How dry is too dry?
We all endure an occasional bout of dry eyes on a hot summer day. However, when dry eyes occur on a regular basis, outside of such situations as flying in a dry airplane cabin or walking on a windy day, it’s time for a professional eye exam.
Common symptoms of dry eyes
Symptoms of dry eyes include:
1. Redness
Dryness expands blood vessels within your eyes, making them appear more bloodshot.
2. Light sensitivity
Sensitivity to light may increase with dryness.
3. Blurred vision
Dry eyes can make your vision fluctuate: blur that clears with a blink, plus glare, especially when reading or using screens.
4. Fatigue
If you feel more eye fatigue than usual, this could be due to dry eyes.
5. Itching
As tempting as it may be to scratch your eyes when they feel especially dry and itchy, it’s better to use artificial tears to avoid additional harm.
Our optometrists address these and other issues, such as difficulty wearing traditional contact lenses or watery eyes due to tear duct blockages, by examining your eyes for dry eye disease. Untreated, this condition can lead to more serious problems from vision damage to corneal abrasions.
Why so dry?
Dry eyes arise for a variety of reasons, ranging from aging to autoimmune diseases, such as Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Chronic dry eyes from allergies, medications, dehydration and computer use can often be corrected through certain modifications, including:
- Blink more frequently while working on the computer
- Ask your prescriber whether any of your medications add to dryness; never change them on your own
- Tell us if you take oral antihistamines, which can worsen dry eyes, so we can plan around them
Other simple fixes, from drinking more water to ease dehydration, adding fish oil or omega-3 rich foods, such as fatty fish or flax seeds, to your diet, or moistening indoor air with a humidifier, may also help. We can also switch your standard contact lenses to glasses or special contacts created to reduce dry eyes.
Medical options to treat dry eyes
We also provide a range of medical methods to relieve dry eyes, including:
Artificial tears or ointments
These keep your eyes in tip-top shape, even while you sleep.
In-office treatments for blocked oil glands
Your eyelids contain glands that put oil into your tears. In-office treatments use heat, pressure or light to unclog blocked eyelid glands and ease dryness; see our dry eye treatment page for the current options.
Punctal plugs
Tiny plugs placed in the tear drainage openings keep more of your natural tears on the eye. Removable plugs are the usual first step; permanent closure is a minor procedure reserved for a few patients.
Avoid further complications
Left untreated, dry eyes can lead to more serious conditions, such as inflammatory conjunctivitis, which causes discomfort, redness or light sensitivity, and corneal ulcers, open sores on your cornea that grow more inflamed by dryness.
If your eyes don’t produce enough tears, look no further than our knowledgeable team at Classic Vision Care for help. Call us or book an appointment online today.
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What do we know about dry eye now that the original list left out?
Dry eye is still one of the most common reasons patients visit our Kennesaw and East Cobb offices. The National Eye Institute now estimates that nearly 16.4 million Americans have dry eye [1]. The five signs above remain accurate, but the understanding of why eyes get dry has shifted.
Most dry eye today is not a simple shortage of tears. It is often evaporative dry eye, where tears dry out too fast because the oil layer is thin. The American Academy of Ophthalmology names meibomian gland dysfunction, blocked oil glands along the eyelid edge, as a leading cause of evaporative dry eye [2]. That matters for dry eye treatment. Artificial tears add water, but they do not open blocked oil glands.
Two more signs belong on the list. Watery eyes can be a dry eye symptom, because an irritated eye makes extra tears that do not stick [2]. Blurred vision that clears when you blink, especially while reading, is another clue [2]. Risk rises at age 50 and older, with being female, with contact lens wear and with autoimmune conditions such as lupus or Sjogren syndrome [1]. Long hours on a computer, tablet or phone can also bring on dry eye [1]. The AOA reminds patients to blink regularly during long screen sessions [3].
How is dry eye diagnosed? Dry eye is diagnosed through a comprehensive eye exam that measures both the quantity and the quality of your tears [3]. At Classic Vision Care, a dry eye evaluation at either office looks at your tear film, eyelid margins and oil glands. Treatment is suggested only after that. From there, dry eye treatment is matched to the cause. Options the AAO and AOA describe include preservative-free artificial tears, prescription eye drops, removable punctal plugs, and warm compresses with lid hygiene [2][3]. Our Dry Eye Spa adds in-office treatments for blocked oil glands and scleral lenses for severe dry eye. The same dry eye treatment menu is available at both the Kennesaw and East Cobb offices.
One practical note on medications. Some allergy pills and other prescriptions can dry the eyes. Do not stop or switch a medication on your own. Bring your list to your dry eye evaluation and we will coordinate with your prescriber.
If drops that once helped have stopped working, that pattern has a reason. Our newer post on why dry eye drops stop working in Cobb County walks through it.
Related reading: why dry eye drops stop working in Cobb County, the three types of dry eye, punctal plugs for dry eye, scleral lenses for dry eyes.
