Optase Eye Products for Dry Eyes

Ever since I started taking latanoprost eye drops for ocular hypertension, my eyes are very dry. Add to that all day iPad reading and painting and it does take a toll. So I’ve been using regular eye drops three times per day. There were at least three instances in the winter where I woke up at night and it felt like a knife was in my eye after having difficulty even opening it. So I poured eye drops in to it fir relief. It took a few days to get back to normal. I had a corneal scratch one time from contact lenses and it felt like that. So the eye doctor prescribed using Optase products. One is an eye mask that warms in the microwave and is worn for ten minutes. The next is a gel to massage your eye lid. Then there are the eye drops that are more intense from the other routine eye drops for dry eyes. This regimen seems to offer some relief - but it’s summer and more humid rather than dry in winter. So when I was reordering some of the products I noticed a spray and thought I would give it a try. The first squirts seemed to do the trick. So I tried it again before bed. I woke up with severe pain in my right eye. I don’t know if it was coincidental, but I’m very hesitant to use the spray again. But why only one eye? Now I also have a cream that is used for these times when my cornea feels abused - again. My eye still bothers me today and it can be very frustrating. My vision gets blurred because it’s just so dry. Now my daily routine is eye drops when I wake up, hot pack and eyelid massage and more drops after a shower, after dinner, prescription drops at night, and more eye drops before bedtime. Getting old is a pain. Yes, it could be worse but this is just one thing to be concerned about. 

Optase Dry Eye Kit, Refresh Drops, and Muro 128 Ointment

There are some mornings that it’s hard to open my eyes. I need to pry them open with my fingers. Three times in the last six months I woke up with eye pain - in either eye - that subsided after using eye drops all day long. So when I went to the eye doctor for a routine six month check last week, I knew the inevitable. Taking prescription eye drops to keep the ocular pressure down also contributes to dry eyes, along with a dry house, and wearing masks. I already use systane eye drops twice a day, but it doesn’t seem to help. So it was recommended that I try the Optase dry eye kit, use refresh drops, and Muri 128 ointment. There’s also a procedure that can be done with the tear duct, but I’m not going there yet. The kit comes with an eye patch that gets heated in the microwave that is worn for ten minutes two times a day. There is also a gel that is used to clean the eyelid and removes junk. And there are more optase eye drops. So the daily routine now is refresh eye drops in the morning, eye patch after lunch, gel before shower, rinse, optase eye drops after shower, eye patch after dinner, refresh eye drops after patch, prescription eye drops around nine PM, refresh eye drops before bed. I tried the eye ointment before bed, but it is a cream and causes a really bad haze. So I’ll save that for when I have eye pain in the morning, or I might try it again. Have I noticed a difference? I’m not sure, which is sad. The house is still dry with the heat going in spite of a humidifier. Getting older is a real pain. Just the cost to pay for all of this makes it difficult along with all the other prescriptions and health care needs. Luckily we can afford it. What happens to those who can’t? I feel like I’ve aged ten years since the hibernation. That’s not exactly what I was looking forward to in retirement. Yes, things could be worse - but I don’t have to be happy about it.