Earth Clinic Mobile: Home Remedies for People and Pets

Home > Ailments > Dry Eyes > Dry Eyes Q&A > Take several prescriptions which cause dry eyes

Take several prescriptions which cause dry eyes

Posted By Diane (Abingdon, Maryland) on 04/30/2011

I am going to scream. I take several prescriptions which cause dry mouth, dry eye and anything else that can dry up. I have been to the opthamologist and was told to do the warm compress thing, eye drops, eye gel. IT AIN'T WORKIN!! So now it's Restasis and now it hurts so bad I can read watch tv, sew, I would like a home remedy, I am a little scared to do this, but I am at my wits end. Thanks.

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 04/30/2011

Diane, I am with you on this one! For awhile now, seemingly without much reason my eyes and skin are very dry. For me the biggest problem is that I hate wearing glasses, see quite bad and have difficulty wearing my contact lenses. Never thought I would be in this position at the age of 53.... I mean, I am not that old.... I expected to have problems later in life but not now and I am not really coping. I tried Castor Oil which seems to help a lot of people but my eyes only get swollen, so that is not an option. Even if I put it only on the eye lids like some people recommended for insomnia, let alone in the eye. Manuka Honey seems to help a lot of people but to be honest I don't dare to try. Right now the doctors only give me the same thing they give you, artifical drops which don't really help, warm black tea on the eye lids and then I have to press out the fat (which is my problem, I do have tears but they are too liquid and evaporate).

Yesterday I went to the Eye Clinic in Basel, so you would expect that from Switzerland more innovative options would come but that is not really the case. As my eyes get very dry during the night the doctor gave me Bepanthene cream, no idea whether this exists in the USA. I have been eating more bananas, drinking loads of water, taking all kinds of supplements like MSM, Vit. C, E, D, A, B complex, cod liver oil, Hyaluronic Acid and God knows what but I am not that much better. Maybe someone comes with something else we could try...... I will have a look again in all my books and see what I can find! By the way, I am not taking any medication that could have caused this!

Replied by Joni (Selma, Oregon Usa) on 04/30/2011

Diane and Francisca,

Hopefully what has cured my dry eyes will help yours also. A couple years ago my eyes started to feel like something was in them, like sand or dirt. They became red. My left eye was worse the my right. I wear glasses and also contacts. It got to the point where it hurt to wear the contacts. My eyes kept getting worse and so very dry. I went to my eye doctor and all he did was tell me it's my age and to use eye drops. I didn't want to put chemicals in my eyes so I didn't. I lived with this pain for several months. I also have adrenal/thyroid problems, and one of the thyroid symptoms is dry heels that crack and bleed. Well, my heals were horrible. It was very painful for me to even walk.

In my research online trying to find help for my heels, I found that a lack of essential fatty acids causes dry heels. I then researched EFA's to see which are best. Chia seeds and flax oil or seeds are very good, with chia seeds coming out on top of the flax. So, I started to eat chia seeds. I prefer to gel them. I eat three tablespoons gelled chia seeds two or three times a day. Not only did my heels completely clear up, my eyes did too! No more cracked, bleeding heels and no more dry, red, burning eyes. They are clear as can be. Believe me, I know how painful both can be. Please try the chia seeds and if you can't get those buy the flax seeds. I so hope this will help you!

Replied by Sheila (San Diego, Ca, Usa) on 04/30/2011

Hi Francisca,

The website/blog I read on the drying effects of VCO recommended using VCO in a warm bath or after a warm shower when the skin's pores are more open. I've tried this and seems to absorb much better without a drying effect, though I'm no longer using it continuously. I know what you mean, I thought I found the perfect beauty product too. : )

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 05/01/2011

Hi Sheila, I tried VCO in my bath also Olive Oil but although my skin looked wonderful when I stepped out of the bath in the morning it was dry again. Right now I am trying to take a bath every other day which I dislike, not so much because I feel dirty because I still wash myself, of course but because I love the warmth because going to bed. I am a real bath person! I also try to eat more fats but nothing seems to help, not supplements either! When I tried linseed oil capsules my skin seemed to get even dryer, very strange!

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 05/01/2011

Hi Joni, thanks for the information. I have never heard of Chia Seeds but I will look into it, no idea whether that is available either here in France or Switzerland or Germany which are next door to us.

Replied by Geneva (Paraagould, Ar) on 05/01/2011

I take cod liver oil for my dry eyes. The one in capsules is what I take. Hope this help you.

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 05/02/2011

I wonder whether anyone here has any experience with L-carnosine eye drops like Can C or Bright Eyes? They are very expensive, do they work at all? I wonder about what they would do to lessen eye floaters and dry eyes.

In the meanwhile my dry eyes are a bit better. I am using Bepanthen at night, some antihistaminic eye drops, blinking frequently and putting warm tea bags on my eyes or having a steam bath, then massaging under my upper and lower eye lids with a q-tip to get the fat out as my problem is that I do have enough tears but they are too liquid (so be aware that there are different types of dry eyes). A good thing about this warming therapy is that little fat deposits under my eyes which are quite ugly have been coming out. Yesterday I was able to have my contact lenses in for quite a while. I now wear the new contact lenses Oasis, the ones you have to replace every two weeks and they are the flatter type. If this all stops working I still have another option which is to pay a visit to a contact lens specialist in the Eye Hospital in Basel (Switzerland, next door to us) as they make you try different lenses and different liquids. I don't want to give up my lenses and I am too myopic to have a laser operation.

Replied by Debbe (Melbourne, Australia) on 05/02/2011

Francisca, there is a lot of information on the internet about cod liver oil being effective for dry eyes. It is an essential fatty acid along with evening primrose oil. I am taking both (they are both great for you). Cod liver oil is also very good for the brain.

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 05/02/2011

Thanks Debbe, I have been taking cod liver oil for a while and right now I am also taking Vitamin E but before I was taking EPO. But nothing really seems to clear this problem although I am happy that right now I am able to wear my contact lenses. I am also taking quite a high dose of Vitamin C and still I am having a bit of a cold, very strange. It is as if for a while already I don't react to anything. I can take anything at all but nothing really seems to work.

Replied by Diane (Ottumwa, Ia) on 08/12/2011

Evening Primrose Oil will help dry eys and many other other symptoms you may not realize you have. If you are a women, it will also help with PMS symptoms and and your skin. You can also try Borage or Black current oils, they provide similar benefits.

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 08/12/2011

Do you happen to know whether Evening Primrose Oil needs to be taken with Vitamin E? I have read this in a book and also online. They say that Vitamin E or Flaxseed Oil prevent the EPO from oxidyzing in the body. But then... Why does it oxidyze and the two others don't? I have stopped taking it till I find out whether I can take it alone or not! I have to say that I didn't notice my dry eyes getting much better..... Right now I am taking Cod Liver Oil.

Replied by Holistichelen (St Petersburg, Florida) on 04/17/2012

re: dry eyes - I use a cold laser - I used the cold laser on a woman who could no longer drive, because her dry eyes kept her eye lids closed most of the time. She was very uncomfortable.

You MUST KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED DURING THE TREATMENT - I lasered completely AROUND her eyes, the sinus'; nasal area, forehead. Probably 20 minutes for the treatment. When I checked on her, the treament lasted almost 3 weeks. I re-treated her again. This time the treatment last almost 3 months. I treated her again and the treatment lasted almost 4 months. Have not heard how she is doing lately.

Replied by Nancy (Santa Fe, Nm, Usa) on 06/13/2012

Holistichelen, What color cold laser did you use on her eyes? And it work for the dryness for a few weeks at a time?

Back to Dry Eyes Q&A