Dry eyes are caused by a lack of tear formation. The American Optometric Association states that tears must be produced to provide clear vision and support overall health of your eye. If you have dry eyes, you are one of 12 million American dry eye sufferers, according to the University of Illinois at Chicago's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Dry eyes are not only irritating, they can lead to eye infections or other complications. If you are afflicted with dry eyes, it may be beneficial to investigate lifestyle changes and a diet that can help.
Symptoms
Dry eye symptoms are recognizable and agonizing to the sufferer. The main symptom you can develop is a feeling of graininess or scratchiness in your eyes. The UIC Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences also describes symptoms of itchiness, redness, pain, burning and a possible decrease in vision. If you need dry eye relief and symptoms are severe, you may need to see an eye doctor.
Lifestyle
Changing the way you live may be helpful for your dry eyes. If you are a smoker, this may be a cause of the dry eyes. The Good Hope Eye Department claims that smoking affects the film from the tears. If you have dry eyes, the UIC Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences recommends using a humidifier during the winter to keep moisture in the air. This extra moisture and lifestyle change can be enough to manage your dry eyes.
Diet
A dry eye diet can play a key role in the treatment of your dry eyes. Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids could help relieve dry eye symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. Although more research is needed in this area, adding foods to your diet such as salmon, flaxseed, walnuts, soybean oil and canola oil could be beneficial for your eyes. According to Good Hope Eye Department, adding omega-3 fatty acids could reduce dry eyes by 30 to 60 percent. They also suggest that antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables may be able to reduce symptoms.
Medications
There are some medications that may be causing your dry eyes. Speak with a pharmacist about which drugs these may be. For example, Good Hope Eye Care describes how some blood pressure medication can cause dry eyes. If this is the case, you may be able to control your blood pressure with diet and exercise instead of drugs. Talk to your doctor to see if a diet and weight-management methods can reduce some of the medications you are taking.
Considerations
Severe cases of dry eyes and cases that do not clear up with diet and lifestyle changes need to be reviewed by an eye doctor. She may suggest you begin using eye drops or artificial tears to help relieve your symptoms. You should also incorporate eight to 10 glasses of water into your diet each day to avoid dehydration. According to the American Optometric Association, this is an important self-care step for dry eye treatment.
