I have been able to wear contact lenses, without discomfort, since I was 13 years old. I felt pretty lucky abou this, as I have a sister who has never been able to wear contacts full time, and I have much drier eyes than she does (since she never took Accutane). Contacts never bothered me before... until this year.
For the last several months, my contact lenses have been bothering me in a way they usually don't. I find that they feel drier in my eyes, and irritate them, a lot sooner than they normally would. I used to be able to wear them all day, as long as I was staying well-hydrated. But now, even if I drink a gallon of water per day, my contacts still bother me.
So I googled it, and found this article about boosting your own estrogen levels. One of them was about using Evening primrose oil, which I've used in the past and it does seem to help your skin to retain moisture.
When I looked up the Evening primrose oil, I saw the Amazon suggestion that other customers had bought Phytoceramides also, and sure enough there were people who said it helped them with their dry eyes.
I can only afford to get one or two supplements right now, so I may go with the hyaluronic acid and saw palmetto to start.
Copied and pasted from what I found online:
Evening primrose oil
Evening primrose oil (EPO) is a traditional herbal remedy that contains high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, making it a popular supplement for conditions such as PMS and menopause. There’s very little recent research on the benefits of evening primrose oil for estrogen.
However, one
https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/how-to-increase-estrogen#herbal-supplements
So, I searched the Amazon reviews for the words "dry eye" and found quite a few reviews where people said it helped them in that regard.
Evening Primrose Oil fo Dry Eyes
You can see this study, here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3180483/
Once referred to the study, informed consent was obtained and subjects were randomized, using a random number generator, to one of two groups. Both groups were given a prescription-only medical food supplement, Tears Again HYDRATETM (OCuSOFT, Rosenberg, TX), consisting of four geltabs containing a total of 1000 mg of omega-3 EFAs derived from flaxseed oil and 500 mg of omega-6 EFAs (GLA) derived from evening primrose oil, both of which are microencapsulated in a proprietary liposome process designed to improve absorption. The amount of EFAs per food supplement serving is similar to that used in other research on evening primrose oil16 and identical to that used in other research on flaxseed oil.11
Conclusion
Supplementation with the proper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids improved TBUT and relieved patient symptoms. The addition of topical cyclosporine did not convey any statistically significant improvement in TBUT beyond that achieved by the supplement.
From the United States
I have previous awesome experience with other SR products, and hopefully this one gets my approval as well!
Thanks SR, please keep up!
EPR has an amazing health benefits. Here are some for FYI:
* Nerve damage caused by diabetes.
* Osteoporosis.
* Asthma.
* Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
* Breast pain (mastalgia).
* A pregnancy complication marked by high blood pressure and protein in the urine (pre-eclampsia).
* Eczema (atopic dermatitis).
* Disorders affecting bile flow in the liver.
* Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
* Nerve pain in people with diabetes (diabetic neuropathy).
* Dry eye.
* Swelling (inflammation) of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (hepatitis B).
* High levels of cholesterol or other fats (lipids) in the blood (hyperlipidemia).
* An inherited skin disorder that causes dry, scaly skin (ichthyosis).
* Infant development.
* Liver cancer. Early research shows that taking 18 grams of evening primrose per day does not affect liver size or survival in people with liver cancer.
* Symptoms of menopause.
* Multiple sclerosis (MS).
* Obesity.
* Childbirth.
* Premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Research evaluating evening primrose for PMS shows conflicting results.
* Painful response to cold especially in the fingers and toes (Raynaud syndrome)e.
* Rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
* Schizophrenia.
* An autoimmune disorder in which the glands that produce tears and saliva are damaged (Sjogren syndrome).
* A movement disorder often caused by antipsychotic drugs (tardive dyskinesia).
* Water warts.
* A motor skill disorder marked by clumsiness (developmental coordination disorder or DCD).
* Diabetes.
* A learning disorder marked by difficulty reading (dyslexia).
* Low bone mass (osteopenia).
* A hormonal disorder that causes enlarged ovaries with cysts (polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS).
* Scaly, itchy skin (psoriasis).
* Joint swelling (inflammation) in people with psoriasis.
* A type of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis)..
* Alzheimer disease.
* Heart disease.
* Other conditions.
4 stars because I've noticed a few days out of the month, I tend to break out on the side of my neck which has never happened before - I've never had an issue with acne so I'll rate it this and see if that changes
I will continue to buy these as long as I have positive results like this. I'm thankful for the reviews on Amazon as this helped me decide what to try
In October I was purchasing some other items on Amazon and came across this one. After reading some reviews I decided to buy it with intention to use it once I use all of the ones I had at the moment. With the previous brand I'd notice improvement within couple of hours. With this one not at all. Also, this one comes with high amount of Omega 6 and Omega 9 which can be harmful and increase inflammation (research Omega 3 vs Omega 6 in humans). The brand I had before did not have omega 6 nor Omega 9. Unfortunately, by the time I found out that it's not working for me, my 30 days return period ended. :(
Hyaluronic Acid for Dry Eyes
I'd read about hyaluronic acid in the past, knowing it is something that really hydrates the skin. So, I took a look on Amazon, to see if others might have reported that it could be something that helped their dry eyes. And sure enough... I found several reviewers who said it did seem to help their dry eyes. I am pasting those reviews (along with the product they were reviewing) further down the page.
There have been so many times I've learned that something we're used to buying (and might think was "invented by man") is actually produced by your own body, and we've just learned how to duplicate it. I am super grateful to the people who've learned how to replicate this stuff, because it's extremely helpful. But it's just important to keep in mind, how powerful mother nature is, and to me that explains why these things work so well. When we take supplements like hyaluronic acid, we're just giving our bodies the things we already had.
Hyaluronic acid, also known as hyaluronan, is a clear, gooey substance that is naturally produced by your body. The largest amounts of it are found in your skin, connective tissue and eyes. Its main function is to retain water to keep your tissues well lubricated and moist.Apr 21, 2018
You can also see a study, highlighted below, that shows how it helped people with their dry eyes. It helped the ones who actually took the hyaluronic acid (but not the people who took the placebo).
I'm definitely going to order this stuff!
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/joph/2019/5491626/
Clinical Study | Open Access
Oral Hyaluronic Acid Supplementation for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease: A Pilot Study
Abstract
Purpose. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of oral hyaluronic acid (HA) in patients with dry eye disease (DED). Study Design. Prospective randomized controlled trial. Methods. This trial enrolled 54 subjects and they were randomized into the study or control group. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) >18 years of age; (2) distance best-corrected visual acuity ≥ 20/40 Snellen equivalent in each eye; (3) IOP ≤ 21 mmHg in both eyes; (4) ocular surface disease index (OSDI) score of ≥18 and <65; (5) <10 seconds of tear break up time (TBUT); (6) >5 corneal spots of corneal fluorescein staining (CFS); and (7) ≤ 10 mm/5 min of the Schirmer test. All subjects were treated with a topical HA, and the study group was supplemented with oral HA. OSDI, TBUT, CFS, and the Schirmer test were evaluated for ocular surface parameters. Results. 24 patients were assigned in the study group. Significant improvement of OSDI, TBUT, and CFS was observed at 1 month and 3 months after oral HA administration in the study group. At baseline and follow-up at 1 and 3 months, OSDI scores were 61.8 ± 16.2, 47.3 ± 11.6, and 42.3 ± 9.1, respectively (). TBUT was improved after treatment for 1 month and 3 months (4.2 ± 1.1; and 4.7 ± 1.1; ). There were also statistically significant improvements in the CSF (1.8 ± 1.0, 0.8 ± 0.7; ) at baseline compared with those at 1 month. Conclusions. A combined supplement of both oral and topical HA more efficiently improves corneal epithelial wound healing and related symptoms than topical HA alone, in DED.
1. Introduction
Dry eye disease (DED) is a common chronic ocular surface disease which is characterized by a loss of tear film homeostasis. It has multifactorial causes including tear film instability, hyperosmolarity, inflammation, and neurosensory abnormalities and results in ocular discomfort and visual impairment [1].
The treatment of DED is generally initiated with an instillation of lubricant eye drops or viscosity-enhancing agents [2]. Other major treatment options include anti-inflammatory therapy, tear conservation approach, and the treatment of lid abnormality. Dietary modification such as essential fatty acid, [3, 4] lactoferrin [5], and antioxidant supplement [6] is a minor treatment option; however, there is growing evidence that diet and nutritional supplementation play a role in DED.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a macromolecular mucopolysaccharide that is widely distributed throughout connective, epithelial, and neural tissues [7]. HA has been used in tear supplements to enhance lubrication as a topical agent, and it has been proven to promote corneal epithelial wound healing [8, 9]. However, HA can also be supplemented in oral route. Recently, HA has been taken orally to reduce joint pain in osteoarthritic knees and increase hydration for dry skin. Studies have proven that oral HA has anti-inflammatory [10] and skin moisturizing properties [11]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no trial of oral HA supplementation for the treatment of DED. In this study, we assumed that anti-inflammatory and moisturizing effects of oral HA also might work in DED. We investigated the effect of oral HA supplementation for the treatment of DED.
3.2. Secondary Outcome
Three months after treatment, OSDI was significantly improved when compared to one month after treatment in the study group (3 months; 42.3 ± 9.1, ) but not in the control group (3 months; 49.0 ± 17.6, ) (Figure 1). TBUT was also significantly improved in the study group (3 months; 4.7 ± 1.1, ) but not in the control group (3 months; 4.9 ± 1.1, ) (Figure 2). However, CFS was also significantly improved in both study group (3 months; 0.3 ± 0.4, ) and control group (3 months; 0.8 ± 0.5, ) (Figure 3). The between-group differences in CFS and OSDI at 3 months were significant ( and , respectively) but the difference in TBUT was not significant ().
From the United States
I wake up throughout the night with aching hips when I lay on my side and I haven’t woke up to that in a few days. I think this stuff works and isn’t a part of my imagination. I’m going to praise this product to family members and others as well.
Update : I’ve been using this about 6 weeks now and I don’t know if I’m crazy or what , but I have tiny little baby hairs around the front of my hairline, which was getting thin due to wearing my hair back so much.
I googled it to see if hyaluronic acid did anything for the hair besides give it more moisture and come to find out it said that it’s kinda like a fertilizer for hair so I hope this is true and I don’t doubt that it is because I haven’t used anything else that would cause new growth. Really excited about this!
I've been taking them about two months but the effects were much faster. Two or three a day works best for me.
One last thing I want to mention - I know that Alpha Lipoic Acid helps to regenerate blood vessels, so I looked on Amazon to see if it might somehow help with dry eyes. I didn't see anything in the reviews, but I am going to try to take this anyway because I had an accident where something fell on my eye and it made mone of my eyes a little more astigmatic than it usually is. Astigmatism gets worse if the shape of your eye changes, and I can't help thinking the shape of my eye could have changed slightly if scar tissue had built up somewhat, after I had that accident. I didn't notice it right away, but over the next few weeks it seemed that it became more noticeable, so I couldn't help wondering if it was due to scar tissue. So I will be taking Alpha Lipoic acid too. Will put the brand I plan to order, below.
Effects of Nutritional Supplement with α-Lipoic Acid in Patients with Recurrent Pterygium
Jorge Guillermo Hurtado Godinez1 , Leonel Garcia Benavides1*, Sara Pascoe Gonzalez1 , Ivan Isidro Hernandez Cañaveral1 , Francisco Javier Galvez Gastelum1 and Irinea Yañez Sanchez2
1 INTEC, Departamento de Fisiología, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Jalisco, México 2Centro de Investigación en Nanociencia y Nanotecnología, Centro Universitario de los Valles, Universidad de Guadalajara, Jalisco, México *Corresponding author: Leonel García Benavides M.D., PhD., Instituto de Terapéutica Experimental y Clínica Departamento de Fisiología, CUCS, U de G, Sierra Mojada 950, edificio P, 1° piso, Colonia Independencia, CP 44340, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, Tel (52) (33) 10585200 ext. 33659, 33660; Fax (52) (33) 36173499; Email: drleonelgb@hotmail.com Received date: Feb 13, 2014, Accepted date: May 13, 2014, Published date: May 20, 2014 Copyright: © 2014 Godinez JGH, et al.
Results: Pterygium recurrence was similar in both groups. A significant increment of fibroelastic tissue was observed in the placebo compared with the α-lipoic acid group. Number and caliber of blood vessels, extracellular matrix content and presence of inflammatory infiltrated cells decreased in the α-lipoic acid group. Myofibroblasts were also localized and smaller. Conclusions: Treatment with α-lipoic acid improved clinical appearances through decreased fibroelastic tissue size. Recurrence was similar. Blood vessels, extracellular matrix content and inflammatory infiltrated cells reduced with α-lipoic acid.
Out of 5,697 ratings there are 169 that have the word "neuropathy" in them. I know this post is not about neuropathy, but I am pointing this out because, the fact that ALA is helpful in regenerating new blood vessels, seems to be the thing that helps people with their neuropathy. So I'm posting some of those reviews below, in case it may help some people to see that it could be helpful in regenerating new blood vessels.
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From the United States
Two weeks ago I decided to Google to see if there were any legit remedies for this. On a few websites that discussed diabetes and peripheral neuropathy I read that there was often some relief taking Alpha Lipoic Acid. I finally decided to try it. I really didn’t expect much effect, at least not for a few weeks of taking it (600 mg/day with food). On day two, I realized that I was naturally walking on flat feet like I used to. I have been totally dumbfounded for the past week, as has my husband. He also had very similar effects from taking statins, so he has decided to give this a try now. I will be interested to see how it affects his feet.
And this is the Saw Palmetto I plan to get at some point. Again, I didnt see reviews for eye dryness (so I may wait on this one) but I would be curious to see if it helps.
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