Soothing Dry Eyes

 Your eyes are a marvel.  With every blink, your eyes are designed to clean and moisturize themselves.  Tear ducts produce a liquid (commonly known as tears) which contain mucus, oils, and water.  This liquid combination is essential to staving off dry eyes.

Every week Dr. Alysa Watanabe of Plaza Vision Optometry helps patients that suffer from dry eyes.  In fact, the condition is very common (more than 20 million American deal with it daily).  Do you suffer from dry eyes?  Let’s look at some of the symptoms as well as a few tips to treat the condition.

Common Symptoms of Dry Eyes

If you wonder if you are dealing with dry eyes, here are some of the most common symptoms:

• Burning, dry, and itchy sensations in your eyes
• A gritty feeling into your eye (almost as if sand is in your eyes)
• Focus difficulties due to eye dryness
• Watery eyes (eyes trying to overcompensate for dryness)
• Having any of the above symptoms in both eyes

Treating Dry Eyes

Visiting an optometrist is the best way to get a comprehensive diagnosis and solution to this problem.  However, here are a few tips to reduce dry eye symptoms:

• Make use of a humidifier to increase the moisture in the air.
• When allergies are present, lubricate your eyes with eye drops that are specifically made for allergy sufferers (see Alysa Watanabe if you need assistance acquiring the best eye drops for your eyes).
• Look into the side effects of any medication that you are consuming. If the meds are creating severe dry eyes, you may need to ask your doctor to adjust your medication.
• Take more breaks from TV, PC, or digital media. The light from these devices can lead to increased eye dryness.