Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll check them all out and see whether they’re available here. I looked at the Eye Eco page and am definitely buying one of their products, though I’d like one I can also use during the day if needed, so I’ll take a look around their offerings. Hopefully everything is available here, particularly the medications.
I used steroid drops once after eye surgery and my understanding was they can’t be used long-term because they can lead to side effects like cataracts (which I already have) and high eye pressure (which I’ve had in the past). But I will ask about changing to a type of allergy drop that won’t dehydrate my eyes. I think it’s mostly antihistamines that cause dehydration. The eye drops I take are a combined antihistamine and mast cell stabilizer, so I’ll see if I can change to one that’s just a mast cell stabilizer. Though I also take oral antihistamines daily, so I’m sure that may contribute as well.
Do you see an ophthalmologist or optometrist for your dry eyes? I see both, but I have a feeling that my optometrist would be more interested in helping me with these issues. My ophthalmologist did say that he could see my eyes dry through his equipment, but didn’t say anything about damage, although I’ve had a severe corneal abrasion in the past (I very nearly ended up in emergency) and I was warned after it healed to use gel drops if my eyes felt dry and gritty, so I do think there’s a potential for damage there. I’ll probably make an appointment with my optometrist to discuss this with him, and maybe my GP as well if my optometrist can’t prescribe drops.