Chronic Dry Eye Treatment Options and Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle for Your Eyes
While there is no permanent cure, there are many effective treatments for chronic dry eye. If you suffer from this health condition, your ophthalmologist will suggest treatment options to alleviate your symptoms and give you relief. Additionally, the doctor may also recommend that you make some significant lifestyle changes to keep the chronic dry eye condition under control.
What is chronic dry eye?
Chronic dry eye, also known as dry eye syndrome and Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca, is a health condition that affects the eye surface due to the lack of sufficient tears in the eyes. Tears are essential for lubricating and nourishing your eyes. If your eyes cannot produce enough tears to keep the eye surfaces moist, it could lead to health complications that might eventually cause vision loss.
What are the symptoms of chronic dry eye?
It is advisable to visit a licensed, experienced ophthalmologist and seek appropriate treatments for chronic dry eye if you experience any of these common symptoms:
• Red, inflamed, or itchy eyes
• Excessive mucous secretion
• Blurred vision
• Oversensitivity to light
• Gritty sensation in eyes
• Decreased night vision
• Discomfort wearing contact lenses
What causes chronic dry eye?
There can be various causes of chronic dry eye, and the condition affects different people differently. Some people may experience only a mild form of the disease for a short-term, while it may persist and become chronic in others. Here are some of the causes:
• Age: As you grow older, tear production tends to decrease and can lead to chronic dry eye issues. People over 50 are more likely to suffer from this health issue.
• Gender: Various research studies indicate that women, especially older women, are more likely to develop chronic dry eye conditions than men. It may be due to the hormonal changes caused by extensive oral contraceptive use, pregnancies, and menopause.
• Health issues: If you suffer from a thyroid disorder, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or Parkinson’s Disease, you may be at an increased risk of contracting chronic dry eye conditions. You may also be at risk if you have undergone any surgical procedure on your eyes.
• Medications: Antidepressants, antihistamines, decongestants, and blood pressure medicines can negatively affect tear production and cause chronic dry eye.
• Lifestyle: A poor diet, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, smoking, wearing contact lenses, and overuse of television, computers, and smartphones can stress put your eyes and cause them to dry out.
• Environment: Constant exposure to dry, windy, or smoke-filled environments can contribute towards developing chronic dry eye syndrome.
Chronic dry eye treatment options
When you visit an ophthalmologist, the doctor will review your medical history, ask about your symptoms, and examine your eyes. They will run a few tests to assess your tear production and the quality of your tears. Based on that, they will be able to determine if your issue is due to the chronic dry eye condition. If it is, the treatments for chronic dry eye can vary, depending on the severity of your case.
The eye doctor may advise you to make lifestyle changes, prescribe eye drops and other medications, or recommend eye inserts and other effective treatments for chronic dry eyes to add, conserve, and increase tear production in your eyes.
Tips for a healthy lifestyle for your eyes
Making some essential changes in your lifestyle can help reduce the severity of the chronic dry eye condition. Some of the changes you can make to your daily routine can include the following:
• Get eight hours of sleep at night.
• Apply a warm compress to your eyes when you wake up in the morning.
• Perform eye exercises to strengthen your eye muscles.
• Improve your diet to include more foods containing Vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Drink plenty of water to stay well-hydrated.
• Take breaks every 20 minutes to rest your eyes when doing any work that requires you to focus on something. For instance, working on a computer, reading, or doing carving work.
• Blink frequently to stimulate tear production.
• Install a humidifier to add moisture to your interior environment.
• Use eye drops, ointment, gel, eye inserts, or autologous serum eye drops to keep your eyes moist.
• Wear specialty contact lenses and sunglasses outdoors to prevent moisture from evaporating too quickly from the eye surface.