What Do Dry Eyes Indicate After Viewing A Solar Eclipse Despite Eye Medication?

Posted on Sat, 23 Sep 2017

Question: I have been experiencing some eye problems since viewing the solar eclipse on Monday. My eyes feel like they have a headache (I can feel it more when I'm trying to focus or when they move), I am sensitive to light, and they feel dry and scratchy. I am having trouble sleeping because my eyes can't seem to relax. I've been to an opthamologist twice already and they told me I was fine. They said I might have dry eye and gave me some eye drops. I have tried all kinds of eye drops ranging from dry eye to allergy. I feel a little relief, but I'm still experiencing these symptoms, especially having eye dryness. I'm starting to worry, I've never experienced this before. I started birth control (depo shot) on Tuesday. I don't know if dry eye can be a symptom of birth control though.

Answered by Dr. N K Mishra (8 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Likely to be drug induced.

Detailed Answer:
My dear,
Thanks for sending your query to us.
Solar eclipse causes eclipse burn on the retina,which can easily seen and diagnosed by an ophthalmologist.Solar eclipse does not cause the symptoms you are having.This is more likely to be drug induced and the depo shot you had may be responsible for these symptoms.The dryness may always be pre existing and may be exacerbated under this hormonal stress.
Use plenty of lubricating drops and gel if necessary and consult an internal medicine doctor with details of composition of depo preparation to pin point the cause.
Please do get back to me in case of any further query in this regard.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D