Dry eyes are a common condition that happens when your tears are not able to provide enough lubrication for your eyes. There are reasons why tears are not enough. For example, eye dryness happens if you produce poor-quality tears.

Having dry eyes can make you feel uncomfortable. If you have dry eyes, it feels like you are being stung or burned. You may experience dry eyes in some situations. Like in an air-conditioned room, while riding your bicycle or after looking at your computer screen for a few hours.

There are eye dryness treatments that can make you comfortable. These treatments include lifestyle changes and eyedrops. You’ll need to take these measures to control the symptoms of your dry eyes.

Symptoms that usually affect both eyes include:

• A stinging, burning or scratchy sensation in your eyes
• Stringy mucus in or around your eyes
• Sensitivity to light
• Redness of the eyes
• Foreign body sensation
• Having difficulty wearing contact lenses
• Water eyes, which is the body’s response to the irritation of dry eyes
• Blurred vision or eye fatigue
• Heavy eyelids
• Unable to cry when emotionally upset

Prevention

Pay attention to the situations of your dry eyes if you are most likely to cause some symptoms. Find ways to avoid those situations in order to prevent your eyes from drying. Here is some eye dryness preventions that you might want to try:

• Avoid air blowing in your eyes. Don’t direct hair dryers, car heaters, air conditioners or fans towards your eyes.
• Add moisture to the air. A humidifier can add moisture to dry indoor air.
• Consider wearing wraparound sunglasses or other protective eyewear. Safety shields can be added to the tops and sides of your eyeglasses to block wind and dry air.
• Take eye breaks during long tasks. If you are reading or doing another task that requires visual concentration, take periodic eye breaks. Close your eyes for a few minutes or blink repeatedly for a few seconds to help spread your tears evenly over your eyes.
• Environment awareness. When spending time in such an environment, it may be helpful to frequently close your eyes for a few minutes at a time to minimize evaporation of your eyes.
• Computer screen must be below your eye level. If your computer screen is above eye level, you’ll open your eyes wider to view your screen. Position your computer screen below eye level so that you won’t open your eyes wide. This may help slow the evaporation of your tears between eye blinks.
• Stop smoking and avoid it. If you smoke, ask your doctor for help on how to quit smoking. If you are not smoking, stay away from people who do. Smoke can worsen dry eyes symptoms.
• Use artificial tears regularly. If you have chronic dry eyes, use eyedrops even when your eyes feel fine to keep them well-lubricated.

If you are experiencing dry eyes and want them to treated, Cataract & Refractive Institute of Florida located in Cape Coral (Lehigh Acres & Bonita Springs, Florida), will be able to help you. Request an appointment by giving us a call through our hotline numbers: Cape Coral: 239-217-1945 | Lehigh Acres: 239-309-7523 | Bonita Springs: 239-368-1020.