Cities, contacts, computers = DES

[Zarla]

I wanted to put Lasik in there too ,but the alliteration didn't work. Just as a matter of interest, has anyone on the site developed DES without any of the following being involved: eye surgery; contact lenses; city living and the associated pollution; sustained computer use for work or leisure???

[Rebecca Petris]

Actually we've got people here with dry eye (or related conditions like RCE) from causes as diverse as...

• Eye injury or burn
• Eyelid surgery
• Acoustic neuroma
• Corneal transplant
• CPap
• Radiation, chemotherapy
• Medication side effects
• Bell's palsy

...to name just a few.

And for those whose eye pain sometimes makes them wish they could pull out their eye, you might be interested to know I even have a few customers with prosthetic eyes who suffer from dry eye.

[Zarla]

Would you say, though, Rebecca, that DES is a reactive condition rather than a ..whatever the opposite is - you will know the word, one which describes a disease which develops initially because of a virus or infection rather than a situation/circumstance/medication/pre-existing condition.I'm just wondering if anyone has developed dry eye in a 'control' situation, without any prior injury to the eye. For example, someone in a non-computer/non-pesticide/non-mechanical job without a lot of computerwork, living in a healthy countryside area, in a fairly humid climate, with no other medical condition. Anyone here who fits that model?