Living Comfortably with Chronic Dry Eye

As I told you yesterday, I’ve been living with chronic dry eye for the last 15 years.

It took me several years and many visits to ophthalmologists before I learned to live comfortably with it. It seems much easier to manage these days because of new longer-lasting eye drop formulas, as well as more knowledge of the condition.

I now know which drops work best (and longest) for me. I also know that my dry eye condition is exacerbated by allergies. Some days I don’t know which to treat first – the allergies or the dry eye! LOL.

I discovered that a rich hypoallergenic skin cream or serum applied around the eyes in the morning and before bed helps keep my eyes moist and comfortable far longer. In dry weather or when my eyes are tired, it helps to moisturize once or twice during the day as well.

Yet even after all these years, I’m still learning about living with dry eye. I subscribed to an e-mail series on dry eye published by RealAge.com in which the authors identified specific foods and nutrients that may help prevent and alleviate dry eye specifically:

• Omega-3s – found in salmon (make sure it’s wild-caught) and supplement pills; and
• Vitamin A – found in golden and dark green fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, mango, papaya, green peppers and spinach.

Lucky me. I love all of these foods; so I’m pretty sure I’ve been getting sufficient Omega-3s and Vitamin A.

RealAge also offered a list of Five Ways to Fight Dry, Irritated Eyes which you might find helpful.

[This entry is not meant to provide medical advice. It comes from my heart – from my heart to your eyes ;-)]

Tags: dry eye, eye health, eye pain, eye care, take care of your eyes , chronic eye pain, corneal abrasions, lubricating eye drops