I have dry eyes (I have to add 2 different kinds of eye drops at least three times a day, and they are still dry).
I am thinking of asking for a humidifier for Christmas to see if this helps my eyes, particularly now the central heating is starting to kick in.
But I don't want to 'waste' a Christmas present on something that may not help.
Does anyone have any experience of suffering from dry eyes and using a humidifier? Did it help?
Also can anyone advise me on how much the humidifier liquid costs and how often you need to replenish it? I don't want to get the equipment and then find it costs a fortune to run.
Or any low-tech solutions? (I used to put a cup of water on the radiator but that's not practical where I'm living now).
I don't have any particular problems with my eyes, but Basel is very dry and I have a cheap humidifier which I use in mybedroom during winter. It helps stop my skin drying out so much.
I can't speak to whether a humidifier works or not as I've never tried it. However I do have dry eyes, as diagnosed by my eye doctor. You might want to see an eye doc to rule out any medical issues before you get a humidifier. If you're putting in all kinds of drops several times a day, I wonder if you have something else going on like an infection or allergy.
As for the drops, I have switched to preservative-free tears. They come in tiny little single-use vials as opposed to larger bottles. Actually I use them twice, but don't tell the doc. Most eye drops have preservatives in them, and some people are sensitive to that, which makes them just use more drops to deal with the sensitivity, which makes them even more sensitive...you get the idea.
Good luck and let us know what you work out.
Oops forgot to add - I also put a very warm, wet washcloth over my eyes for 2 minutes each night. The doc said it helps draw pollens and dust out of your tear ducts to help keep them clean.
Get a bucket of water & place it next to a radiator or in another container on the radiator & it will humidify the air. Boil a kettle that sour of thing
I've used humidifiers in the past (two sitting in the cellar) and they help to keep the centrally heated air less dry and can ease related problems ....... as do pots of water by radiators, indoor water features (with or without mist), wet towels on radiators and those cheap plastic water holders to hang on radiators.
With any indoor misters, it is recommended to use distilled water, so the ultra sonic cell doesn't get kalked up - they can be a bit delicate, if they're cleaned too much.
I have an eye doctor - I went to see him last Friday because my eyes suddenly became much more painful and he mentioned the central heating, which was what got me thinking about a humidifier. He prescribes my eye drops and I have both in the single-use vials. Thanks for the wet washcloth tip!
I don't have a radiator in my sleeping area... and I can't boil a kettle all night long!
So opinions are divided over whether you can use tap water or not. I guess I'll have to look at the individual kind. But I don't think distilled water is that expensive - is it?
I bought a cheap 2nd hand humidifier. It works the "old fashioned" way by actually heating the water to create steam/vapour rather than being an ultrasonic one. I prefer the latter, but when buying something 2nd hand I couldn't exactly choose
Anyway, I fill it with normal tap water. Yeah, it's starting to look a bit like a kettle inside with some hardened deposits but I could descale it if it actually got bad. Or, as it only cost 15CHF, bin it and buy another one every few years.
If you want ease of maintenance and low running costs, the evaporative type is probably the best. These are very simple, wicking water from the reservoir up though a paper pad and then pulling air though that. Ran one for years with tap water and no problems.
It'll be written on the instructions, if you buy one.
Every chance, on an ultra sonic one, it will recommended distilled water, and on one that boils, probably the same, although less crucial.
However the ones that utilise ultra sonic cells come with a cleaning brush for the cell; - and I always used tap water, so no big deal.
...... and, yes distilled water isn't expensive, especially if bought in large volume containers, and quite common, as people like to use it for irons and coffee machines and the like.
As a test and immediate solution, you could always buy a plant spray/mister, that is normally used to moisten leaves of exotic/tropical type house plants and spray this around your rooms a bit (a lot) to see if it makes a difference.
My optician also suggested a warm cloth. Actually he recommended using make up removal pads as they would be sterile. He also said that as hot as is comfortable is better. This helps to clean out the tear ducts, particularly if your tears are greasy
I have very dry eyes too. I used to wake every morning and could not see the alarm clock - impossible to open my eyes beacuse it hurt to much. Finally an eye doctor diagnosed a lack of tears. Now I put carbomer gel (Viscotears/Lacrigel/...) in my eyes every morning when I wake up and as needed during the day.
This product is not in the form of drops, it is really a gel. I don't think that easy-flowing drops will have a long lasting effect.
In my case, I don't think that a humidifer would help, so I just have a tube of gel in my pocket at all times.
The modern humidifiers that work with ultrasound are actually quite unhealthy if you use tap water. We started to find a thin film of calc on surfaces as the water is quite hard here. Turns out that they also pulverize the calcium in the water which mixes with the mist. You then breath it in and it coats your lungs, not good. If you read the fine print they recommend distilled water, but that is expensive and not practical. So, stay away from the ultrasound ones.
Another thing is not to concentrate on computer screens/TV etc. for too long at a time. Regular breaks and looking at different distances help to avoid eye strain. This all helps
The trough from a tumble dryer contains distilled water. That's what we use in our iron. We use tap-water for our ultrasonic humidifiers. Last time my lungs were checked they hadn't turned to chalk.
The COOP have quite a nice one, it seems to work by rotating a spindle in the water, and has a nice glowey plate underneath that makes it a good ambient light source. You can also put aromatics into it.