Ducted heat pump & dry eye

lespat, Oct 7, 6:25am
I have developed dry eye and a consequence is I am very sensitive to light. Whenever we use the heat pump , within 10 minutes the symptons flare up. Gritty watery eyes. (I know, dry eye but watery, weird). We clean the ceiling filters regularly but doesn't help me. Anyone out there experienced similar problems and found a solution.

shanreagh, Oct 7, 7:38am
You can ask your doctor for prescription drops or go into the chemist for dry eye drops in single use capsules. I used to find my dry eye was exacerbated by gas central heating and lack of access to fresh air when in hotels with air conditioning.

lespat, Oct 7, 10:22am
I've tried and sill use all sorts of eye drops and eyelash/eyebrow treatments. Even had the 4 stage IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatment, to no discernable improvement.

lythande1, Oct 7, 10:37am
Probably the lack of humidity. buy some Blink eyedrops, husband uses those and finds them better than the GP prescribed ones. Remember nothing cures it, it just helps.

gpg58, Oct 7, 10:46am
Does it occur everywhere you go that is airconditioned, like all major buildings, or only with yours at home? Is it regardless what system is doing, or only when on heating or when on cooling?
Do you have a humidity gauge and know if its very dry or not.
How old is system, and when were air-handler refrigeration coils last cleaned/disinfected(filters only catch the bulk of dirt, not all of it, and it can accumulate on coil, then with cooling mode sit there wet, and grow mold, which can even spread into duct work)

lespat, Oct 7, 11:32am
Havn't noticed it in malls or airplanes, supermarket. Can definitely notice it as soon as we turn on the heatpump, and the air is dry. The house and HP are only 6 years old. The installers told us the only maintenance required is the internal filters. We only use it for heating. I realise there is no cure for dryeye although quite a few people have excellent outcmes with IPL treatment.

tweake, Oct 7, 12:44pm
get a few humidity meters as mentioned above. check what the actual humidity is.
the other thing is turn the fan speed down on the heat pump. air movement tends to dry people out.

whats the ventilation like in your house?
do you have a ventilation system? do you open windows?

one things thats bit different is what vacuum cleaner do you use? does it have a hepa filter?
the more basic vacuum cleaners tend to leave behind a lot of very very fine dust which will blown around when the heat pump is on. that can certainly affect eye issues.

hazelnut2, Oct 7, 1:29pm
I went to the opticians because my eyes were feeling a bit gritty.

She told me that it was 'dry eye' and explained why: The glands in my lower eyelids are not producing enough of the oil layer which prevents tears from evaporating. She then showed me how to warm up and then gently massage my eyelids to encourage the glands to produce oil and express it onto the rims of my eyes, (which spreads over my eyes every time I blink ). She also gave me some eye drops.

I started gently massaging my lower eyelids, from down to up whenever my eyes felt gritty. They soon felt so much better! The drops she gave me made them a bit blurry.

Now I have a quick and effective 'go to' whenever I notice my eyes feel 'wrong'.

joanie32, Oct 7, 1:44pm
Peoples health in general will improve dramatically when the fad for heat pumps and so called ventilation systems has run it’s course.

tweake, Oct 7, 2:32pm
all the science says the opposite, so good luck with that.

joanie32, Oct 7, 3:14pm
To many wanna be scientists.
No one left with any common sense
That’s what heat pump and silly little fan in the roof space salesmen count on.

ira78, Oct 8, 5:25am
Yes, bring back the cold damp homes that have been repeatedly proven by overwhelming anecdotal evidence to be better for your health.

(Sarcasm, since I'm sure some will miss it)

jan2242, Oct 8, 5:37am
Warm wet compresses help with mine.

cinderellagowns, Oct 8, 6:02am
What part of the heat pump do you apply them to?

shanreagh, Oct 8, 7:34am
Yes this is what my eye specialist said. it has the grand name of 'an inefficient blink mechanism'.
Also a warm face cloth placed over the lids will stimulate the oil glands to work. He suggested doing it in the morning without fail. Since having eye surgery to remove part of my lower lid due to a basal cell carcinoma I have more eye ball exposed and less lid to cover it efficiently. So all these tips are good together with eye drops on call.

joanie32, Oct 8, 2:15pm
Yes, this is why the human race became extinct waiting for heat pump and fan in roof space salesmen to be invented.

snapperheadrkp, Sep 21, 3:51am
Try these, worked for me

BEST was a
A cold wet used Teabag.
or:-
Teaspoon of Johnsons Baby Wash in a cup of water - Clean eyes with this by dipping a flannel in it.