Applying a photosynthetic process to treat “dry eye”

(science.org)

49 points | by gumby 11 hours ago ago

16 comments

  • khanhnguyen8386 an hour ago ago

    Finally, a medical reason to stare directly at our monitors for 12 hours a day: "I'm not slacking off, I'm just photosynthesizing my eye medicine."

  • mkagenius 6 hours ago ago

    > chronic inflammation/oxidative stress condition in the eye tissue

    I seem to be having eye fatigue, or grogginess, I couldn't differentiate. I am at the computer 10 hours in the day.

    For example, last night I had a sleep of 8 hours roughly but still I have to force my eyes open to type this - if I don't put any effort my eyes would be 30% close. I have just woken up - mid 30s age. otherwise I am healthy expect this freaking pressure near around my eyeballs.

    chatgpt is confused too, sometimes it says sleep deprived, sometimes screen exposure. I do sometime use mythyl-cellulose drops not sure it helps. My tear ducts are fine too.

    • IsTom an hour ago ago

      Probably a different problem, but I used to have trouble with this until I noticed that staring at things (particularly computer screen, road when driving) greatly reduces my blinking leading to dry eyes. Now I try to remember to blink from time to time and either force tears out or use drops to keep them moist.

    • trumpeta 3 hours ago ago

      I live in a place with 30% humidity inside for about 1/2 of the year. I had real issues with my eyes getting dry. I’ve tried drops, went to the doctor, etc. In the end the issue was that I was not sufficiently hydrated. When I started drinking 2-3 liters of water per day, all my eye issues went away.

    • mh- 5 hours ago ago

      As the other commenter said, get your eye pressure checked, especially if this is persistent. That's not something to mess around with.

      I'm also curious if you monitor your BP though?

    • jml7c5 5 hours ago ago

      I often get sore eyes when I'm sick. Perhaps you have some mild infection? It would certainly explain the fatigue. It could be an odd one, like one of the herpesviruses. An alternative possibility is mold exposure.

      Task glasses might give temporary relief of the discomfort. They're just regular prescription glasses that put optical infinity at screen distance. This allows the ciliary muscle to remain fully relaxed.

      Consider getting an opthalmologist to look at them, just in case.

    • dataengineer56 2 hours ago ago

      I never had dry eyes until I got laser eye surgery. Some mornings I wake up with a very sore dry left eye.

      One thing that helps with fatigue was to get some very weak glasses that I use when I'm working at a computer. They just make my eyes much more relaxed.

    • bshalom 4 hours ago ago

      go see a doctor maybe, i don't think chatgpt is the answer here

    • pudgywalsh 3 hours ago ago

      > chatgpt is confused too

      Stop talking to a computer and go see an ophthalmologist.

      You need an eye exam and tests.

    • OutOfHere 5 hours ago ago

      Fwiw, these things helped me a lot. I don't even need eye drops anymore unless I am wearing daily-disposable contact lenses.

      * Punctal cauterization

      * Vitamin A: 10K IU, taken on five or six days per week (most important supplement for dry eyes) (This takes three weeks to work. Do not confuse with beta carotene.)

      * Taurine: 1g bid

      * Lutein: 20 mg (naturally derived only, not synthetic)

      * Vitamin D3: 5K IU, taken on six days per week

      * Fish oil: 2g bid (triglyceride ester version) (provides 1.4g omega-3s in all)

      * Generic cyclosporin A eye drops (burns at first for a few months, but then works)

      Since you mentioned pressure, get your eye pressure checked annually by a professional, as should everyone. You can also confirm that your eye prescription is correct, although various optometrists are idiots and give a wrong prescription, so be careful. As for your blood pressure, you can use an upper-arm Omron BP monitor to measure it at home.

      Note that preservative-containing eye drops can irritate the eye in the long term. Benzalkonium chloride is the worst such offender. Preservative-free lubricant drops exist.

      • projektfu 5 minutes ago ago

        Hilarious that you list all the supplements before the generic Restasis/Cequa, which is indicated for KCS.

      • mkagenius 4 hours ago ago

        I had a chat with chatgpt again, and it seems like it's more to do with my sleep than eyes, somehow my circadian is not properly adjusting to my wake timings. Coz the same pressure improves dramatically around 8pm everyday. I probably should get some sleep measurement device.

        • mh- 4 hours ago ago

          Might also be time to have a chat with a doctor.

      • Traubenfuchs 38 minutes ago ago

        Add oral hyaluronic acid as as essential and badic supplement for dry eyes. Dissolve it in your mouth or you will just defecate a little hyaluronic acid egg.

      • ahoka 4 hours ago ago

        I don't think you should give medical advice over the internet to strangers.

        • mkagenius 3 hours ago ago

          It's fine, they just mentioned what worked for them and a pretty normal advice to check eye pressure.