Flying with Dry Eye

For the past one and half years of suffering from chronic dry eye disease, I have been terrified to fly. We are all well aware that flying can be hard on the eyes, even without dry eye disease. I knew I needed to attend an appointment across the country, but I did try talking myself out of it for the sake of my eyes. But, I still did it.

Weeks leading up to my flight, I made sure that I was hydrating very well. I knew I couldn't drink my regular 100 oz of water while flying; that would've been very annoying to my sitting partner, I'm sure. I did drink water on the plane when offered but not as much. Hydrating weeks before did help me.

I also made sure to bring my "dry eye toolkit" on the plane. This included my moisture chamber goggles, all eye drops (I recommend packing a carry-on with these things in case luggage is delayed or lost). I also limited my screen time and used Audible books on my phone. I can say that my eyes were not too bad after my 6.5-hour flight. I believe these steps I took leading up to my flight and while on the airplane minimized any additional dryness or flare-ups.