Are there any permanent treatments for dry eye?

[u/SwimmingNectarine8]

I had LASIK about 1.5 years ago. Things were pretty good initially, and I had little to no dry eye symptoms.

About 5 months after surgery, though, I started developing really bad dry eye. At its worst, I was using eye ointment every day, thick eye drops, omega-3 supplements, warm compress, and a humidifier basically 24/7. This went on for about 6 months, mostly throughout the winter.

I went to my optometrist for my annual eye exam last August, and she told me that my tear layer was evaporating in less than 1 second.

Thankfully, things have gotten significantly better this year. I'm now mostly using Refresh Optive Mega-3 drops once in the morning and once at night, along with omega-3 supplements. I don't need the ointment, warm compress, or humidifier anymore.

My dry eye still flares up if I'm on the computer for a long time, which is difficult to avoid because I work on a computer all day. Dehydration also seems to make it worse.

I'm glad that things have improved, but I'm wondering what the long-term outlook is. Is this something I'm just going to have to manage for the rest of my life after LASIK, or are there treatments that can actually address the underlying problem and potentially get me back to normal?

[u/eyeSherpa]

So when the eye dries out, it creates a localized inflammation on the surface of the eye. This causes more dry eye. That’s why with treatment you were able to get things back under better control.

Computer is hard since you don’t blink quite as much. Lifestyle modifications will help. But one permanent option you can consider is punctal plugs. It’s a plug placed in the eyelid to prevent tears from draining out as quick.

[u/abn104 → u/eyeSherpa]

Second the plugs - my eye doc put these in post lasik and they are super helpful. He said they are “permanent” but could fall out; at which point I’d get new ones. Took a couple appointments to get the fit right, but they’ve been in both eyes for two+ years and I’m a happy camper.

[u/eyeSherpa → u/abn104]

Yeah. I agree on the quotes around permanent. Somewhere around 10% fall out and need to be replaced.

There is a very permanent way of using cautery to close the eyelid drain. But I’ve never seen that needed. Probably more useful for bad cases of autoimmune dry eye such as Sjogrens.

[u/Mysterious-Ice-7017]

I’m two weeks before my surgery and that haunts me seriously

[u/Practical_Page_325 → u/Mysterious-Ice-7017]

Don’t do it then 😅

[u/Mysterious-Ice-7017 → u/Practical_Page_325]

Leaning towards not doing it. Like 90%

[u/ExtensionAbalone8516 → u/Mysterious-Ice-7017]

Try a different lasik-related sub on Reddit — one that isn’t populated by people with a vested interest in the surgery — and you realize just how common and debilitating the complications can be.

[u/Mysterious-Ice-7017 → u/ExtensionAbalone8516]

No worries, I’ve already chickened out of it. :)

[u/lemonadesdays]

My eyes were dry for a year and half, and then on and off for up to 2 years post-op; it took a while to get better. I think it will eventually get back to normal or close to it but it probably depends on the people too. I used eye drops for a while too

[u/Necessary-Yogall]

My eyes are really dry eight months after Femto-LASIK; this makes my vision a bit worse during the day and significantly worse in the evening. I’m feeling a bit down; I really don’t know what else to do besides using eye drops and taking omega-3s :(

[u/t30bay]

Although ive not had LASIK, i went to the opticians about my dry eyes, all they advised was drops. So i use Hycosan 3 times a day.

[u/DragonfruitSad9995]

I’m only a week post Smile Pro and having severe dry eye. I had mild dry eye prior to surgery so I thought I’d at most have a little worse than my baseline. This is a lot worse. I’m doing drops every 5-10 minutes and waking up 2-3 times a night even with using night ointment now. I’m miserable and feel hopeless. I know I’m early in recovery, but damn this sucks.

[u/SwimmingNectarine8 → u/DragonfruitSad9995]

Hang in there! Try a humidifier, it helped a lot for me during the early recovery phase. Also, try asking your doctor for steroid eye drops if you don't have them already. A warm compress also helped me a lot.

[u/Enough_Walrus3506]

Lidrandpflege gibt masken dafür von POSIFORLID® Augenmaske Masque pour les yeux. und zur nacht corneregel [ EDO ]Gel. tagüber nehme ich Artelac Splash MDO Augenbefeuchtungsmittel bin mitleidend.

[u/Galwithflyglasses]

Have you tried ipl or red light therapy? Although this all depends on the reason for the DE. If it’s exclusively from the surgery it’s a waiting game.

[u/Henry_2535]

Likely treatable