Bloggerel: random thoughts on a dry eye journey

One year later

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by
Terri
, 27-Dec-2008 at 21:54 (1297 Views)
It's been just over a year since I read Dr. Latkany's book and discovered the DEZ. A lot has happened in that year, and I've documented what I did to recover in other posts. I thought I'd take a few minutes to summarize the maintenance routine I follow, which may be useful, particularly if your DES is caused by lagophthalmos or eye closure/blinking issues:

1. Nighttime eye protection is paramount. I've discovered that, if I don't get complete protection at night, the next day is difficult, no matter what other steps I take. My favorite method is to tape my dry eye shut with 3M Nexcare Gentle Paper Tape (paper is my favorite, but plastic works great also). I tried another paper tape by Johnson & Johnson, and it didn't stick well enough, so now I only trust 3M tape. I still wear my Tranquileyes when I need additional darkness but, by themselves, they don't keep my eye closed as well as 3M tape does.

2. If I get a good night's sleep with solid eye protection, I generally don't need anything else during the day. However, I do wear my PanOptx goggles when I'm outside in the wind, and I keep a pair of onion goggles for use inside the house when needed (like when sitting in front of the fireplace). I carry a bottle of Nutra Tear in my purse, and Dwelle is still my favorite drop if my eye is dry at bedtime.

3. When I wash my face and, especially after removing eye makeup at night, I rinse my dry eye with Unisol unpreserved saline solution. I'm careful to use facial cleansers that don't burn when they get in my eyes, which happens sometimes when I rinse my face because I can't close my right eye tightly. My favorite cleanser and eye makeup remover are from Paula's Choice.

That's pretty much it. As long as I follow this routine, my eyes are white (not red), healthy and pain free. I am grateful to everyone here at the DEZ who helped me figure out what works (and doesn't). I'm particularly grateful to Dr. Latkany for his book, Dr. Holly for inventing eye drops that actually work, and to Rebecca for putting this great place together. Here's to all of you for giving me the ability to look at the world each day again without constantly struggling with dry eye pain.

Updated 30-Dec-2008 at 20:02 by Terri

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  1. Terri's Avatar
    So, it's three years after the post above, and I thought it was a good time to update it. I am taping my dry eye shut at night with paper tape and using Tranquileyes over that (without wetting the eye pads) for nighttime protection. I tried using Glad Press 'n Seal plastic wrap several times, but it didn't provide sufficient protection; I ended up with painfully dry eyes as a result.

    I use olive oil to remove eye makeup (see my other post on that subject). If I need eye drops during the day, I use Oasis Tears Plus, since Dwelle is no longer reliably available. I gave up on Bausch & Lombe Soothe and haven't found any other OTC drop that works. I still use 7Eye and WileyX glasses for outdoor protection, when needed.

    As documented in my other posts about vision improvement, I have been able to maintain my 20/20 to 20/40 vision without refractive correction. I use the classic Bates method, occasional meditative sunning in the mornings and evenings, blinking, breathing and tracing when I think about it during the day. I began exploring mindfulness and meditation separately, but found an interesting combination of vision improvement and meditation in Thomas Liberman's book, "Take Off Your Glasses and See." If you're interested in vision improvement but not into meditation or exploring the emotional issues that lead to vision problems, you might want to try one of the other good books on the subject, like Thomas Quackenbush's "Relearning to See."

    Over the last year, my nutrition has gone from average to excellent as a result of implementing the diet style in Joel Fuhrmann's book, "Eat to Live." I'm down 17 pounds (back to the weight I was in college), and my cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure numbers are all excellent now. I also revamped my office environment to be a lot more active, following the advice of Mayo researcher James Levine. I use a treadmill desk for a minimum of two hours each day, answering email and doing other computer work, When I'm on the phone, I'm on my feet, using a wireless headset; and I'm working as part of a team that is implementing cultural changes in the office to support improvements in employee wellness.
    Updated 13-Feb-2012 at 09:22 by Terri (added additional information)