Eyes are only dry in the morning or during sleeping now

[apham]

Hi,
I now only experience dry eyes if I wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning when I first wake up.
Is this a normal indication for regular dry eyes (eyes not producing enough tears or eyes not producing good quality tears), OR is this all just due to sleeping with my eyes open?

I use humidifiers and an eye mask and I use genteal gel at night... these things don't help at all! And I can't tell if I'm still sleeping with my eyes open or if people with dry eye syndrome generally have drier eyes during sleep. It would be good to know so that I can take the appropriate measures to find relief.

I'm also on restasis and taking flax seed pills.

Thanks!

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi,
I now only experience dry eyes if I wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning when I first wake up.
Is this a normal indication for regular dry eyes (eyes not producing enough tears or eyes not producing good quality tears), OR is this all just due to sleeping with my eyes open?

Nobody can answer that without a detailed exam... Can be lagophthalmos, can be dry eye, can be blepharitis, can be very mild ABMD, etc. All depends on clinical findings.

Yes, people with dry eye syndrome (of whatever type) often have drier eyes at night. It's normal for tear production to be reduced while you sleep - remember you're not blinking all the time so you're not pumping out as many tears. For healthy eyes that's OK but for people with a compromised tear film of any kind, it can be a real problem, with or without a lid closure issue. And people with a totally healthy tear film can sleep with a very slight lid opening without it causing them serious problems.

If you can, try to book a dr. appointment that will be the very first in the morning. If you get an early appointment, they can sometimes see signs of exposure under the slit lamp, literally a line across part of your eye from your lids not closing, if that's part of your issue.