Has Dry Eye Ever Made Life Awkward for You?

By Ava Meena

1 min read

In addition to all the physical difficulties that chronic dry eye can bring into our lives, it can also affect our relationships with other people. I've had issues with everything from my husband wondering why there are eye drops all over the house (and humidifiers in the winter) to having to excuse myself from a conversation because there was high air flow or windy conditions bothering my eyes.

In this video, I'm sharing a couple of specific situations where my dry eyes made life a little awkward for me. Health issues are often a private experience, which makes it harder to open up and find ways to tell others that you're uncomfortable. Or, perhaps dry eye might lead you to behave in ways that seem weird to other people.

It takes courage to explain your health issues and why you might need certain accommodations due to chronic dry eye. Sadly, people don't always know how to respond or may not react well, leaving you to navigate a difficult situation. At best, it can be awkward, at worst, it could start to feel unkind.

So, here are a few of my awkward dry eye situations. Please feel free to share in the comments if you've been through something similar while living with chronic dry eye.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The ChronicDryEye.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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Sharon Moore Member
<inline-mention username="Ava Meena" user-id="4509934"/> i can identify with a couple of your scenarios. My husband is so hot natured he always wants the ceiling fan on especially for sleeping. He doesn’t understand why the fan bothers me with my eyes closed. The compromise is for me to sleep on my left side turned away from the fan. I have issues in the car but it’s easy enough to direct my vents away from my face or even turn them off. Sharon Moore Patient Leader 
1. Ava Meena Member
 <inline-mention username="Sharon Moore" user-id="4125594"/> having dryness issues while your eyes are closed - and sleeping - is probably one of those things that is just super hard to understand unless you've experienced it. I have to admit it does seem strange if I dwell on it. Nonetheless, it's still a valid issue and we deserve empathy and compassion for it. Thanks for sharing. -Ava, CDE team
CommunityMember6718297 Member
my problem seems to be different. My left eye seems to be constantly running, so often I look as if Im crying when I'm not. And it very much makes it difficult to read.
1. Sharon Moore Member
 <inline-mention username="CommunityMember6718297" user-id="6718297"/> odd as it seems, tearing eyes are a symptom of chronic dry eye. Do you have a doctor to help manage your symptoms? Regards, Sharon Moore patient leader 
2. Ava Meena Member
 <inline-mention username="CommunityMember6718297" user-id="6718297"/> Sharon is right, having your eye watery with tears is a symptom of dry eye, even though it seems confusing. My dry eye is primarily evaporative, so I don't typically experience that problem - but it's not unusual by any means. In the past when I have had brief episodes of tearing up it's been very uncomfortable and hard to use my eye, so I can imagine that it's quite difficult for you. I encourage you to seek some help for that issue, there's likely something that can be done for it. Here's a good article for reading about dry eye symptoms: <a href='https://chronicdryeye.net/symptoms' target='_blank'>https://chronicdryeye.net/symptoms</a> -Ava, CDE team