Dry Eyes problems?

Question

I went to my doctor earlier this month complaining of strange noises when i apply pressure to my eyelid. Anyways he looked and said i had dry eyes and gave me "Celluvisc" eyedrops to use 4 times a day (really inconvenient). He also told me to stop using my contacts because i could potentially damage my eyes when they are dry. I've been using the eye drops for a few weeks now and my eyes are fine but when i stop using them for a day, the dry eyes comes back. Does this mean that my eyes will forever be dry and i can never wear contacts again?

Any help would be great

Thankyou

Answer 1

All the comments about artificial tears are great, and they are a great short-term fix.  A long term fix however seems to be what you may need.  When we have dry eye it is usually due to a breakdown of one of the components of our tear system.  A really affective way to bring that tear system back to its normal level is to use hot compresses.  It is not something that will work overnight, and you have to be dilligent when doing it.  It may take weeks or even a couple of months, but the trade off is having your eyes back the way they were.  

Using a facecloth, dampen it with warm water.  The warmer the better, but certainly not hot!  Press the warm cloths to your eyes and hold it there until the cloth starts to cool.  Re-wet the cloth with warm water and re-apply.  Do this for about 3-5 minutes PER eye.  Try to do this 3-4 times a day.  The more you do it, the faster you will see results. The warm compresses are going to stimulate your lacrimal glands to produce the components in your tears and to balance their composition.  It IS time consuming, but it DOES work.  I would suggest using the Celluvisc at night, when a thicker viscosity is needed, and as others mentioned, a thinner artificial tear drop during the day.  Do not use Visine!  Visine is a vasoconstrictor and you dont want to start constricting the blood vessels in your eyes on top of dry eye syndrome.  

Are you in a dry climate?  Using a cold air hummidifier is also a great way to restore some dryness in your eyes, nasal passages, and skin in dry climates.

Good luck :)

Answer 2

it will be better to use refresh plus eye drop. They are great for dry eyes.

Answer 3

Man i have the same problem, i have had dry eye for 6 years and still havent found relief. Eye drops tend to get annoying and don't work as good as they should. Talk to your doc, i'm doing the same.

                                   Good luck bro!

Answer 4

The noise you are referring to is usually called "crepitus" and is air in the lacrimal sac or tear drainage system. Its a fairly normal finding and benign. You may have dry eyes however using celluvisc is too viscous and thick to use with contact lenses. You may wish to consider using a lighter over the counter artificial tear with your contacts such as Systane. Also, an ophthalmologist can prescribe Restasis, a medical eye drop which will help yo make your own tears, and make contact len use easier. Remember in the summertime, the heat and humidity cause our tears to evaporate so you may not have the problem in the cooler months. Finally, there are certain brands of contacts that are better for dry eye patients that retain more water such as Acuvue Oasis lenses.

Good Luck!

Adam D Koenigsberg MD FACS

Ophthalmologist

Jacksonville FL