(no subject)

[bedlamsbard]

in most recent "maybe a stress response, maybe something actually wrong" health developments, I've had aching eyes the past week or so -- no redness or anything, so I'm not sure if it's too much screen time (so much doomscrolling, and these days I basically spend all my waking hours on my computer which I'm pretty sure Is Not Good) or if it's that it's very dry in my house due to Winter (I'm certainly dealing with a lot of split skin across my knuckles, and because I have very little self-control clawed open one leg and one arm), if I really need to update my prescription (I do, this one is from 2017 and I'm stupid near-sighted) or if I'm just very stressed and this is the latest development. I dialed down the brightness on all my devices and am limiting my screen time as much as possible, and started taking eye drops -- though the ones I got were for redness and my advisor suggested a different brand meant for moisturizing instead, so I'll switch to those tomorrow and see if it helps. At least not being on the computer all the time (I'm down to about five hours in the evenings, which I guess is still a lot, but is also SIGNIFICANTLY less than "wake up, turn on computer, stay on computer until go to bed") means that I'm not seeing every awful thing that is happening as it happens, which is nice for my stress level.

I'm also sort of headachey and not sure if that's related or if it's dehydration (I am also trying to drink more water) or stress or if I'm just dying or what. So that's fun.

My birthday was last week and it was pretty awful, as birthdays go, and I traditionally have a pretty bad time at my birthdays. I'm exhausted all the time and I miss my mother and my father is still in Thailand and I should probably call a local optometrist but I'm still hoping I can go back to Washington in summer. I feel like eye issues isn't something I can actually call the Emory health center about. (I mean, like, my vision is fine (aside from its usual level of badness), my eyes just ache.) I'm a little panicky because not being able to look at a screen for a extended period of time is not like...doable for me. (I mean, I can; my eyes don't hurt just when I look at a screen, they ache all the time. But this is about the only thing I can control aside from going outside more.)

also like possibly between attempted coup and inauguration fears and birthday stress and school stress and pandemic stress and weather and I haven't seen my mom in a year...I don't know. I don't know. I'm just really upset all the time and this isn't helping. I am reading more physical books though so that's nice, except for the part where I have to buy them all.

Comments

[sporky_rat]

Brent and I have been drinking three and four liters of water for the last couple of weeks and shouldn't be having issues.

It is so dry right now.

[bedlamsbard]

It really is! I'm not used to it being this dry in the South!

[sporky_rat]

I couldn't believe the weather forecast of humidity in the 20-30%!

What is this?!

[bedlamsbard]

Humidity in Atlanta seems to be fluctuating wildly -- I think we've been anywhere from the high 30% range up to the 70/80% range. Which I suspect is not helping anything. (It is definitely dry enough that my knuckles are like crocodile skin, yikes.)

[starlady]

I've seen reporting that a lot of people are having eye trouble right now because screens because pandemic, so I don't think it's just you! I've also been trying to read more paper books in response, and I've turned up the blue light filter on my devices. This article recommends blinking exercises, which I never remember to do.

At one point during my exams I started having bouts of actual pain in my right eye; it would water so badly that I couldn't see for 15-20 minutes, to the point of needing to pull over on the highway when I was driving. I eventually went to the eye doctor and they prescribed rest and steroid eye drops.

[bedlamsbard]

I feel like I just read about six different articles about all the terrible things happening to our health that isn't actually getting covid, headaches and eye trouble among them. Everyone's hitting their breaking point at about the same time, I guess.

I've had a couple times of eye aches, but never for this sustained a period of time (I don't think? maybe? I can't recall). And twitches, when I hit a very specific kind of stress. Eye twitching is the worst.

The human body's reaction to stress is...not ideal.

[azurelunatic]

Occasionally recently I've gotten eyes sufficiently dry that lubricating eye drops didn't help on the first round or two, which was unpleasant. I had to do a round of drops (which stung), close and roll my eyes, and repeat a few times. I'm mentioning this because it would have been a lot more alarming if I was unsure about the cause, and as it was I'm trying to hydrate better.

[bedlamsbard]

At no point in the past week or so have my eyes NOT hurt; the eye drops haven't helped at all, so I'm starting to get alarmed about it. :/ (Though it's also dry enough here that the skin across the backs of my knuckles is like crocodile hide and keeps splitting, so that's...fun.) Putting aside the fact that I'm not even consistently getting the eye drops in my eyes...even when it does seem to get in the right place, is that much of it really supposed to roll away? I feel like I'm doing this wrong, lolsob.

[harpers_child]

The eye drops my doc recommends are called "thera tears" and you can pick them up at most pharmacies.

[bedlamsbard]

Thank you! I'll look for them the next time I'm at the pharmacy -- I just switched brands so I'll give these a few days before I switch again. <3