I'm Elle. I've had dry eye disease since 2018, when I was diagnosed at 28, and this is where I share what's actually helped: honest, first-hand write-ups of the treatments and products I've really tried, in plain English. Whatever age you are, if your eyes need a bit of help, you're in the right place.
Every article has a 🔊 Listen button, so you can rest your eyes and let me read it to you.
If you're just at the beginning of this and being told you're imagining it, start with my story. The diagnosis journey, the NHS route, going private, and what I wish I'd done sooner.
Read & listen →The one treatment I keep going back to. What it's like, what it costs, and whether it works.
Read & listen →A painless fitting, and the train home when I realised I'd stopped thinking about my eyes.
Read & listen →The prescription drop everyone says stings. The honest truth, and how I got it funded.
Read & listen →Steroids calm dry eye fast, but they sent my eye pressure through the roof. What that means.
Read & listen →First impressions of the brand-new drop that could finally be the one I stick with.
Read & listen →The water-free "shield" drop for evaporative dry eye: what it's like, how to actually use it, and why people wrongly think it doesn't work.
Read & listen →Why your eyes can feel worse first, what it costs, and who this one actually helps.
Read & listen →Accutane, spironolactone and antibiotics all affect the eyes differently. What the research actually says about each one.
Read & listen →One eye went perfectly, the other was uncomfortable and unlucky. My experience of the trial at Aston.
Read & listen →Planes are the enemy. My routine: prep, drops, heat, and the shields that changed everything.
Read & listen →What it actually does (it's not a fridge), why it suits Vevizye and iKervis but not serum drops, and my experience using one for a month abroad.
Read & listen →Why my antimalarial tablets seemed to calm my dry eye down, the dose that matters, and the food warning I learned the hard way.
Read & listen →The real culprit is your blink rate, not blue light. The honest science, and what actually helps.
Read & listen →Voice dictation, break reminders, blink tracking, and getting your screen to read to you. Mostly free.
Read & listen →Why I ruled out retinol near my eyes, and the fragrance-free, retinol-free skincare I use instead.
Read & listen →