My journey from normal to dry eye...

My dry eyes are the reason I have decided to start this blog in the hope of helping others who may be suffering the same problems as I have with my eyes. I hope you find it informative and useful – and please do leave a comment or share your story with others.

What is dry eye? Eyes become dry when there are not enough natural tears to help keep them lubricated (tears are there all the time not just during episodes of crying). This lack of tears may be caused by either insufficient tear production or increased evaporation from the eyes. Whatever the reasons the effects are just as pleasant blurred vision, irritation, grittiness.

My dry eyes are caused by a condition called Sjogren's syndrome which is an autoimmune disease. It can have many manifestations with a main symptom of dryness - which I have both in my eyes and my mouth (how it affects my teeth needs deserves it's own blog :)).

My eyes first started to deteriorate when I was in my early twenties (I am now 32) - after about 3 years of wearing contact lenses. I don't think the contact lenses caused the dry eye but the continuous use probably magnified the effect Sjogren’s was beginning to have. By the age of 24 I stopped wearing lenses daily (reserving them for social use), and became a permanent wearer of glasses.

At this stage my eyes were feeling continuously gritty. Blasts of air from air conditioning etc. would make my eyes go red and sore. By early evenings my eyes would be semi shut - people would ask me why I was feeling so tired or sleepy. When I did wear contacts my eyes would be sticky and weeping after taking them out. My eyes stayed in this state for a few years. I did not know there was any treatment for them and nor was I aware of the extent of damage.

It was when I went for a routine sight test, aged 27, that the optician noticed both my eyes had corneal damage. I was naturally shocked and worried at this discovery and promptly attended a hospital eye clinic...

...So what happened next I hope your asking – well, I will explain in my next blog as things get a bit technical here – I have to conjure up an eye diagram to properly describe the treatment – wish me luck and please do revisit for my next instalment of my dry eye journey!