I've lived with dry eye disease since 2018, when I was diagnosed at 28, and this is the honest, down-to-earth guide I wish I'd had back then.
Mine started when I was 27, seemingly out of nowhere, while I was working long days in a dry, air-conditioned office. By 28 I had a diagnosis, but getting there was exhausting. For a long time I felt dismissed, told I was "too young" for it, and I couldn't find honest information written by someone who actually lived with the day-to-day reality of it. So in the end, I made it myself.
The Dry Eye Diaries is where I share what I've genuinely tried, in plain English: the treatments, the prescription drops, the gadgets, the products. The things that helped me, the things that didn't, what they cost, and everything I wish someone had told me sooner. No jargon, no scare tactics, and no pretending something worked when it didn't.
Anyone whose eyes are having a hard time. I got mine young, so I write with that in mind, but dry eye affects people of every age, and I hope this helps whoever you are and wherever you're at with it.
Because dry eye makes long stretches of screen time and typing genuinely hard for me, I often talk my experiences through out loud and use AI to help turn them into clear, readable articles. But every single thing here is based on my own real, first-hand experience: the story, the treatments, the opinions, the things that worked and the things that didn't. That is all 100% mine. The AI just helps me get it onto the page.
Thank you for being here. I really hope it makes things a little easier.