I'm Ana, the person behind Dry Eye Diaries.
I developed severe dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) about two and a half years ago. Before that, I had worn contact lenses for around 25 years and had never imagined that something called "dry eye" could affect a person's life so profoundly.
At its worst, it affected almost everything I did. Using a computer was almost impossible. Going outside was difficult. Shopping, talking to people, spending time in places with air conditioning — ordinary things I had never thought twice about — suddenly became a challenge.
And perhaps one of the hardest parts was not understanding what was actually happening to my eyes.
I was diagnosed, treated, tested and given different explanations. I went through eight IPL treatments and many meibomian gland expressions. I tried different approaches at home. Some things helped. Some didn't. Some parts of treatment I would approach very differently if I were starting again today.
But slowly — very slowly — things began to change.
My recovery wasn't linear. There wasn't one treatment that suddenly fixed everything. There were improvements, setbacks, long periods when very little seemed to change, and then moments when I realized I could do something again that had once seemed impossible.
Today, my eyes are dramatically better than they were at their worst. I'm living a much more normal life again.
I'm not completely at the end of this journey, and I don't pretend to have all the answers.
But I know much more than I did when it started.
And that is why I created Dry Eye Diaries.
Why I Created Dry Eye Diaries
When my dry eye became severe, I wanted to understand it.
That sounds simple.
It wasn't.
There was an enormous amount of information online, but it was scattered everywhere: medical papers, clinic websites, patient groups, videos, conference presentations and discussions between people who often seemed to have completely different ideas about the same disease.
Even basic questions could become surprisingly complicated:
- •What exactly is MGD?
- •Why does meibum become thick?
- •What is IPL actually supposed to do?
- •How important is inflammation?
- •Can glands recover?
- •Why can two people both have "dry eye" and need completely different treatments?
- •Why can your eyes look better while they still don't feel better?
The deeper I went, the more I realized that dry eye is not one simple disease with one simple solution.
I started reading research papers, reviews and reports from organizations such as the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS). I wanted to understand not only what treatments existed, but why they were supposed to work, what evidence supported them, and which part of the dry-eye system they were actually targeting.
Over time, I accumulated an enormous amount of information.
And I kept thinking: I wish someone had explained all of this to me at the beginning.
Dry Eye Diaries grew out of that thought.
What You'll Find Here
This website brings together three things that I believe belong together.
My Personal Experience. I write honestly about my own dry-eye journey — what happened, what I tried, what helped me, what didn't, what frightened me, what I learned and how my eyes changed over time. My experience is just that: my experience. It isn't proof that another person will respond the same way.
The Dry Eye Guide. I wanted to build the guide I wish I had when this began: a place where patients can understand the tear film, meibomian glands, different types and causes of dry eye, diagnostic tests and treatments without needing a medical degree to make sense of it all. The Guide is based on published medical literature and other reputable scientific sources, which are referenced throughout the articles.
Research & What's New. Dry-eye research is changing quickly. New treatments are being developed, old assumptions are being questioned, and researchers are learning much more about the tear film, inflammation, corneal nerves, meibomian glands and the ocular surface. I follow that research and try to explain the most interesting developments in language that patients can actually understand — including what a new study does and does not tell us.
I'm a Patient, Not a Doctor
This distinction matters to me.
I am not an ophthalmologist, optometrist or medical professional, and Dry Eye Diaries is not a medical clinic.
I don't diagnose people, and I don't want this website to tell anyone which treatment they should choose.
What I can offer is something different.
I know what it is like to be the patient trying to understand all of this.
I know what it is like to read a medical paper because you desperately want to know whether your glands can improve. To hear two completely different explanations from two different sources. To wonder whether a treatment is actually addressing your problem. And to spend months looking for signs that your eyes are finally getting better.
That patient perspective is at the heart of this project.
When I discuss medical information, I try to distinguish clearly between published evidence, emerging research and personal experience. Sources are provided so that readers can go beyond my explanation and look at the research themselves.
The information on Dry Eye Diaries is for education and general information only. It isn't a substitute for diagnosis or medical care from a qualified healthcare professional. For more, see my Editorial Policy and Medical Disclaimer.
Why "Dry Eye Diaries"?
Because dry eye isn't only a diagnosis written in a medical record.
For many people, it becomes part of everyday life.
There are treatments and test results, but there are also good days and bad days. There is frustration, uncertainty and endless experimentation. There are tiny improvements that nobody else would notice but that can feel enormous when you've been struggling for months or years.
And sometimes there is recovery — slowly enough that you barely notice it happening.
Dry Eye Diaries is where I document that journey while trying to understand the science behind it.
I don't know where my own story will end.
But if what I've learned along the way can make someone else's journey a little less confusing, then creating this site was worth it.
— Ana