What My Dry Eye Nightstand Looks Like

We dry eye sufferers have all been there–we wake up in the middle of the night, eyes burning and dry. We need our drops–immediately! We reach over to our bedside tables, pawing blindly in the dark. The bottle of eyedrops knocks over and rolls onto the floor and under the bed.

When this happens to me, I cringe at my clumsy mistake and quietly try to recover it without waking my husband up. By the time I find my drops and put them in my eyes, any drowsiness that I had experienced beforehand escapes me, and I’m wide awake. This is just one of the struggles of living with dry eyes–how to arrange and navigate the nightstand. I’ve learned how to arrange mine to accommodate my dry eyes and my usual habits as best I can.

Chronic dry eye nightstand

Phone and drops

So what does my nightstand look like? Well, I have my phone plugged in and closest to me so that I can click the side of it to turn on the screen light and see my Hycosan Extra eye drops so that I don’t knock them over onto the floor. Before I go to bed, I try to place the drops in a spot that is easily accessible.

Glasses

Another item on my nightstand is my eyeglasses. Before my dry eyes developed, I rarely wore glasses. I was a constant contact lens wearer, and sometimes I went from taking my contacts out in the bathroom to going straight to bed, without even putting on my glasses. Now, my glasses are a constant in my life, so they’ve earned a spot on the nightstand.

Water

I also always have a glass of water. I usually wake up thirsty in the middle of the night. I’ve learned that, in addition to dry eyes, dry mouth can be a possible symptom of Sjogren’s Disease. And while I haven’t gotten a clear diagnosis, I have many symptoms of Sjogren’s, and there is a strong possibility that I have this autoimmune condition. Regardless, I have dry mouth, so water is a must by my bed.

Quantum device

I also keep my Quantum device on my nightstand, not right next to me but usually on my stack of books to read. The Q utilizes low-level light therapy to keep oil in the meibomian glands flowing. I often use it before bed because it helps my eyes feel better the next day if I do.

Experimental items

Other items, from eye masks to Cling Wrap, have made their way onto my nightstand as I’ve lived with dry eyes and experimented with what works best for me. I could easily tell you I have dry eyes without telling you I have dry eyes, just by taking a picture of my nightstand.

What dry eye items are on your nightstand? Share below!