5 Tips to Help Relieve Your Dry Eye Symptoms
Dry eyes are a common, irritating eye condition. Caused by an insufficient amount of tears in your eyes or poor quality tear composition, eyes are often red and sore, with a scratchy feeling. While there is no foolproof cure for dry eyes we can help alleviate your pain and discomfort. If you suffer from Dry Eye Syndrome, please contact us for a consultation . We’ll evaluate your eyes and recommend the most suitable dry eye treatment to bring you comfort.
There are a number of effective ways to soothe your dry eyes.
To help you find comfort from the symptoms of dry eyes, here are five beneficial tips:
- Â Â Keep lubricating eye drops accessible.
Many types of artificial tears are available over-the-counter, without a prescription, and they are good at providing short-term relief. It may take some trial and error until you find the brand that works best for you. Preservative-free brands are ideal, especially if you find yourself reaching for the dropper more than once every two hours.
Ointments and gels are best for more severe cases of dry eyes, yet their thicker consistency may also blur your vision – so it’s best to apply these before sleep.
- Â Â Stay out of the path of strong air currents.
Wind, fans, a/c or heating vents and even hair dryers are all to blame for drying out eyes. It’s worthwhile to invest in a pair of wraparound sunglasses to protect your eyes from our local, arid environment.
- Â Â Improve and re-moisturize your home atmosphere.
When you’re indoors, a humidifier will be very efficient at hydrating the air that surrounds you. This will slow down the rate of evaporation of your natural tears, thereby leaving your eyes with more lubricating moisture.
A high-quality air filter may also improve your interior environment by reducing dust and other irritants that bother eyes. Cigarette smoke is another known culprit of dry eyes, so it’s advised not to allow smoking in your home or near your work space!
- Â Â Allow your eyes to take a break.
Gazing at a computer screen or television, or reading for extended periods of time, can all dry out your eyes. Even driving long-distance journeys may have this effect. Reminding yourself to blink and giving your eyes some time to rest may facilitate your natural tear production. Keep in mind that normal, relaxed blinking occurs at a rate of six to 15 times per minute, yet when you’re concentrating on one target you’ll blink significantly less.
- Â Â Schedule regular eye exams with your eye doctor!
Our eye doctor is knowledgeable and experienced at helping to treat Dry Eye Syndrome. In order to alleviate your symptoms most effectively, it’s important to have an eye exam performed to determine the cause of your condition.
In addition to environmental triggers, dry eyes can be caused by a number of problems – including side effects from other medications, specific health conditions, allergies and aging. By identifying the potential reasons for your particular dry eyes, we’ll be able to recommend the best treatments and strategies. A number of specialized remedies and procedures are now available to assist with relieving Dry Eye Syndrome.