Can certain shampoo and soap cause dry eyes or MGD?

[TRiBaL]

Just little question to put out there.

[stella]

Definately -
Keep all such substances away from your eyes by either wearing goggles when washing hair / or keeping your eyes tight shut (know where your shower gel/shampoo/conditioner are -I have mine lined up in a certain order with tops off and" feel "for them when i need them)Have the shower -head ready to rinse your eyes as soon as you think any of those substances are anywhere near your eyes ,and rinse--- Sounds complicated but it is quite easy and you get used to it

[Francesco]

i think we are overstimating this dry eye problem....i mean every dry eye expert says that dry eye can be caused by A LOT of factors like sleep, lifestyle or even food...but this doesn't mean that if a bit a shampoo goes in my eyes then i have chronic dry eyes! shurely for some minutes, maybe hours it can become red and burn but please lets try to bring ourselfes as far as possible from psychosis. i live in Milan (Italy) that is one of the 5 most polluted cities in the WORLD! what should i do? change city or live 24 hours a day with tranquileyes goggles to ensure that smog is not going into my eyes??? i'm saying this just to reduce the level of anxiety and preoccupation that often people has about chronic dry eyes (Me included!)...it is just a problem (hopefully temporary) that someone has. i hope this doesn't hurt anybody, i know your pain, i'm 23 and have this going on since 16-17!!

[Rebecca Petris]

There are a lot of things that make dry eyes feel worse - which is a very different matter from causing dry eye.

I think Francesco makes a good point. It may be hard, but definitely healthy, to avoid being too obsessive about our eyes/eyecare.

[stella]

Maybe i am not typical -
I have allergy issues too --- so shampoo, even face creams in or on my eye lids can set my eyes off for days
It never used to be like that before i got DE so it probably aggravates the condition in my case - Even some ocular lubricants do the same eg I have tried theratears and refresh endura and lacrilube and they all make my eyes sooo much worse
Also onions,barbecue smoke ,cigarette smoke , and even heavy perfumes and toilet or room freshner sprays affect my eyes adversly ,and very obviously so.
I have learned from experience to be very careful of anything i put in or near my eyes
I have had to stop swimming in our local pool because of the chlorine in the water
I would use wrap- around sun glasses(small and tight fitting ones) - I have them permenantly on top of my head and since I also have periods of light sensitivity and sensitivity to flurescent lights eg in supermarkets and on the computer and when watchig TV very often ,so I use them over my perscription glasses , but i often slip them under my glasses too if i find myself next to a smoker for example. It looks strange but i dont care - I use it only as a temporary measure until the danger to my eyes has past
Strange thing is I am not at all bothered by fresh air - wind and the great outdoors suits me;dont much like air conditioning or blow out heaters mind but i dont seem to need moisture chambers like some people - its more protection against irritants i need
I suppose that is classic allergy !!
Needless to say i cant tolerate any preservatives in eyedrops and all allergy drops contain preservatives except Similasan that Rebecca suggested and I can and do use those if neccesary
Anyone else have these issues - i would be intersted to hear ?
Stella

[TRiBaL]

Well is it true about how much food intake your getting can effect how your eyes become dry?

[Eli]

Chronic (and severe) Vitamin A deficiency has been reported to cause dry eye, but is rare in this country. Chronic, crappy American (typical) diets consisting of lots of sugar/carbs, "trans" fats, highly processed and "fast" foods have been linked with inflammatory conditions and certainly don't help dry eye. Some researchers have also been looking at American consumption of omega-6's vs. omega-3's and say we eat too many "6's," again promoting inflammation. A Harvard study showed that women who had diets high in omega-3's were significantly less likely to develop dry eye. I have not seen anything however that linked daily food intake, in terms of raw calories, with dry eye. Of course, over-eating and obesity can cause a whole bunch of problems, and perhaps inflammatory conditions are a risk. I personally find that eating makes my eyes feel much better temporarily. This is probably due to parasympathetic nervous system stimulation. I wish it would last longer!

I have also seen a few passing remarks speculating that bisephenol-a, an ingredient in plastic bottles/containers, might cause meibomian gland dysfunction in high doses. Interesting.