Red eyes

OnMiOwnNow2

I always have dry, red eyes. Eye drops only work for an hour or so and i've tried all of them. Any ideas on how to keep the whites of your eyes white all day? Thanks!

beanifer

Has your doctor checked you for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction?  If your glands are inflamed or clogged, they don't produce the lipid layer of your tears, which will make your tears evaporate off your eye too quickly.  If this is the problem, warm compresses can help.  Leave the warm compress on your closed eyes for about 10 minutes, then massage the lower eyelid.  This should help liquify the lipids and make them flow properly, which will help your tears stay on your eye longer.  (If you do get diagnosed with this, do the compresses EVERY DAY.  MGD is progressive, and the glands can die out if they are clogged for too long.)

If the problem is that your lacrimal glands are not producing enough tears, the Restasis should help.  You can also use over the counter eye drops, but get the preservative-free ones.  Some people are sensitive to the preservatives, and that can make red eye worse.  You can use the preservative-free ones as many times a day as you need.  (You can only use the preseved ones up to 4x per day.)  Do NOT use Visine, or any other drop that claims to relieve redness.  These help only for a very short while, and then the redness will come back with a vengeance. 

Using navy blue eyeliner/mascara instead of black can also provide some camouflage for reddish eyes.