It took many months or years to develop, and it's not going to go away immediately. Your dry eye disease didn't occur overnight. Is there anything I can do to improve my dry eye disease? This contributes to dry eyes, along with many other health issues.

Incomplete blinking, which is often 60% to 70% when working on digital devices, also can lead to dry eyes. A poor blinking rate would be as low as 4-5 blinks per minute. Winter can be especially challenging with dry air and forced air heaters in vehicles or other enclosed environments.Ī poor blinking rate can affect your eyes. So is polluted air quality, including second-hand smoke and seasonal air quality. Existing dry eye disease can lead to poor successful contact lens wear.ĭry, windy, dusty and smoky conditions can all be problematic. Wearing contacts disrupts the tear film, leading to dry eye symptoms and decreased contact comfort and wearing time. Eye conditions can contribute to dry eye disease, such as blepharitis (dandruff-like debris called scurf), Meibomian gland dysfunction, ocular rosacea, irregular eye lid margins and mites living in eyelash follicles. The health of your eyelid margins and eyelashes is important. A heart-smart diet is an eye-smart diet, such as the Mediterranean diet. Irritation from secondary smoke, as well as the internal effects of smoking may lead to dry eyes.ĭiets high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3 fatty acids can cause inflammation, a key component to dry eye disease. These can lead to rebound red eyes, which cause eyes to be even redder and more irritated than before. Avoid drops that claim to get the red out. Preservatives found in medicated eye drops that are used chronically, including glaucoma drops and over-the-counter artificial tears, also can worsen dry eye symptoms. Oral medications, including antihistamines, antidepressants and birth control pills, can increase the likelihood of dry eyes. In addition, dry eye disease is often the first presenting symptom of rheumatoid arthritis. About 50% of people with acne rosacea have dry eyes. People who have acne rosacea, diabetes, thyroid disease, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases that include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Sjogren's syndrome are more likely to develop dry eyes. Normal aging changes your eyes, and they don't function as well as when you're younger.Ĭhanges in hormone levels associated with age, menopause, pregnancy or birth control pills affect the eyes. Common causes of decreased tear production include: The medical term for this condition is keratoconjunctivitis sicca. What causes dry eye?ĭry eyes can occur when you're unable to produce enough tears. When your eyes get dry enough, they act as if there is something in them and try to flush it out, which leads to watery eyes. With emotional tearing and reflex tearing, there are plenty of tears but they're typically poor quality. With dry eye disease, basal tears are of poor quality and quantity. Reflex, which occurs when trying to flush a foreign object from the eye.Emotional, which occurs when a person is upset or moved by a sensitive situation.Basal (basic), which produces continual lubrication to your eye.How can that be? Your eyes produce three kinds of tearing: I have dry eyes, but my eyes are watery all the time. Here's what you need to know if you suffer from dry eyes. Some people experience dry eyes in specific situations, such as on an airplane, while looking at a computer screen or during periods of low humidity like during the winter. Other symptoms include eye redness, difficulty wearing contact lenses, watery eyes, blurred vision, sensitivity to light or eye fatigue. This leads to chronic inflammation of the eye surface and a stinging or burning sensation. People with dry eyes produce poor quality tears, not enough tears or both. However, for many people, dry eye disease is an uncomfortable condition that affects their daily lives. If you can see well, the odds are that you rarely think about your eyes and may even take your eye health for granted. How people move through their days and interact with others and their environment is impacted by their vision. This is because our sense of sight is responsible for most of the information that we absorb from the world around us. You may have heard the adage 'A picture is worth a thousand words.' That is used to say that it is easier to show something than describe it.

Blurry vision after warm eye compress