Dry eyes occur when your tears aren’t able to produce adequate lubrication for your eyes. Many of us experiences that gritty, painful, and uncomfortable feeling when our eyes become too dry. There are a number of factors that can cause dry eyes such as aging, contacts, allergies, certain medications, environmental factors, and certain medical conditions.

Symptoms of Dry Eyes

Here are the symptoms of dry eyes:

  • Eye redness
  • Fatigue eyes
  • Blurred vision
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Music in or around your eyes
  • A sensation of having something in your eyes

Here are some tips on how to prevent dry eyes:

1. Rest your eyes

Reading, using your phone, watching television, or working at a computer can dry your eyes out. So it’s important to rest your eyes and blink more frequently to help your eyes regain some of their moisture. We recommend taking a break every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and look at something that’s at least 20 feet away.

2. Care for your eyelids

Placing a warm compress on your eyes can help release some of the oil in your eyelid’s glands to improve the quality of your tears. We recommend washing your eyelids with a clean washcloth, baby shampoo, and warm water.

3. Avoid cigarette smoke

Cigarette smoke can irritate dry eyes and increase your risk of developing dry eyes. Therefore, we recommend to stop smoking and/or avoid cigarette smoke.

4. Protect your eyes in windy areas

It’s important to protect your eyes in windy areas. You should also limit your exposure to fans and hair dryers. We recommend wearing wraparound sunglasses or other protective eyewear to block wind and dry air.

5. Try drops or ointments

Try eye drops or artificial tears to bring you temporary relief. We recommend using drops or ointments if you have chronic dry eyes and even when your eyes feel fine to keep them moist and lubricated.

6. Try an omega-3 fatty acid supplement

You can try adding omega-3 fatty acids to your diet, which is found in foods like salmon and flaxseeds. We recommend speaking to your ophthalmologist if you should take supplement of omega-3 fatty acids.

New Optical Palace is your Optometrist serving the Kitchener and Waterloo Area. We offer eye exams and have a wide variety of prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses.