Eye dryness strange

[GgcJap]

Since my dryness started I've always had this type of dryness in my eyes and today was wondering if it's normal or not so I thought I'd ask.

When I sleep or I lay down one eye gets dryer than the other.
If I lay on my left side, my right eye(the one now at the top of my head) always gets much dryer than the other and visa versa.

Does anyone else have this problem or an explanation as to why it happens?

GgcJap

[irish]

I would guess that it has to do with the placement of the tear glands. When the left eye is down the tears that are being made slide over the eyeball. The eye on top has tears that run away from the eye. That is my thinking. Now, I may be very wrong. We shall see what others will say. My DIL who is an optometrist is sleeping now so I can't ask her. lol Irish

[GgcJap]

Thx Irish,

I would love to hear her opinion when she wakes.
Do you think it's the same for saliva glands?

GgcJap

[Sharon]

Perhaps the eye on top doesn't close entirely when you sleep so tears evaporate
and the other one is being pushed close more because of the angle?
Just a thought.

[GgcJap]

Quite possible Sharon thx,
I think I do sleep on an angle that does close the bottom eye, I'll check when I sleep tonight.

GgcJap

[Emics]

GgcJap, it happens to me too. Although my right eye is dryer in general, but when I lay on my left, it is worse. During nights we secrete less amount of tears, and I think as Sharon that the "higher" eyelids maybe are more relaxed during nights and tears evaporate easily. Another explanation could be that as lacrimal gland is in the outer part of the eye and the "sink" than collects the tears in the eye is in the inner, the tears are more likely to go there in the eye that is higher. I don?t know if I have explained well this last hypothesis

[irish]

Checked with my DIL and she says that the glands are on the outer edge of eye and drain toward the inner corner of eye. She wonders if position and gravity has something to do with it. Sometimes people will tend to sleep with eyes not tightly closed and just enough air get in to cause eyes to get dried out some. I know that I have one eye that must not close all the way down as I will get dry in the lower corner.

Guess it is from one thing or another.....this is the way autoimmune disease is. Don't always have a totally substantiated answer for some of our problems. Have you ever felt the need to tape that one lid down to keep it closed or to checkout the theory?? Good luck. Irish

[GgcJap]

Emics: if the lacrimal glands are on the outside of the eye, it makes sense that the tears on the upper eye drain quicker leaving the eye dryer. Not sure if that's why it happens but makes sense.

Irish: Thx for checking with your DIL. It makes sense what she says and sort of falls in line with what most people are saying. I might try the taping of an eyelid just to see what happens. Your right there, substantiated answers are very few and far between.

Thx guys