I do a combination of Tear Support with Maqui Bright and fish oil. I started taking them at the same time so I don't know if it's one of them or the combo that works. Either way, it was a gradual thing where one day I realized I hadn't wanted to put eye drops in all day. I am for everyday, but might miss a day or two. I did stop taking them once for about two weeks while on vacation and there was a noticeable difference. It took a few weeks to get back to normal, so I won't do that again.

I heard about Tear Support from a letter to the editor in the Costco magazine, of all places. The guy was raving about it and saying how happy he was Costco carried it.

I have chronic dry eyes. My ophthalmologist recommended that I take flaxseed oil or fish oil.

Tried restasis. Didn’t work. Tried Xiidra. It helped, but I eventually developed some allergy to it. It made my eyes super itchy. Had to stop.

Tried Tyavara nasal spray. It irritated my nasal cavity severely.

High Lo eye gel, Refresh Omega 3, and Optase gel helped, but only as a temporary relief.

I so tried a procedure called lipiflow. It’s intended for people with MGD. For me, the help was temporary. My doctor said it’s not for my type of dry eye.

I saw a rheumatologist. He tested me for sjogren’s disease. I was tested negative. However, he said about half of people with Sjogren’s will test negative by blood. I don’t have dry mouth at all. So he did not test me with saliva gland biopsy.

I was told the best solution for me is to have plugs put in my tear ducts. You can’t feel them, I was told. That’ll be my next step.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dry Eyes are a Classic symptom of Sjogrens (an auto immune disease).

Dry mouth.
Fatigue.
Joint pain.
Dry skin.
Dry nasal passages and throat, and a dry cough.
Skin rashes.
Muscle aches.
Acid reflux.
Vaginal dryness.

What if you have a peen and not a pus?

it’s worth looking into, but most of the symptoms are also symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

I have an entire dry eye regimen. It really helps… I do Tear Care every year, which is done at my Eye Dr.’s Office. They place these little devices on your lids and it pulses. Doesn’t hurt, takes about 15 minutes. Then the eye doctor manually probes the lids… Sounds bad but actually takes about two minutes per eye and only parts of it are a little bit uncomfortable. It’s a little bit costly though… at my doctor it costs about $700 But it’s worth it to me and I don’t use eye drops so saving money there.

I tried to do 15 minutes of a warm compress every night. Just getting the water really hot and then just every couple minutes reheating the rag and placing it over my eye. Just do it while I listen to music or a podcast and I find a very relaxing.

I take omega 3s and try to eat a lot of healthy fats anyway and stay hydrated, follow a healthy lifestyle. Try to limit screen time when I can and Just try to do blinking exercises.

Do you wear contacts?
Change to glasses.

Discontinue alcohol
Eat anti-inflammatory diet
Eat fish, eat avocados, eat olives and olive oil
Less screen time
Hormones if you are a 50 plus woman
Preservative free single use drops
Systane drops and Systane gel at night

Anonymous wrote:See an ophthalmologist. Possibly meibomian gland dysfunction (the oil glands in your eyes) that help prevent tears from evaporating too quickly, decreased tear production, a combination of the two, or something else.

This. I had the Lipiflow procedure done for MGD and it was life-changing. It's in-office, easy, painless, fast. It has to be done by an MD. When I had it done, it wasn't covered by my health insurance and cost about $800. I only needed one treatment 5 years ago.
When I later had to have eye surgery for another issue, every surgeon I consulted said that I would have a faster recovery since I had the Lipiflow procedure done pre-surgery.
If you're wondering whether or not your dry-eye is caused by MGD, they do an imaging test of your meibomium glands first and it's really easy to see how blocked (or not) they are.
PS. My blockage wasn't caused by "tight-lining" my eyes with cosmetics, but it is a cause of MGD. Eyeliner repeatedly and thickly applied over the glands and inadequately removed, or scrubbed so much as to cause irritation and swelling, is a problem.
You will be able to use eyeliner again but in a way that doesn't cause a problem. Also, some brands and formulations of eyeliner are less damaging than others. Since cosmetic companies are constantly changing their formulations, you have to keep checking on MGD patient forums to find out the latest info about the "good" brands.
Good luck.

Less screen time. We don’t blink enough when looking at screens, reduce your usage - granted with work responsibilities that may be difficult- but likely to help.

What kind of drops? “Red eye” or allergy drops are going to dry your eyes out further. Try Systane drops, and use them multiple times per day. This is what my ophthalmologist advised.

See an ophthalmologist. Possibly meibomian gland dysfunction (the oil glands in your eyes) that help prevent tears from evaporating too quickly, decreased tear production, a combination of the two, or something else.

See an ophthalmologist. I use systane complete. Was told a lot of OTC did nothing. Have also dabbled in the prescription drops and sprays. Have the plugs. Dealing with inflammation from dr eyes and / or blepharitis that causes ongoing light sensitivity. Am currently waiting for my dry eye specialist appointment. They have specialized tests for dry eyes that my first two ophthalmologists did not have. Look for a good doc on this one. I’m optimistic that I’ll get help this time since I’m going when not in an acute state of stress with photosensitivity.

Take fish oil and sea buckthorn oil.

Anonymous wrote:My doctor said the drops almost never work. I get duct plugs and they’re a game-changer.

Do they hurt? How often do you need to get them?

Having humidifiers in my bedroom and office helps a lot.

Have you tried warm compresses? Then gently massage your tear ducts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dry Eyes are a Classic symptom of Sjogrens (an auto immune disease).

Dry mouth.
Fatigue.
Joint pain.
Dry skin.
Dry nasal passages and throat, and a dry cough.
Skin rashes.
Muscle aches.
Acid reflux.
Vaginal dryness.

What if you have a peen and not a pus?

If you have pus, that’s a whole different issue 🤢