‘Something is in my eye” is a feeling that everyone has had, and it doesn’t take much to create that sensation. A speck of dust, a grain of sand, a gnat or an ill-behaved eyelash will do it. Most of the time your eye will tear up and the offender is washed away.

As I get older, this sensation is more frequent. I look at my eyes in the mirror, and there is no one-sided redness, displaced lash or anything else I can see. When I saw the doctor for my cataract surgery a couple of years ago, he took a sample of my tears, and found a deficit in the fatty component. He recommended twice daily, five minute warming of my eyes, but I stopped doing it after a while.

I have so many picky little things I do that this extra time didn’t see worth it. I know that my eyes are dry, which is common in older people, and often use “Refresh-plus” individual, preservative-free ampoules, which seems definitely worth the trouble. It makes my eyes feel better, alleviates the gritty sensation, and even clarifies my vision. I have also resumed warming my eyes with a clean washcloth, moistened with hot water, when I take my shower.

I fancy that I am stimulating my meibomian glands like the eye surgeon intended, to increase the lipid content of my tears. I’ll keep you posted. There are a number of other disorders which can cause the eye symptom, as the accompanying article indicates. Be sure that if the discomfort is more than trivial, or the affected eye is red, or if vision is affected, that you consult your eye doctor, or at least your primary care Physician.

Dr. C.

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