home from time to time, but it’s not really the done thing, the maximum people do this is about twice a month which doesn’t help much.

[Glucoa]

I work in a similar situation to Alix. Analytics profession in a low humidity/no natural light office environment with two screens all day.

Moisture Chambers have been the biggest relief by far. I can tell an instant difference when I have them on versus off. My eyes have been so much whiter and healthier looking since getting them 2 months ago. I still put in eye drops every 20 minutes or so (PF Refresh Advanced vials) and use serum tears 75% 6x per day. I have the eyeCare Google Chrome blink notifier and look away or close my eyes every 5-10 minutes briefly. Limiting screen time outside of work and sleeping in on the weekends is a must to help the eyes recover after the long work week.

For those interested, I bought the Black Nereus moisture chambers from Ziena Eyewear (30 y/o Male here) and had them fitted with anti-glare/blue light filter from my optometrist with a +.50 prescription to relax my eyes. You can also get the frames fitted with a power prescription if needed and they let you sample different frames through mail as a trial period. They're pretty discreet looking for the office environment for those worried about their appearance.

Outside of work I wear the 'Churada' 7Eye moisture chambers for driving/gym/shopping/TV watching to help protect my tear film as much as possible. The goal is to get close to a perfect fit that seals around your face.

[Dryinvancity]

I think I’m going to have to get blue light blocking glasses as well, as I have a feeling HR are going to say no to the anti glare screens because everyone will start asking for them.

I am able to work from home from time to time, but it’s not really the done thing, the maximum people do this is about twice a month which doesn’t help much.

I’m an HR Director...do you have notes from your doctor and optometrist requesting the anti glare screens? It’s a medical accommodation.

[Alix]

I’m an HR Director...do you have notes from your doctor and optometrist requesting the anti glare screens? It’s a medical accommodation.

Unfortunately I do not. The official diagnosis from the last ophthalmologist I saw was that I have Blepharitis. I have complained of photophobia but they said I can't prove it.
I will ask my optometrist if he is prepared to write me a note, perhaps this will speed things up. Thank you for your advice.

[Topher3]

Unfortunately I do not. The official diagnosis from the last ophthalmologist I saw was that I have Blepharitis. I have complained of photophobia but they said I can't prove it.
I will ask my optometrist if he is prepared to write me a note, perhaps this will speed things up. Thank you for your advice.

But a side effect of blepharitis is photophobia I suffer from this and there’s no way to be able to comfortably do your job in front of a screen with photophobia. Can’t prove it is such a cop out. That makes me angry, sorry you have to put up with that....

[Fenix]

I work in an small office that is an open space with windows and no air recirculation system from outside. The windows are opened early in the morning and during lunch break. This makes the air unbreathable during work hours. During winter people says "do not open windows, the heating is on...", during summer "do not open windows, the air conditioning is on...".
I started having dry eye when I started working in this office.

[Guest]

I have complained of photophobia but they said I can't prove it.
I will ask my optometrist if he is prepared to write me a note, perhaps this will speed things up.

Did your doc say you can't prove it? Or was that HR saying you can't prove it?

If it's HR, then too bad for them because it should be a simple thing for your doc to write a note saying something like, "Alix suffers from [fill in the blank.. ex. dry eye, ocular surface disorder, chronic blepharitis etc.] which has caused her to have photophobia. She requires an anti-glare screen on her computer monitors."

Once you have that doctor's note, as Dryinvancity said, it is now a medical accommodation and odds are your local laws will require your employer to accommodate this. HR can cry that you don't have proof all they want - until they have their own medical degree, they'll have to listen to the expert who is actually qualified to say whether or not you have photophobia (your doctor).

[Alix]

I honestly think this whole thing is a ticking time bomb. We are becoming more and more slaves to computers in the workplace. Even if we don't work with computers there is global warming to contend with which means more and more air-conditioning. Perhaps if scientists and doctors themselves had dry eye issues themselves they would take more interest in the subject. Astonishing that we are now in 2019 and there is still no cure for MGD.