Dry eyes occur tears can not provide enough moisture and lubrication to your eyes. This may come from the quantity or the quality of tears produced, and continued instability may result in damage and inflammation.
Dry eyes can be attributed to many things; riding an airplane, riding bikes, overexposure to your cellphone, or even staying in an air-conditioned room can all result in that uncomfortable feeling in your eyes. Treatment can be a challenging process to go through as well because it needs to be frequent and pervasive. Controlling the irritation may be closely integrated into your lifestyle once you have dry eyes.
How Tears Work
To understand how dry eyes work, you must know the basics when it comes to tears. Tears keep your eyesight clear and healthy and help retain vision. This flowing group of tears is called a tear film and comprises three layers – the oily layer, the water layer, and the mucus layer. Each one plays an important role, and complications in each will result in dysfunction.
The oil layer is located on the outside, keeping the surface smooth and preventing the tears from drying up quickly, basically preventing too much evaporation for the fluid. Meibomian glands play a big role in this process.
The watery layer is located in the middle of the tear film and composes most of what we perceive as tears. It is responsible for cleansing the eye of any dirt or particles that might cause irritation or harm.
The mucus layer, which is the innermost layer, keeps the eye moist throughout the surface. This happens from a process that involves the cornea and conjunctiva, producing mucins that maintain hydration on the ocular surface and function as an anti-adhesive between the surface of the eye and conjunctiva during blinking, preventing pathogens from binding.
One might underestimate how easy it is to irritate the eyes. It is important to be mindful of the symptoms and signs that your eyes are drying up, and paying attention to these signs should alert you to enact action as soon as possible. The symptoms include:
- The sensation that something is inside your eyes
- The urge to scratch your eyes
- Excessive mucus outside the eye
- redness
- Unusual light sensitivity
- Blurry vision
- fatigued within or surrounding the eyes
However, recklessness or lack of knowledge is not all to blame for dry eyes, a lot of factors may result in dryness such as
- aging
- Specific medications
- environmental factors
- Allergies
- Medical conditions
The key treatment with dry eyes is of course prevention, and there are a lot of things that one can do in order to keep the eyes healthy and moist.
Tips to Avoid Dry Eye
- Utilize eye drops to keep moisture – lubrication is key to dryness, and applying it whenever the eyes are even slightly irritated is enough to keep your eyes healthy consistently. Eyedrops at your local store can do the work, and there is no prescription needed if you want to keep your eyes moist.
- Try to avoid directly looking at the sun – The eyes know that it can barely look at the sun for even just a few seconds, and even being in intense sunlight can cause harm to the eyes. Sunglasses that have UV protection will help you fend off the harmful UV rays as well as maintain clear vision in the daylight. Caps and hats can also do that trick.
- Stay hydrated – hydration throughout the body equals hydration in the eyes, it is a simple concept that improves the quality of your tears through and through. Drinking the suggested amount of water throughout the day is crucial here, and if you did not have enough reasons to stay hydrated before, then do mind that it is also key to your optical health.
- Switch up your diet – eyes need certain foods and nutrients to help keep them functioning properly, and the best foods are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Eggs, chia seeds, and fish are some of the best options.
- Wash your eyes – Not washing your eyes will result in all the outside particles such as dirt, sand, and pollen to keep irritating the eyes. Thoroughly and consistently washing your eyes will help stop these particles from becoming a problem.
- Protect your eyes in the pool – pooling is something we all do to cool down during hot summer days, but people do not realize that the chlorine found in pools does the opposite for your eyes. So, maybe it is not such a bad idea the next time someone mentions wearing goggles in the pool. You don’t need corals to use it with purpose.
The eyes are one of the body’s most sensitive parts, and among the five senses, they are what people cherish the most. It takes just a little to cause problems for the eyes, but it also does not cost much for you to be mindful and take care of it, which it reminds you to do whenever you feel a slight itch. If you are having a dry eye problem, contact your primary health care provider or check dry eye new treatment available near you.