Dry eye has gotten worse this year. Maybe due to wearing mask at work?

[EyeballKid]

So I've had dry eye for around 3 years. After some dramatic lifestyle changes (alkaline diet, no coffee, low sugar, little gluten) it seemed to stabilize. I could do some normal things like use my ipad, play games, watch TV. However this year, and ever since Spring I've had a much harder time. My eyes seem to be half-red most days and looking at screens disturbs my eyes far more easily.

I wonder if it isn't because I work in a grocery store and must wear a mask for 7-8 hours a day. I believe the mask irritates them since the material redirects your warm breath onto your eyes... just as how glasses fog up. No mask I've tried has a tight enough seal to prevent this. And of course not wearing a mask is out of the question.

I'm just wondering if others have noticed this, or if it could be allergies? I went to an eye doctor recently and she suggested Pataday. I'm still debating this since I'm not sure I have allergies, and my eyes aren't "itchy" which seems to be the primary symptom.

[TARYN]

You might want to consider trying Pataday. I don't have allergies and my eyes weren't itchy but I had inflammation. Patanol (now it is Pataday) was the first thing that helped me. I think it has mast cell stabilizers that help with inflammation.

[gilles]

Yes, just as with fogging of the glasses the airflow caused by the warm, humid breath dries the eyes out. I also noticed this at work.
You could try a plexi mask.

[EyeballKid]

We're still required to wear masks, even if we have a face shield. I've been searching for some no fog masks on Etsy and some of them look interesting, with sort of a seperate fold for the nose. But I think more likely than not it will have no effect on breath reaching the eyes.

Might try Pataday just out of desperation. My doctor and I have been discussing regener-eyes, and I might go that route but not sure I'm ready to commit financially.