The crushing, debilitating symptoms of Dry Eye can make normal activities impossible. As a sufferer withdraws from normal activities, social interaction decreases and, as time passes, friends may be lost; contact with family members, neighbors, and co-workers may decrease.
Patients often stop working, causing them to lose contact with their co-workers.
Patients sometimes become shut-ins, losing contact with their neighbors.
When friends ask them to go out, they decline, knowing that their eyes will not be able handle the environment or the situation.
The loss of social contacts and friends during this time makes finding help much harder, because a sufferer is left alone to fend for themselves. Doctors and other health care providers frequently don’t or can’t help either. Research online becomes increasingly painful, or even impossible, as using eyes for reading becomes more and more painful.
Losing social contacts can make asking for help difficult because it may seem like that there is no one to ask.
Still, even if it seems like it’s too late and there is no one around to ask, it’s best to begin building a network of friends, family members, and neighbors who can be asked for help when you need them.