Sore dry eyes in diabetes
- introduction
- slightly or moderately dry eyes
- very dry eyes
- animation
- related page with more details (sister site)
Introduction
Sore eyes are particularly common in diabetes for various reasons.
- minor irritation is probably a side effect of all the medications, such as the blood pressure medication. This is common and not serious.
- part of the reason for this is that people may develop blepharitis, which is inflammation/infection of the eyelids
- you may have 'dry eyes'. Dry eyes is explained here in detail.
- if you have had diabetes a long time, and have diabetic neuropathy, this can lead to very serious problems
Your eyes may feel tired, scratchy or gritty, as though there is something in them. They also be a little itchy, and they may be red. See animation. They may feel more sore in the wind, or any dry hot atmosphere. Contact lenses, or any thing that reduces blinking may make 'dry eyes' more uncomfortable, such as watching TV or a computer screen, or sewing.
Stopping the blood pressure medication can lead to major problems, and it is much safer to put up with and treat the sore eyes than stop the medication.
Sore and perhaps slightly dry eyes..treatment
There are two parts to the treatment.
- the lubricants are discussed here.
- treat the blepharitis, described here. This is mainly eyelid cleaning.
Moderately dry eyes..treatment
Again, there are two parts to the treatment.
- the lubricants ... gels are best.
- treat the blepharitis, described here. This is mainly mainly eyelid cleaning.
- more severely dry eyes are best treated with preservative free eye drops