What Is Good for Dry Eyes Syndrome?

Various methods and techniques are available to diagnose and treat dry eyes, also known as dry eye syndrome or keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Lets dive in and discover what is good for dry eyes syndrome.

Dry eye syndrome occurs for multiple reasons and often leads to decreased tears production, which your eyes need to keep sufficient moisture. This may happen to you after many life situations, such as after sitting to watch a TV for a long time, after sitting in an air-conditioned room, or after undergoing LASIK surgery.

Dry eyes problem is more common in South Asian and African countries, but its still a very common concern in cold countries in the north and west. You might come across the dry eyes meme before while browsing the internet!

What Is Good for Dry Eyes Syndrome?

There are many things that doctors consider good for dry eyes and can prevent their occurrence. The most important of which are the followings:

Quit Smoking

if you’re a smoker, it is crucial to quit immediately and avoid places where there are smokers to avoid passive smoking. Your doctor can set a plan for you to quit smoking with the help of some medications.

Humidifying the Air

There are different types of air humidification devices that you can use in the winter. They help protect your eyes and prevent a lack of tears. A humidifier for dry eyes is easy to get from pharmacies and medical equipment stores.

Placing Screens at a Lower Level

If the computer screen is in a position higher than the eye level, this could lead to a prolonged opening of eyelids and evaporation of tears. So, it is important to place the screen below your eye level.

Avoid Bad Weather Conditions

It is important to consider weather conditions when going out to work to avoid dust and dry air. You can wear goggles to prevent dry eyes.

Avoid Eye Exposure to Dry Air

You shouldn’t expose your eyes to the dry air directly. This includes fan air, conditioned air, or hair dryers. Dry air is the main culprit in developing dry eyes syndrome.

Eye Rest

It becomes more crucial to rest your eyes during activities that require much focus, such as reading. Try to close your eyes for a few minutes, as well as blink your eyes quickly for seconds to distribute the tears over the surface of the eye and avoid dryness. However, "don cry dry your eyes" as Fugees said!

How to Treat Dry Eyes Syndrome?

What is good for dry eyes syndrome could be more than just a preventative measure. There are a variety of ways to treat dry eyes. The treatment depends on the causes that lead to the lack of tear production and your ophthalmologist’s recommendation to manage the case.

For example, if you e taking a medication for some reason and this medication leads to dry eyes, your doctor may replace it with other medications. If you suffer from Inward or outward turning of the eyelid that leads to a decrease in the secretion of tears, the doctor could recommend a surgical intervention to correct this issue called blepharoplasty.

The dry eyes syndrome disappears when the original cause disappears. The same is true in the case of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Those patients need to see a doctor specialized in treating rheumatoid diseases to treat the original causes. In any case, treatments for dry eyes include the following:

Keratitis Medications

Keratitis (inflammation of the cornea) that causes dry tears can be treated with various inhibitory medications. Your doctor will provide you with the best eye drops for painful dry eyes.

Eyelid Infection Medications

Sometimes the cause of dry eyes might be infections that prevent the glands from making enough lipids for the tears. In this case, the doctor can prescribe an antibiotic to treat these infections. Patients can take these drugs orally, locally, or as eye drops.

Draining Sebaceous Glands

Draining sebaceous glands is a major treatment for dry eyes because it helps restore the production of tears.

Autologous Serum Eye Drops

Autologous serum eye drops are made from a patients blood. They are an excellent option to treat severe eye dryness that doesn’t show any improvement by other types of therapeutic drugs. Your doctor takes a sample of your blood and sends it to the lab to remove red blood cells. The final product is mixed with saline water and used as an eye drop.

Therapeutic Contact Lenses

There are newer types of contact lenses that help protect the surface of the eye from the evaporation of tears. These types of lenses are suitable for those who suffer from severe eye dryness.

Drugs to Stimulate Lacrimal Glands

Different types of drugs can stimulate the lacrimal glands to secrete more tears. They are available in the form of drops, gel, or pills.

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy

Through this light therapy, your doctor can massage the eyelids and treat dry eyes.

Punctal Plugs

If the dry eye problem is moderate or severe, your doctor may rely on using small-sized artificial inserts to place them behind the lower eyelid. They provide artificial tears that moisturize the eye around the clock.

Punctal Occlusion

Sometimes eye dryness results from an increase in tear secretion. In this case, the doctor may suggest closing the tear ducts completely or partially, with the use of artificial drops and thermal cauterization. They may also use plugs made of silicone that can be removed eventually.

Alternative Therapies

There are many alternative options to relieve dry eyes, but they still need more research and careful study. Some of these alternatives can reduce the complications of dry eyes.

They include castor oil drops that help prevent the evaporation of tear fluid, as well as omega-3 oils that you can find in many foods, such as tuna, salmon, sardines, and flax seeds. You can also take these oils as nutritional supplements.

In addition, a new study conducted by the University of Manchester has revealed a new treatment that significantly improves the signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome. However, researchers are still skeptical and demand more evidence.

What Is the Function of Tears?

Tears are among the important fluids secreted by your body as a part of the natural physiological response after experiencing happy or sad emotions. Yawning can cause the secretion of tears too. What is good for dry eyes syndrome is to help your eyes produce tears in a proper amount. Here is a brief mention of tears benefits:

• Physical benefits of tears: Tears help moisturize the cornea of ​​the eye and protect against bacteria and germs that attack the body through the eye.
• Psychological benefits of tears: if you’re exposed to a difficult situation, your brain sends a signal to the eye to secrete tears to vent your feelings and help you bear the situation. Tears are an expression of the severity or influence of the emotion.

What Are the Symptoms of Dry Eyes Syndrome?

Symptoms of dry eyes syndrome include:

• Itching or burning in the eye
• Secretion of tears for long periods of time
• Inability to see as usual
• Confusion or disturbance of vision, which increases after focusing on something for too long
• The formation of mucus in or around the eye
• Eye redness and sensitivity to light
• Having difficulty using contact lenses
• Feeling eye fatigue quickly after starting to read a book

Common Causes of Dry Eyes

What is good for dry eyes syndrome is highly dependent on the original cause of the problem. There are several reasons that can lead to dry eyes. We can discuss the common causes of dry eyes as follows:

A Deficiency in Tear Components

If there is a deficiency in one or more of the components of tears, this can affect the quantity and efficiency of the tears as a whole. These components include the following:

• Water: The lacrimal glands create a water layer that also includes other substances, such as lactoferrin, which protects your eye from microbes and germs.
• Proteins: The goblet cells produce proteins in the conjunctiva to provide cohesion between the eyes and tears. There are many diseases that affect the layer of proteins.
• Lipids: This layer originates from the glands of the eyelid. It prevents both the evaporation of tears and the flow of tears above the cheeks. It also reduces the friction of the eyelids. Infections have an impact on the percentage of lipids and increase tear evaporation.
• Electrolytes: These refer to the positive and negative ion charges found in aqueous solutions. Electrolyte disturbances lead to an imbalance in tear production.

Use of Medications

Some medications can cause dry eyes, including pain relievers, contraceptives, antidepressants, diuretics that treat high blood pressure, and antiallergics.

Long-term Use of Contact Lenses

Excessive use of contact lenses leads to a decrease in the production of tears, as well as a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the cornea. Contact lenses can also decrease the sensitivity of the cornea, which increases the dryness of the eye.

Diseases and Illness

Some diseases can also cause dry eyes, including scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and lupus.

Less Eye Blinking

Dry eyes can result from doing activities that require eye focusing and less eye blinking for prolonged times, such as focusing on a computer screen and driving a car.

When the eyelids are overly raised or can’t close completely, the evaporation of tears becomes faster than usual. Some diseases can lead to this condition, such as facial nerve paralysis and hyperthyroidism, which cause the eyes to protrude and widen when the eyelids are opened. Other diseases can lead to a problem called “entropion”, which turns the eyelids inward and allows eyelashes to rub against the eyeball.

Damage to the Lacrimal Glands

The lacrimal glands could become inflamed because of infection with bacteria or germs. This leads to a decrease in the secretion of tears.

Decreased Corneal Sensitivity

The cornea consists of five layers of transparent and arched tissues. Refraction of light occurs at the top of the cornea before it enters the eye. The cornea does not contain any blood vessels, and it receives oxygen directly through the air. The normal function and sensitivity of the cornea help in the production of tears. If there is decreased corneal sensitivity, the secretion of tears could decrease, leading to dry eyes.

Gender

Females are more likely to develop dry eyes than males, especially after menopause or after using contraceptive pills, which lead to hormonal changes. These changes affect the functions of the sebaceous glands in the eye, resulting in dry eyes.

Vitamin A Deficiency

If you eat meals that do not contain vitamin A, you will increase your chance of developing dry eyes. The major foods that contain vitamin A include broccoli, carrots, and animal liver.

Aging

People over the age of 50 are more likely to develop dry eyes compared to younger people.

Undergoing Eye Surgery

Some eye surgeries can cause complications, such as low lacrimal fluid, but this might be a temporary problem.

Hypopituitarism

Hypopituitarism occurs due to infections or exposure to high levels of radiation. This disease affects the production of hormones necessary for various functions in the body, including luteinizing hormone (LH), antidiuretic hormone (ADH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and the thyroid-stimulating hormone TSH. Dry eyes are one of the hypopituitarism symptoms.

Environmental Factors

Exposure to dry air, dust, or smoke can be one of the factors that cause dry eyes.

What Are the Complications of Dry Eyes Syndrome?

Dry eyes can cause complications such as:

• Higher exposure to eye infection: Tears protect your eyes from disease. In fact, they represent a protective shield for the eye. Dry eyes make it easier for germs and foreign bodies to accumulate around the eyes. These things can lead to corneal damage, and if you ignore treatment, this may lead to loss of vision.
• Difficulty performing daily activities: It is difficult to perform daily activities due to the lack of tears. This includes activities such as reading, driving, watching TV, etc.

What to Do Before Visiting the Doctor?

Your doctor can tell you what is good for dry eyes syndrome. However, If you want to visit an ophthalmologist to check your dry eyes, it is important to prepare for the visit by doing the following:

• Write down all the symptoms that you have
• Prepare and think of all the questions that you want to ask
• Write down all medications that you’re taking for medical purposes

What Questions I Can Ask the Ophthalmologist?

• What are the medical examinations that you will recommend?
• Are there other follow-up visits?
• What are the reasons that led to dry eyes?
• What treatments are available to me?
• Is there a chance for my dry eyes to heal without medication?
• What are the side effects of dry eye treatments?
• What is good for dry eyes syndrome?
• How can I deal with other diseases that I suffer from?
• What websites can I get information from?

Questions That the Ophthalmologist Could Ask You

• What are the symptoms that you suffer from?
• Are the symptoms permanent or intermittent?
• Does anyone else in your family suffer from dry eyes?
• When did the symptoms start?
• Are there eye drops youve used before and did they reduce symptoms?
• Do symptoms increase in the morning or night?
• What are the medications that you take?
• Did you visit another doctor for the same reason previously?
• Have previous tests been done for dry eyes?

The Bottom Line

What is good for dry eyes syndrome includes many preventive measures that you can take into consideration throughout your day, such as quitting smoking and avoiding dry air. If dry eye is severe, you can visit your doctor to check on your case and determine the exact cause in order to prescribe the best treatment possible.

Here at International Clinics, our doctors commonly encounter cases of severe eye dryness and work to manage these cases with different treatment options. You can reach us directly by pressing on Contact Us buttons below.

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