I know this sounds silly, but dry eyes have been bothering me for weeks. Possibly months; I forget. I think it's probably because of being so tired, but I don't know. Anyway, my eyes are constantly very dry and tired-feeling (and the right one waters all the time which is a bit annoying). Anyone have any tips to help with this?

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"And I'm sure there was blood in the gutter from somebody's head, or else it was the sunset in a puddle."

Ask a pharmacist or optician before doing anything.

I use over-the-counter stuff such as Optrex or Boots own brand - on advice of our (late and much lamented) OH doctor.

Try one which is "artificial tears". But do ask professional advice first 'cos if one's watering may need to exclude any thing which needs a dr's opinion.

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"Lack of planning on your part does not necessarily mean an emergency on mine"

"Association does not infer causality"

I can vouch for 'artificial tears' being effective, always assuming you've been checked out by doctor or optician. Think it's called hypromellose (sp?). Often chemist's/Boots' own brand and is therefore a lot cheaper than Optrex et al so you can happily slosh it in.

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Seconding judithR's advice about talking to an optician (especially) or pharmacist. One small thing you can do yourself without danger is to try to make sure you're not in too warm and dry an atmosphere - easier said than done at this time of the year, I know!

SLOC uses Hypromellose to good effect - & yes, you did spell it correctly sealpuppy, I went to check!

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Echoing the advice to get your eyes checked by a professional. They may just be overtired, but better safe than sorry.

Do you spend a lot of time on a computer/tablet/anything with a screen? If so you might want to try and cut back a little as that won't be helping.

I've used over-the-counter drops when I've had very bad hay fever and they do help, but definitely see a GP or optician first!

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'I'm sorry, I only play for sport.' - Lara Croft

I also find artificial tears very useful and have been prescribed them by the GP, along with my steroid eye drops (related but tedious story). I have to pay for my prescriptions so I just buy the dry eye drops over the counter as they cost less than the prescription charge, but if you qualify for free prescriptions it would be well worth seeing if you could get them that way.

Thank you for all the replies! I'm seeing my GP on Tuesday anyway, so I'll mention it then and see what she says.

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"And I'm sure there was blood in the gutter from somebody's head, or else it was the sunset in a puddle."

Another vote for "artificial tears" - I've found the name brand to be better than the generic because of the packaging spout, but not for the actual product. Good luck - I find eye irritation very distracting!

Public health announcement: Just a small note to say my mum had dry/watery eyes for years before being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, which is an autoimmune condition affecting the moisture-producing bits of the body (e.g. dry mouth and other bits you might be thinking of). I think Venus Williams also has it. Not meaning to alarm anyone, and dry eyes are obviously very common, but it is an under-diagnosed condition (more common in women) so it might be worth a quick google.

Yes, Venus has had Sjogen Syndrome for several years.

I wear contact lenses and find that my eyes get dry in winter because the heating tends to be on everywhere, and that dries out the air. Same thing can happen with air conditioning, but it's never usually hot enough here to need that .

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Thanks for the heads up, JS. Turns out I've got a few of the symptoms! (not that I think I've got it - the dryness is really only mild)

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"And I'm sure there was blood in the gutter from somebody's head, or else it was the sunset in a puddle."

It was thought I had this about fifteen years ago when I finally had to give up wearing contact lenses, as my eyes were too dry and painful, and I was drinking constantly. It was found I didn't have the condition, but when I wake up in the morning my eyes are extremely dry and very painful, so I have to use drops not just night and morning, but during the day as well. I drink water all day long, because I'm continually thirsty, and if it's hot my tongue literally sticks to the roof of my mouth. Some medication has the same effect, one angina medication in particular, which makes it very hard for doctors to prescribe anything. Interestingly, the spray usually given for angina attacks produces an instant migraine, so that also had to go by the board!

Good luck with it, Abbey!

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"It takes a long time to live what you learn." May Sarton

It's hard to diagnose because there's no specific test, as I'm sure you know, Mary. Problem for Mum was that she was seeing various doctors from the group GP practice for various different symptoms and it was only when we read something on the internet that we put it all together.

I wear hard contact lens and have been having problems with dry, itchy eyes over a couple of weeks. Saw my optician last week and she said there was a problem with my tear ducts - not enough liquid being produced. She recommended that I put a hot flannel over my eyes for ten minutes three times a day. After that, cleanse around my eyes with a special optical cleansing tissue. Have done this for three days now and already seeing improvement. Good luck Abbey.

In the past I've found a cold eye mask can help with tired eyes.