Applying a photosynthetic process to treat “dry eye” | Hacker News Reader

Applying a photosynthetic process to treat “dry eye”

science.org

71 pointsgumby30 comments

Finally, a medical reason to stare directly at our monitors for 12 hours a day: "I'm not slacking off, I'm just photosynthesizing my eye medicine."

> chronic inflammation/oxidative stress condition in the eye tissue

Would GLP-1 medication help here?

EDIT: Found this: https://theophthalmologist.com/issues/2025/articles/december...

GLP-1 medications are not general anti-inflammatory medications. Some markers of inflammation are reduced in patients taking GLP-1s, but those same markers are also reduced in overweight patients who start managing their diet and losing weight without drugs.

There might be some additional reduction in the patients taking GLP-1s over diet alone, but it’s only suggested in early data.

The suggestion that GLP-1 drugs are a treatment for all conditions involving inflammation is a misunderstanding from an over simplification of that early data.

> chronic inflammation/oxidative stress condition in the eye tissue

I seem to be having eye fatigue, or grogginess, I couldn't differentiate. I am at the computer 10 hours in the day.

For example, last night I had a sleep of 8 hours roughly but still I have to force my eyes open to type this - if I don't put any effort my eyes would be 30% close. I have just woken up - mid 30s age. otherwise I am healthy expect this freaking pressure near around my eyeballs.

chatgpt is confused too, sometimes it says sleep deprived, sometimes screen exposure. I do sometime use mythyl-cellulose drops not sure it helps. My tear ducts are fine too.

Fwiw, these things helped me a lot. I don't even need eye drops anymore unless I am wearing daily-disposable contact lenses.

* Punctal cauterization

* Vitamin A: 10K IU, taken on five or six days per week (most important supplement for dry eyes) (This takes three weeks to work. Do not confuse with beta carotene.)

* Taurine: 1g bid

* Lutein: 20 mg (naturally derived only, not synthetic)

* Vitamin D3: 5K IU, taken on six days per week

* Fish oil: 2g bid (triglyceride ester version) (provides 1.4g omega-3s in all)

* Generic cyclosporin A eye drops (burns at first for a few months, but then works)

Since you mentioned pressure, get your eye pressure checked annually by a professional, as should everyone. You can also confirm that your eye prescription is correct, although various optometrists are idiots and give a wrong prescription, so be careful. As for your blood pressure, you can use an upper-arm Omron BP monitor to measure it at home.

Note that preservative-containing eye drops can irritate the eye in the long term. Benzalkonium chloride is the worst such offender. Preservative-free lubricant drops exist.

I had a chat with chatgpt again, and it seems like it's more to do with my sleep than eyes, somehow my circadian is not properly adjusting to my wake timings. Coz the same pressure improves dramatically around 8pm everyday. I probably should get some sleep measurement device.

Might also be time to have a chat with a doctor.

There is nothing wrong with looking into lifestyle factors, but they should not substitute an immediate eye exam. Elevated eye pressure can lead to immediate partial blindness due to glaucoma.

Expose yourself to some sunlight upon waking. Even one minute of it should help.

I don't think you should give medical advice over the internet to strangers.

It's fine, they just mentioned what worked for them and a pretty normal advice to check eye pressure.

Why don't you stop giving comment advice to strangers over the internet?

Add oral hyaluronic acid as as essential and badic supplement for dry eyes. Dissolve it in your mouth or you will just defecate a little hyaluronic acid egg.

Dissolving it in your mouth ensures it's passed via urine, instead?

Hilarious that you list all the supplements before the generic Restasis/Cequa, which is indicated for KCS.

I did note that I no longer use any eye drops, logically implying that I don't use cyclosporin A either. Accordingly, it was listed with the intent of being a transitional fallback.

Fair, I misunderstood your post then. I thought you meant you no longer need artificial tears.

I often get sore eyes when I'm sick. Perhaps you have some mild infection? It would certainly explain the fatigue. It could be an odd one, like one of the herpesviruses. An alternative possibility is mold exposure.

Task glasses might give temporary relief of the discomfort. They're just regular prescription glasses that put optical infinity at screen distance. This allows the ciliary muscle to remain fully relaxed.

Consider getting an opthalmologist to look at them, just in case.

I do suspect a virus triggering dry eye, especially in those having low vitamin D. The body may even develop antibodies for the virus, bringing it under control, but the dry eye then persists. I feel this is not studied. EBV and CMV are on the top of my suspicion list.

One should probably get tested for them, also for the herpes viruses. Some doctors are idiots and don't test for the correct types of antibodies, so doing it oneself after some research is probably more reliable.

As the other commenter said, get your eye pressure checked, especially if this is persistent. That's not something to mess around with.

I'm also curious if you monitor your BP though?

go see a doctor maybe, i don't think chatgpt is the answer here

> chatgpt is confused too

Stop talking to a computer and go see an ophthalmologist.

You need an eye exam and tests.

I live in a place with 30% humidity inside for about 1/2 of the year. I had real issues with my eyes getting dry. I’ve tried drops, went to the doctor, etc. In the end the issue was that I was not sufficiently hydrated. When I started drinking 2-3 liters of water per day, all my eye issues went away.

At that point, you’re going to be inhaling small particles of whatever happens to be in your home, including paint, dirt/dust/mold, microbial growth, etc.

Your eyes probably can’t make enough moisture to keep clearing the debris and keep up with simply staying wet while evaporating 24/7.

> you’re going to be inhaling small particles of whatever happens to be in your home, including paint, dirt/dust/mold, microbial growth, etc.

That's 100% nonsense. All that the parent author said is to drink three liters of water, which is not even a large amount, and you produced your drivel from it. People even use eye drops ten times a day and still don't have any of the fake issues you noted. The eye has enough of a strong immune presence that it doesn't have to worry about these things.

VOCs are “fake issues”.

On this channel?

Disappointing.

Just Google it:

Below 30%: Chemical VOC emissions from furniture and building materials can increase due to enhanced wood drying and off-gassing.

Below 20%: Airborne viruses become more stable and transmissible. Human mucous membranes dry out, reducing your body's natural defense against these viruses.

Drinking more water will obviously help.

Ah. It depends strongly on the ventilation. I use good ventilation. I monitor indoor particulates, VOCs, and CO2.

Ah?!

I never had dry eyes until I got laser eye surgery. Some mornings I wake up with a very sore dry left eye.

One thing that helps with fatigue was to get some very weak glasses that I use when I'm working at a computer. They just make my eyes much more relaxed.

Probably a different problem, but I used to have trouble with this until I noticed that staring at things (particularly computer screen, road when driving) greatly reduces my blinking leading to dry eyes. Now I try to remember to blink from time to time and either force tears out or use drops to keep them moist.

ChatGPT can’t diagnose problems like this on symptom descriptions alone. Doctors can’t either. You have to see a specialist and let them use their diagnostic tools to start gathering information to get a diagnosis.

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