For dry eyes "There is no Cure" Is this BS?

[Eyeburn]

I keep reading on these medical websites that state that there is no cure for dry eyes.

Someone enlighten me on exactly what this means. I mean, if someone has dry eyes that are hormone induced, and correct through hormone therapy and their dry eye goes away.. did they not cure their dry eye once finding out the problem?

Also, I have another question. I want to know how severe my dry eye is. Right now, I don't have any scratchy feeling, no discharge, or bloodshot eyes. I do have burning eyes that okay when I wake up but start to burn within minutes of opening them and gets worse in big stores like walmart.

Although, there are times when it is not a problem, and interestingly enough. The wind from outdoors feels GOOD. They only burn when I'm inside stores with AC and heating or in my home. Now. I bought a humidifier that has a humdistat on it and keeps it around 50-55% humidity. Yet my eyes still burn. If it was the outdoor humidity that made them feel better, why can't I achieve this indoors?

Oh, and hello , my name is Chris, and I have dry eyes. (drops do nothing, currently 3rd week of restasis, and take all my omegas and eye vitamins)

[Terri]

Chris: Have you ever been checked for allergies? You could be allergic to something in your home that's also in big stores. You might want to keep track of exactly which locations trigger the burning. For instance, your eyes may burn at home but not at work, in Wal*Mart but not in a dry cleaners. It might help you with diagnosing the cause of the burning.

[kitty]

IMO, Dry eyes are not cured. They are managed. Consider your hormone example. If lack of hormones causes DES, and HRT makes the DES symptoms go away, you are managing the DES and the hormone imbalance by taking the HRT. Take away the HRT and the DES will return.

[Eyeburn]

Chris: Have you ever been checked for allergies? You could be allergic to something in your home that's also in big stores. You might want to keep track of exactly which locations trigger the burning. For instance, your eyes may burn at home but not at work, in Wal*Mart but not in a dry cleaners. It might help you with diagnosing the cause of the burning.

Well, I went to the doctor and he did a test and saw that my eyes were dry. The locations that they burn most are in my house, walmart, and school most times. It's unbearable at times, and I'm squinting or getting extremely frustrated. Outdoors is pretty good for me, even when it's windy.

Is this peculiar for dry eye syndrome? I don't have any other allergic symptoms if it was an allergy. Just dry eyes. They don't stick, no discharge, not bloodshot,(although I do get bags under my eyes the more dry they are), no grittiness, nothin but burning and purple circles on the worst of days.

[Eyeburn]

IMO, Dry eyes are not cured. They are managed. Consider your hormone example. If lack of hormones causes DES, and HRT makes the DES symptoms go away, you are managing the DES and the hormone imbalance by taking the HRT. Take away the HRT and the DES will return.

I see where you are coming from. That makes sense. Just reading "there is no cure" sounds so hopeless when it's expressed that way.

Edited to add: Just got to thinking.. Some medications, anti-depressants, and overdoses of certain vitamins can cause dry eyes. By stopping these medications or lowering them enough to relieve symtpoms, the dry eyes can be corrected without maintenance. So is that considered not a cure?

[Rebecca Petris]

I keep reading on these medical websites that state that there is no cure for dry eyes.

Someone enlighten me on exactly what this means.

There is no correct answer to this because doctors and patients use "dry eye" as a catchall term for several distinct diseases (from a great many distinct causes) and for conditions with elements of more than one disease.

Conditions often tossed in this "dry eye" bucket can involve the lacrimal glands and/or the meibomian glands and/or the goblet cells of the conjunctiva and/or the mechanical function of the eyelids and/or... you get the idea.

Some of these conditions are more curable than others. I'd say that when conditions are attributable to external, controllable factors like short term drug side effects, environment, diet, or daily activities, they ought to be more likely to be "curable" (or close to it), depending how long they've been allowed to progress.

But this is all very hard to sort out. For one thing, it may be difficult or impossible to separate the cause(s) from the trigger(s). Then, too, so many people have multiple factors.