Dry eye is a common condition caused when there aren’t enough tears, or they are poor quality, reducing their ability to lubricate and wash away debris. Here are 6 points to know about it:
- Dry eye can make your eyes feel sore and gritty. Both eyes are usually affected, making them look red and vision blurred.
- It is more common in women, as we age or in people who work on computers, in heating or air conditioning, in some diseases and contact lens wearers.
- Over time, the dryness can damage the surface of the eyeball. It can lead to sensitivity to light, difficulty with nighttime driving and blurred vision. Sometimes when the eyes are dry, they will overproduce thin tears to compensate, causing excessive tearing.
- The best way of treating dry eye is to remove the cause. This may include:
- exposure to smoke, sun, dust or wind (wrap-around sunglasses may help with this);
- low humidity in airconditioned rooms, airplane cabins and extreme hot/cold weather;
- looking at a computer screen or television for long periods and
- some medicines and health conditions.
- Supplementing with omega-3 from fish oils may help to decrease irritation. Artificial tears can be used to improve the tear quality or stop them quickly draining away. There are many options so ask your Pharmacist which will be best for you.
- Dry eye sufferers can be more prone to Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) as the meibomian glands make meibum which makes up much of the tear film. MGD can present like dry eye, but the eyelids can also be irritated, red and sore and there may be a history of styes. It often presents with the duct blocked which will look like a stye. Ask your Doctor or Optometrist to check your eyes regularly if you suffer from dry eye.