What are dry eyes?
Tear glands produce enough tears which lubricate your eyes. When the tears produced are not sufficient, or of poor quality, your eyes feel uncomfortable. This condition is called dry eyes.
In fact, dry eyes can be caused by both medical and environmental factors.
Symptoms of Dry Eye
The symptoms of dry eye syndrome are varied. These include:
- Scratchy, gritty, dry, and painful eyes
- Foreign body sensation or “sand in the eye”
- Red eyes
- Mucus discharge in or around your eyes
- Sensitivity to light
- Tired eyes
- Blurred vision
- Paradoxically, watering from eyes can also be a symptom of dry eye.
Causes of Dry Eye
There are several causes of dry eye, these include:
- Increasing age
- Use of certain medicines
- Certain medical conditions, especially autoimmune diseases
- Environmental factors
- Use of contact lenses
- Allergies
What are natural remedies for dry eyes?
Most of these are small lifestyle changes which will go a long way in making your eyes comfortable. In addition, they will actually improve your vision related quality of life. While you must contact your eye doctor in case of any problems, here is what you can do to make your life easier.
Remember to blink
- You must remember to blink, since blinking redistributes the tear film and decreases symptoms of dryness. Especially when using a screen device, we forget to blink. The blink rate decreases to almost one third of normal, leading to dryness of the eyes. Therefore, it is important to remember to blink.
- Also, take frequent breaks to avoid eye fatigue. This is again especially true when watching TV or working on your laptop. Do not forget the 20-20-20 Rule. Every twenty minutes, take a twenty second break to close your eyes. Then, look at something at least twenty feet away to relax your eyes.
Change your environment
- Avoid smoke and dusty areas.
- Stop smoking. Smoking is bad for your general health, and also for your eyes.
- Whenever possible, stay indoors when it’s windy or dusty. Especially when there is a pollution alert, it’s best to stay indoors.
- Use appropriate protective eye wear. Especially, wraparound sunglasses are great for protecting your eyes from drying.
- Protect yourself from chemical fumes.
- Use a humidifier for your home to add moisture to the air, especially in air conditioned environments.
Change your diet
Eat more omega-3 fatty acids. They reduce inflammation, allow more tear production and, therefore, improve the quality of tears. Omega-3 fatty acids also have several other health benefits.
You can use an over the counter supplement, or ask your doctor to prescribe one. Alternatively, you may incorporate foods rich in these fatty acids. These include:
- Flaxseed and flaxseed oil
- Palm oil
- Chia seeds
- Fish, including salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel
- Walnuts
Do warm compresses
- Place a warm compress on your eyes. For this, take a bowl of drinking water and boil some cotton in it. Allow it to cool. Do warm gentle compresses on both eyes, for about five minutes each.
- You make also use baby shampoo to clean your eyelids gently, or alternatively, use a special eyelid wipe for cleaning them.
- While people advocate using teabags with chamomile tea for compresses, there really is no proof to say it helps. Similarly, tea-tree oil wipes have not proven to be superior to the conventional lid wipes.
Use over the counter eye drops
- You can safely use over the counter tear supplements or lubricating eye drops. These eye drops, or artificial tears, can relieve your symptoms. However, make sure you choose preservative free eye drops.
- Also, in India, steroid eye drops are often dispensed indiscriminately by unscrupulous pharmacists. Since these eye drops provide instant relief and are cheap, people are often tempted to buy them. Remember, steroid eye drops can have very serious side effects including infections and even glaucoma.
- In fact, always look at the list of ingredients at the back of the eye drop bottle. In case you see any of these names, do not use it without your doctor’s advice. These are all steroids and can adversely affect your eye health.
1. Dexamethasone
2. Betamethasone
3. Prednisolone
4. Hydrocortisone
5. Loteprednol
6. Flouromethalone
When to see your doctor for dry eyes
You must discuss your symptoms with your doctor during your annual eye test. Before you seek medical attention, you can try these natural remedies at home. In case these measures do not make you feel better, it’s time to contact your eye doctor. In fact, you should see your eye doctor promptly in case of the following symptoms:
- Any associated redness and swelling, beyond the ordinary requires medical attention. Also, if the pain is beyond a mild irritation, it could mean a serious problem also.
- Excessive discharge from the eye, which maybe green or yellow in color could signify an eye infection.
- In case your vision is blurred, or fluctuating, you should contact your doctor.
- Any associated joint pains, dryness of mouth and skin, use of medications known to precipitate dryness will also need you to get in touch with your doctor.
- If there is a white spot on the cornea, contact your doctor immediately. This could be the sign of a potentially serious eye infection.
- In fact, any lid deformity like inward turning or drooping of eyelids, or inability to close eyes properly also must never be ignored. The latter may be a sign of paralysis of the facial muscles and requires urgent attention.
