Dry eyes in the house

[cimorene]

Yesterday Wax had to quit work early and drive into Turku to see a doctor because it felt like something was poking her in her left eye but there was nothing there! And then she had to get up early and go to Turku today to see a specialist. She got some eyedrops prescribed, but there's nothing majorly wrong with her eye. It's just that her eyes are too dry. Apparently when your eyes are too dry one of the things that can happen is that they stick to your eyelids when you're asleep and if they're too stuck, when you open your eyes a few cells from the cornea can get torn off it and stay stuck to the eyelid, which creates a little micro hole in it and feels like you're being constantly stabbed in the eyeball. Isn't that great?

When we were talking about this last night I said, "You know, for a bunch of years, like maybe five to ten years ago, I felt like my eyes were too dry all the time and I was putting saline drops in them frequently, but a few years ago instead it started being like they overcompensate and make a lot of tears and now my eyes are more likely to be running when I've been asleep or lying down..." and with her new knowledge she was able to devastatingly inform me that this is just a sign of my eyes being dry, and even though it makes them hurt less, the tears are the wrong kind of moisture or something and not actually helping the eye themselves. So apparently in addition to the drops Wax needs for the inflammation and pain, we both have to start moisturizing our eyes now.

The other quixotic thing that happened this week was that my sister forgot about Brexit. Again.

To be specific: last year my sister ordered me a holiday present from a UK etsy shop that cost more than the minimum you can import without paying import taxes now (which I think is like under 20€ - it might even be 10?). As a result I got a text informing me that a package I didn't know about previously was at Customs, and in order to free it I had to fill out an online form indicating exactly what it was (which is a hassle in itself because they're in a taxonomic tree list) and provide a receipt or proof of purchase, in this case, the email receipt from the webshop that my sister had to forward, which obviously sort of spoiled the surprise. With a small present the amount you have to pay to release it from jail is only a few euros typically, but it is a hassle and it spoils the surprise.

And then this week she FORGOT THAT THAT HAD HAPPENED and ordered me a present from another UK shop.

(My parents & sister and I have pretty much given up on mailing back and forth anything larger than a padded envelope due to the delays and the fact that postage for the regular-sized boxes we typically used to send has gone up to generally over 100€.)

Comments

[wychwood]

Apparently when your eyes are too dry one of the things that can happen is that they stick to your eyelids when you're asleep and if they're too stuck, when you open your eyes a few cells from the retina can get torn off it and stay stuck to the eyelid, which pokes a little micro hole in the retina and feels like you're being constantly stabbed in the eyeball. Isn't that great?

Well I know I'm never going to sleep again! Ripping holes in the cornea!!! (I assume you mean cornea and not retina because that would be significantly more nightmarish)

I'm glad everyone's eyes remain functional, and hope that the eyedrops help!

What do you actually need to do to moisturise them?

[cimorene]

I don't know! Wax says probably OTC eye moisture drops suffice, but I can ask the GP when I see her.

[princessofgeeks]

I hope you mean the cornea and not the retina?

Wishing you all the luck with dry eyes! What a pain!

My mom had that off and on for years and what helped her the most was drinking more water.

Hoping Wax heals up soon.

[cimorene]

Oh yeah, I guess so. That wouldn't make sense.

[isilya]

Another symptom of perimenopause (and also potentially some of your medications). I assume winter in Finland means very dry inside air as well.

Probably the best and easiest way to help dry eyes is to help your eyes improve the quality of the tears with a warm compress (it helps the oil glands which improves the tear quality--without oil they don't actually moisturise the eyes and dissipate too quickly). We got a Bruder mask a few years ago and it's very simple (and relaxing!) to use. I like to combine the warm compress eye mask with guided meditation (since you can't really do anything else while it's on anyway!).

1) preservative-free OTC eyedrops, warm compresses, oily ointments at night if necessary
2) hydration--drinking water, running humidifier if necessary
3) enough essential fatty acids in diet

[cimorene]

Thank you, that's just what I wanted to know! I do try to drink enough water, of course. It's harder in the winter, when I want to drink hot beverages most of the time.

Is it actually a significant improvement to buy the custom-designed eye compresses, vs. just a regular microwavable grain heat pack or hot washcloth for the eyes? Wax and I were just wondering about this yesterday because she got a whole sheet of instructions about her eye drops that included a compress, but the product they wanted her to buy at the pharmacy wasn't even really a mask, it was just a mask-shaped bag of grain as far as she could tell!

[isilya]

Any gentle warm heat is good so just start with whatever you have but I can say from experience that the warm washcloths are a giant pain in the neck in the long run (they don’t stay warm for the 10 minutes required and also drip water all over you and also you need a fresh one each time because a damp washcloth breeds bacteria so fast). I don’t know about regular microwave grain bags, but you do need to be careful not to get the compress too hot. It’s not grain inside the Bruder but some kind of hypoallergenic beads I think.

Warm beverages are just as good as water!

[cimorene]

Ohhh, okay. I usually make it pretty hot when I'm putting it on my neck or hands and I've touched it with my face at a hotter temperature, but it might not heat at the same speed. 25 seconds sounds low for a grain-filled cotton bag.

[isilya]

There’s probably precise info online somewhere but I think the aim is 40-45 degrees for 10 minutes.

[isilya]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38990464/

[cimorene]

Oh cool! Thanks! That's not hard, though maybe the ones you can buy would actually be a little easier.

[mllesatine]

I also had to pay import taxes for a thing I gifted myself. So far so good, have done that twice already and I know that you have to be physically home because of this. Now I received a letter from UPS where they stated the amount I paid. The letter said "paid" but it also said "this has to be paid in full now, here is our banking adress". So which is it? I emailed them and I'm waiting for the reply.

In short: UPS doesn't know how to write a bill.

The guy I handed the money to didn't give my a receipt and seemed in general confused by the process so I hope he actually booked the amount I paid.

[shaggy]

I was diagnosed with dry eye syndrome a couple of years ago and am getting the latest and greatest in treatment after a few false starts with other docs. What happens when you have too much screen time and don’t blink enough (thanks, fandom) the oil glands in your eyelids atrophy and get plugged up. You can’t really correct it, but you can get some relief and stop it from getting worse.

They started by scrubbing my eyelashes and then put me on a schedule of twice daily cleaning with Zocular Zocufoam cleanser. They have some expensive tech to stimulate oil production, with Theratears Omega 3 supplements ongoing. Inflammation is controlled with quarterly IPL therapy & a prescription eyedrop that costs like $600/mo but that for reasons I can’t explain I get for free after signing up for an online coupon program.

[cimorene]

😮Wow, geez! This is wild. There are so many expensive and specific problems! Special eyelash cleaning!!?

I guess this must be the industrial severe version of the less drastic problem Wax and I are having! Apparently at the intro level you can use otc drops and ointment with hot packs on the eyes.