5 Tips To Keep Dry Eye In Check

January 16th, 2019

Dry eye is an annoying, distracting, and painful problem that is also very common. Fortunately, there are many ways to help fight dry eye, most of which need very little effort.

There are even surgical options for chronic sufferers of dry eye when the other tricks aren’t enough. Keep reading for 5 tips to keep your dry eye in check!

Climate Control

One of the primary reasons we experience dry eye is because of our environment. Dry air, dust, and temperature can rob us of our eyes natural moisture.

Consider investing in a humidifier for rooms that you spend the most time in. Make sure to clean surfaces that get dusty often.

When cleaning, use a damp towel instead of a duster. This will trap the dust on the cloth rather than putting it back into the air.

When heating rooms or your car, try to use radiant heat rather than something that blows hot air. You can buy radiator-like space heaters at most large scale retailers!

Eye Drops

Eye drops are a great way to provide instant relief for dry eye. Make sure when putting eye drops in that you avoid touching the tip of the applicator. You should also keep your hands away from the edges of your eyelids.

Instead of holding your entire eye open, create a pocket in the lower lid and aim the drop there. Don’t flood your eyes with liquid.

This can wash debris from your eyelids and lashes into your eye. In the long run, this could make your dry eye worse! Use one drop at a time, wait a few minutes, and then use more if necessary.

Nutrition

Nutrition can play a big role in dry eye as well. Make sure to eat foods with plenty of omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, tuna, walnuts, and leafy greens.

You can also try taking supplements. If you want to treat your dry eye from the inside out, drink more water. Drinking water can help re-hydrate your dry eyes.

Limit Screen Time

When we spend too much time in front of screens, we put stress on our eyes. Any screen can do this like a TV, computer, smartphone, or a tablet. If you’re focusing on something like a screen, you forget to blink enough.

If your blink rate slows down, it can dry out your eyes. Try this: set a timer for 20 minutes. Every time it goes off, look at something about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.

This will not only help you to remember to blink, but it will also help you when focusing at a distance!

Medical Options

Sometimes the previous tips aren’t enough to help cope with dry eye. It may be necessary to explore medical options and treat your dry eye.

Chronic dry eye sufferers often aren’t producing good quality tears. A doctor can help stimulate tear production with meibomian gland expression therapy.

This unblocks the glands that produce the oil layer of tears. Unblocking the glands stops the tear from evaporating too quickly.

These glands tend to get clogged with a waxy deposit. The deposits are melted using warm compresses or broken up using sonic vibrations.

To find out about more ways that Dr. Danny Lee in Huntsville, AL can help you with your dry eye, set up an appointment!