Dry Eyes: Causes and Treatment Options

When you don’t produce sufficient tears to keep your eyes wet, you experience dry eyes. When this happens regularly or with great severity, you can experience significant discomfort, vision problems, and/or a general decrease in your overall quality of life. The American Academy of Ophthalmology estimates that nearly 16 million people suffer from dry eyes.

Causes of Dry Eyes

There are various causes of dry eyes, from physical to environmental and even habitual. These can include:

• Hormonal fluctuations
• Dry environments
• Exposure to allergens
• Autoimmune diseases
• Chronic health conditions
• Poor blinking
• Computer vision syndrome

Understanding the underlying cause of your dry eyes will help us develop the right treatment plan.

For patients with a dry eye disorder, we will determine whether aqueous insufficiency (lack of tear gland production) or evaporative dry eye resulting from an unstable tear film is the cause. This will help us personalize your treatment.

Treatment Options for Dry Eyes

If you are experiencing dry eye, you can take the first steps toward addressing this condition at home. Because dry air exacerbates dry eye, running a humidifier in your living space can be quite helpful.

You can also add moisture to your eyes and promote healthy tear duct function by placing a warm damp washcloth on your eyes before bed.

Eating more omega-3 fatty acids may also help improve dry eye symptoms; research shows that omega-3 fatty acids can improve symptoms of dry eye disorders.

When these home remedies fail to work, you should consult a medical professional who might prescribe eye drops or other medications.

Can You Cure Dry Eye Disorders?

If it is not a symptom from a controllable factor, then it is not curable. However, there are treatment options available to make your symptoms much more tolerable. Ongoing collaboration with an eye specialist can help adjust your treatment as needed to ensure you stay comfortable.

Get Dry Eyes Treatment for Long-Lasting Relief

For more information about dry eye and its various causes and treatments, contact the eye professionals at Longwood Eye & LASIK Center today. You can reach the office by calling 1-855-286-2020 or completing our contact form. We serve patients in Gardner, Greenfield, West Springfield, and Fitchburg, MA.