Is Dry Eye Photophobic??

[Francesco]

Hi,
just wondering if dry eyes may be photophobic Thanks
Francesco

[indrep]

Yes, that is one of the symptoms/consequences.

[kitty]

Most definitely. I can't stand bright light at any time of the day or night. I'm still looking for night vision anti-glare goggles that will fit!

[Rebecca Petris]

I'm still looking for night vision anti-glare goggles that will fit!

I was just talking with my sister about this. She has trouble with oncoming headlights (not related to dry eye). She has found the polarized copper lenses from Wiley-X very helpful.

[dianat]

Since we're on the topic, I must add that fluorescent lighting in offices is almost impossible for me. I have occasional school meetings that are always held in places that are lit up like this. All the classrooms and the cafeterias...I'm in misery and am blotting all my excess tears. It's awful. I truly feel for those of you that have to be in an office every day.

Sorry, bad day.

[Francesco]

Thanks...I always have problems with artificial lights..even if I wear sunglasses I feel that my eyes are getting more red and they burn....hope that plugs help with this and it's not a thing that I'll always be "sensitive" too.

[Isis]

I believe it is because since I developed MGD, my eyes burn like crazy when I am in the sun.

[Francesco]

I believe it is because since I developed MGD, my eyes burn like crazy when I am in the sun.

In my case I don't have MGD...

[kitty]

I was just talking with my sister about this. She has trouble with oncoming headlights (not related to dry eye). She has found the polarized copper lenses from Wiley-X very helpful.

Thanks. Do these come in prescription lenses? I can't find them on the web site, too much to look at I guess.

[kitty]

This site has several options for anyone interested in glasses to reduce glare.
Less expensive than Wiley. Polarized Optics

[Brighteyes]

I have MGD and one of my symptoms is photophobia. I have to wear sunglasses at all times during the day (when outside) because sunlight makes my eyelids swell up (even more) and my eyes turn red immediately. At night, street lights are blurry and car headlights are blinding.

My opthamologist doesn't seem too concerned, although he has basically resigned to telling me I'm "cursed" with MGD.

Could photophobia have something to do with the eyes not dialating properly (because of infection/dysfunction)? I came accross some RX eye drops online that are used to treat dialiting problems. Has anyone else looked into this?

[Rebecca Petris]

Could photophobia have something to do with the eyes not dialating properly (because of infection/dysfunction)?

Photophobia has more than one mechanism. As far as I know, I don't think that the dry eye / photophobia link is retinal photophobia i.e. I don't think it has anything to do with the pupils.

If the drops you're talking about are miotics, like Alphagan P, forget it. The situation where that can help is if the problem is light scatter, such as in post lasik patients with a lot of glare/starbursts/haloes at night when their pupils are large. Very different mechanism than with surface disease.

[William53]

My eyes likewise are very sensitive to bright direct light and to changes in light, e.g., walking towards the setting sun as it gets blocked by trees and there's a shadow-light, shadow-light, etc. effect. I sometimes feel vaguely vampiric (vampirish? vampiristic?).

I've been diagnosed with MGD and blepharitis. I may be exacerbating the the light issue by taking 50 mgs of doxycylcine every day; doxy's been associated with skin and eye light sensitivity.

Best,

[Brighteyes]

RE: Photophobia

My eyes likewise are very sensitive to bright direct light and to changes in light, e.g., walking towards the setting sun as it gets blocked by trees and there's a shadow-light, shadow-light, etc. effect

Of course, how could I forget walking towards a setting sun being blocked out by trees/structures and blinding me while at the same time throwing off my depth perception I too thought my photophobia was caused by taking doxycycline (100mg 2x/day). However, I stopped for a period of 2 months and didn't notice any significant improvement. Maybe I didn't give it long enough before I started up again?

Photophobia has more than one mechanism. As far as I know, I don't think that the dry eye / photophobia link is retinal photophobia i.e. I don't think it has anything to do with the pupils.

Could you expand on this idea Rebecca? What are the possible causes of photophobia?

Thanks,

Brighteyes

[kitty]

This site has several options for anyone interested in glasses to reduce glare.
Less expensive than Wiley. Polarized Optics

Just wanted to let you know that I purchased the "wear over" glasses from Polarized Optics, so I can wear them over my Rx glasses. They seem to work well. I can still see the glare but it no longer causes pain like it does without the glasses. When driving with them on in sunlight/daylight, the green road signs appear blue. Kind of interesting!