Dry Eyes

I have really bad dry eyes. Before using a cpap I always had to have some eye drops next to the bed and use them during the night. My eyes must open some during the night. Well now its awful, I wonder if wearing some sort of eye covering would help stop any air leakage from hitting my eyes

Just went to the Opthamologist yesterday for a routine eye appointment. I also have suffered from dry eyes and have used Natural Tears, 15 times a day for years. I always figured it was worsened by many, many years of wearing contact lenses...from hard, straight through to disposables. The doctor told me that my dry eyes were also very irritated and red - I just figured that it was because it is major allergy season. Then we discussed CPAP and how it will make dry eyes worsen and can cause conjunctivitis. On top of that, I had been having oxygen fed into my CPAP for 8 months. (Now gone, thank goodness) She told me oxygen blowing in my eyes made it even worse. So now, I am using Restasis twice a day. You know, the happy smiling lady you see on TV. Don't get too excited. It costs $189 for a months supply - which my insurance will pay for...have used it 2 times. Causes blurry vision for about 15 minutes after use, plus you have to use Refresh eye drops first to prevent a burning sensation plus you have to keep the vials refrigerated ...hidden somewhere behing the jello and applesauce with a large note that says, "If you throw this away, you die!' Can take up to 6 months to work. Each of my eyeballs, which I dearly love, are now truly expensive. I asked about using a sleep mask. She told me, unless it is sealed very tightly against the skin, the CPAP will blow up through the bottom. Plus most sleep masks are made of breathable material so they will not really offer a lot of protection. So, no, I have no solution other than finding a mask with a better seal.......and good luck with that one. But you will be happy to know, that because I filled in a Restasis survey, I will be the proud owner of a free bottle of Refresh eye drops, a pen and pencil set and a booklight. Whoopee! Let's see 6 X $189 ....hmm, could purchase a gold Waterman Pen!

Pre cpap I had one eye that was dry and definitely uncomfortable. I was going to an accupuncturist at the time and mentioned it to him. He inserted a needle adjacent to the eye and voila no more problem. He did not tell me until afterwards that it was the first time he he done that procedure. I was going to him originally for pain but it did not help the pain but was worth it because no more problem with my eye.

Nice report, now I must admit the restasis girl, Janine Turner can sign my bottle of tears anytime. All that aside, this dry eye thing could become a problem with CPAP. I need to be proactive and try and stop it early, I wonder if restasis really works, I mean dry eyes are dry eyes, lack of tear production. I have already had tubes put in my eyes, and most days things are fine, I might have to use drops 3-5 times a day, but now when I wake up, ugh, really dry eyes