More than three million Americans complain of some form of dry eye each year. This can occur if your eyes don’t make enough tears, or if they evaporate too quickly. Fortunately, the team at Eye Surgeons Associates in Canton, Lincoln Park, Livonia and Monroe, Michigan, offers many dry eye treatments to soothe your eyes and allow you to feel comfortable once again. To find out if you have dry eyes, call Eye Surgeons Associates.
Dry eye is an uncomfortable condition in which your tears aren’t nourishing or lubricating your eyes. This typically occurs for one of two reasons: your eyes can’t make enough tears or your tears lack the compounds that help lubricate the eyes.
While dry eye may seem like a harmless condition, it can feel debilitating for many people. Dry eye makes it difficult to read for long periods of time, look at a computer screen, or see without blurry vision.
You might not be able to tell if your eyes feel dry, so look out for the following dry eye symptoms:
Eye fatigue
Eye discharge or crusting
Red eyes
Eye pain
Discomfort while wearing contact lenses
Burning eyes
Stinging eyes
Blurry vision
Watering eyes
Another symptom of dry eye is feeling like something is stuck in your eye when there’s nothing there. You can also experience bouts of excess tears followed by long periods of dry eyes.
While many factors can cause dry eye, some of the most common include:
Long-term contact lens wear
Allergies
Pregnancy
Lasik®
Staring at a computer screen
Not blinking enough
Thyroid disease
Antidepressants
Antihistamines
Parkinson’s disease medications
Oral birth control
Certain blood pressure medications
Hormone replacement therapy
Cosmetic eyelid surgery
Chronic inflammation
Tobacco smoke
Certain irritants like air conditioning or heaters can also cause dry eye to develop over time.
There are many noninvasive dry eye treatments that your provider at Eye Surgeons Associates can employ to help relieve your symptoms, such as:
There are several over the counter and prescription eye drops that can help relieve dry eye symptoms.
Adding omega-3 fatty acids to your diet can help lubricate your eyes and reduce eye discomfort.
You can have a tiny, removable plug placed in one or both of the tear ducts on your eyelids to prevent tear drainage and improve lubrication of your eyes.
If you have a medical condition that causes dry eye, treating the root of the problem or switching medication may help lubricate your eyes.
Wearing your contact lenses less frequently or changing the type of lenses you wear may improve the symptoms of dry eye.
You can also help relieve dry eye symptoms by avoiding dry conditions, using a humidifier, avoiding ceiling fans, and resting your eyes periodically.
If dry eye is preventing you from feeling your best, call Eye Surgeons Associates.