What is Dry Eye?

Dry Eye is a con­di­tion where the sur­face of the eye becomes inflamed and sore due to a poor rela­tion­ship between the tear film and the eye­lids. This might be because your eyes are not pro­duc­ing enough tears, or that the chem­istry of the tear film is out of bal­ance. The most com­mon cause is chron­ic inflam­ma­tion of the eyelids. 

Signs and Symptoms

Symp­toms of Dry Eye can range from mild to severe, but may include:

• Grit­ty, sore eyes
• Tired eyes
• Eyes that appear slight­ly red most of the time
• Watery eyes
• Being ​‘aware’ of your eyes through­out the day
• Blur­ry vision that comes and goes as you blink
• Irri­tat­ed eyes
• Feel­ing like there is some­thing in your eyes (for­eign body sensation)
• Eyes that are eas­i­ly both­ered by smoke, wind, air conditioning
• Eyes that strug­gle to wear con­tact lenses

How Common is Dry Eye?

1 in 5 adults suf­fer with Dry Eye symp­toms every day, and many more will have episodes when they are in cer­tain envi­ron­ments, like air con­di­tioned offices or doing spe­cif­ic activ­i­ties, such as using a com­put­er for pro­longed periods. 

What Causes Dry Eyes?

Dry Eyes are more com­mon among women, and in old­er peo­ple, but there are many oth­er fac­tors that can increase your like­li­hood of hav­ing signs and symptoms:

• Ble­phar­i­tis (inflam­ma­tion of the eyelids)
• Com­put­er use (you blink less frequently)
• Con­tact lens wear
• Laser eye surgery
• Using eye drops that con­tain preser­v­a­tives for oth­er con­di­tions such as glaucoma
• Hor­mon­al changes 
• Being dehy­drat­ed
• Pol­lu­tion or dry environments
• Some med­ica­tions which might be used for high blood pres­sure, hay fever, con­tra­cep­tion, and depres­sion. CAU­TION: do not alter or adjust your pre­scribed med­i­cines with­out instruc­tions from your doc­tor. Your doc­tor or optometrist can advise you about any pos­si­ble links between the med­ica­tion you take and dry­ness symptoms.

How is Dry Eye Managed?

Dry Eye is a chron­ic con­di­tion that needs to be man­aged reg­u­lar­ly, rather than ​‘cured’. Just like a chron­ic skin con­di­tion, such as eczema, you need to man­age it dai­ly to avoid flare-ups of symptoms. 

Mak­ing sure the eye­lids are healthy, and using the cor­rect lubri­cant eye drops (also called arti­fi­cial tears), is key. Your optometrist or phar­ma­cist can rec­om­mend a dai­ly régime for you to fol­low that will reduce symp­toms and make your eyes com­fort­able again. 

It is also impor­tant to eat a bal­anced diet that includes Omega — 3 fat­ty acids (ben­e­fi­cial for the oil-pro­duc­ing glands in the eye­lids), and to make sure you stay hydrat­ed all day. 

Hyabak® and Thealoz® Duo are ide­al for the dai­ly man­age­ment of Dry Eye. These preser­v­a­tive-free Dry Eye drops can be used as often as required, and are suit­able for use with con­tact lenses.