Do Natural Dry Eye Treatments Work?
Have dry eyes? You don’t have to live with the frustrating symptoms. Often, making small changes to your lifestyle can make a big difference! Keep reading to learn more about ways you can treat your dry eye!
Make An Effort To Blink
One common reason people end up with dry eye is not blinking enough. Yes, sometimes it can be as easy as that. Thank your technology addiction.
Looking at screens constantly means you can actually forget to blink enough. Whether you’re watching TV or scrolling on your iPhone, this can cause you to forget when to blink.
So what can you do? Make an active effort and remind yourself to blink more when working at your desk. Can’t remember?
Try setting a silent reminder on your phone for every twenty minutes. This is a cue to you to take a small break from the screens.
Ideally, during this time, you should look at something that’s not a screen. This is also a good opportunity to put in eye drops and keep your eyes hydrated.
Stay Hydrated
A healthy tear has three components: water, mucin, and oil. If your tears are missing any of these, you’re not getting the right nutrients.
Of the three components, water is one of the most important parts of your tears. One easy thing you can do is drink more water.
If you’re dehydrated, your tears are one aspect of your body that suffers. You should aim to drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day.
Does that sound like a lot? You can download apps like Daily Water to help!
Then you can keep track of how much water you’ve had through the day, and how much you have left to drink. It’s a lot more fun when hydration becomes a game!
Supplement Your Diet With Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Another easy way to treat dry eye is by changing your diet. One thing that’s great for dry eye is eating more omega-3 fatty acids.
It’s all about eating more foods like salmon, tuna, flaxseed, and walnuts. Even better is that when you consume more omega-3 fatty acids, it’s actually good for your skin and hair!
So you can treat your dry eye and look good doing it! In particular, omega 3’s are good for the glands that produce the oil component in your tears. This is necessary to keep your tears from evaporating and reducing inflammation.
Protect Your Eyes
If you have dry eye, you need to protect your eyes. One important aspect is wearing sunglasses.
When you wear sunglasses, they should wrap around your face and fit well. This ensures that dust and dirt can’t get into them and reduce irritation.
Don’t forget to get sunglasses that are 100% UV protected, or you could end up damaging your eyes!
Change Your Home
You spend a lot of time in your house, so make sure it’s not causing your dry eye! Consider buying a humidifier to add moisture back into the air.
You can also buy an air filter, which helps remove airborne particles. When dusting, use a damp cloth, rather than a duster.
Dusters move the dust around and put it in the air. With a damp cloth, the dust stays on the cloth and out of your eyes.
Wash Your Eyelashes
Removing dirt and debris from our eyelashes can reduce inflammation. It’s this inflammation that can lead to dry eye.
Keep your eyes closed when doing so and be careful not to get shampoo in your eyes. This can help your eyes stay clean and reduce dry eye symptoms.
Not sure your home treatments for dry eye are helping? It’s time to see a professional to treat your dry eye, once and for all!
Contact the dry eye experts at the Pinke Eye Center in Shelton, CT to schedule an appointment today!
