Pals losing eye movement now

[Donnaelan18]

Husband is now losing ability to move and close eyes. If he loses it completely, what do you do?

 

[lgelb]

I am so sorry you are at this point, Donna.

If he cannot close his eyes, it is best to tape them closed gently using paper tape, at least at night, so they do not become too dry/dirty. I would also use eye drops frequently, either Genteal "moderate" or "severe" or Refresh Optive gel drops or his doc can write for something thicker if that helps.

I take it there is no other muscle that he can reliably move in lieu of a blink for communication?

Best,
Laurie

 

[Weltschmerz]

Hi Donna, I found that the eye movement left and right lasted a little longer than up and down. Have you tried various types of movement? As for the eyes closing, I think the drops must be really important because my wife often had a sort of white goop in her eyes, almost like a precursor to conjunctivitis. Something was prescribed to try to resolve that but it only ever took the edge off and seemed important to avoid, just for comfort. But I, too, am sorry to hear you're at such a difficult stage.

 

[Donnaelan18]

Thank you. We’re using refresh and it helps but doesn’t fix it completely. We have the same issue with the goop. Very frustrating.

 

[Donnaelan18]

No - everything else is done. The eyes are it.

 

[lgelb]

Do you use a warm wrung-out washcloth over the eyes and leave it there for a while, for the goop? If you can adjust the room/home/machine humidity, that may help, also.

 

[Donnaelan18]

I’m trying all of these. Thanks for the suggestions. Any other feedback would be appreciated as it’s still an issue