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Red/tired eyes with lack of sleep

Hi,

I have a small problem with my eyes that I can't seem to figure out.  Sometimes, when I don't get enough sleep, my eyes would feel dry and very sensitive to light.  They would at the same time tear up a lot.  So they would be filled with tears, feel dry, and be sensitive at the same time.  I spend most of my 8 hour work day in front of a 24" LCD monitor that is pretty bright, but I don't think it ever bothered my eyes unless they are already dry/sensitive before I get to work.  However, at home I have a much smaller 19" CRT monitor and that can cause my eyes to feel dry/sensitive within an hour or two.

I don't have to be lacking sleep in order to get this, but it feels like chances of me getting this increase a lot with lack of sleep.  I have also noticed that this seems to happen more on weekends.  I can feel it coming and I can generally slow it down a lot if I just wash my face/eyes with warm water.  This is what puzzles me though, on weekends I'd get more sleep than on weekdays and would get this feeling when I just wake up, without any exposure to bright light.  Sometimes I'd go half of the day with my eyes fine, and without looking at a TV or a monitor and then all of a sudden, my eyes get the dry/sensitive feeling which prevents me from doing pretty much anything but keeping them closed most of the time.  Air blowing in my eyes, especially dry air in air conditioned areas would worsen the situation and make my eyes feel more dry, which would cause them to tear up more, and feel more sensitive to light.  The other day someone woke me up within about 1 hour of me sleeping and mentioned that my eyes were really red, so it almost seems like it is sleep related.

So to recap, I get this dry/sensitive feeling in my eyes which would cause them to tear up a lot, and would force me to try and keep my eyes closed as much as possible.  I feel like it happens much more often if I don't sleep enough on weekdays and watch TV for a few minutes before going to work, or on weekends (a lot of times right when I wake up, and before I open my eyes) even when I do get a lot of sleep.  I can also get it just as easily in the middle of a Saturday or Sunday without any TV/Monitor/bright light exposure.  My eyes also turn very red if I don't get enough sleep.

Sorry for the long post, I just feel like I should try to explain as much as I can from the beginning.
Thank you in advance for any help.
4 Responses
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233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
If lubricating drops, gels and ointments don't work you may need to try Restasis

JCHDM
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I forgot to mention that I do not believe I have ever needed corrective glasses.  When I went to the doctor, he asked me to read an eye chart and said that my vision is fine; even with me doing a sub par job at identifying the letters because of my eyes being filled with tears, dry, and sensitive.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have gone to a doctor for this in the past.  I actually went when my eyes were exhibiting the symptoms.  He said that it may an allergic reaction to something in the air and prescribed eye drops that were supposed to help as well as giving me some samples to try first.  That same day I tried what he had given me and I saw no change in the symptoms.  I tried the drops again a couple of times later with no luck.  I don't recall the brand of the eye drops by I will try to look for them.
Helpful - 0
233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
There are a number of things that might cause your problem including a need for glasses or "tears dysfunction syndrome" (previously known as dry eye syndrome)  You need to see an Eye Md for an evaluation.

JCHMD
Helpful - 0
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