Dry eyes occur when the tear film that coats the eye loses fluid. A number of different conditions in the eye cause water loss from the tear film. Increased tear evaporation or decreased tear production, environmental irritation, autoimmune disease, structural issues of the eye and aging can all lead to dry eye. While drops to wet the tear film can help with dry eye, they often cause annoying blurred vision. Taking fish oil supplements, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, can help reduce dry eye in some cases.
Purpose
The purpose of omega-3 fatty acids in cases of dry eye is to improve dry eye symptoms. Dry eye can be extremely annoying, causing blurred vision, redness, a gritty, scratchy sensation or burning in the eyes. Over time, severe dry eye can damage the cornea, the domed-shaped covering that protects the front of the eye.
Mechanism
Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil have a number of properties that help decrease dry eye. They reduce inflammation, which helps treat blepharitis, inflammation of the lower eyelids and autoimmune diseases. Omega-3 fatty acids can also increase tear production and secretion and reduce apoptosis, cell death in the lacrimal glands, which secrete aqueous tears, ophthalmologist Jeffrey Gilbard of Tallman Eye Associates in Massachusetts reports.
Methods
Your body doesn't manufacture omega-3 fatty acids, so they must be consumed in foods or taken in oral dietary supplements. You can take fish oil supplements in capsule or liquid form.
Results
"EyeWorld," the newsmagazine of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, reported on several studies that addressed the use of fish oil in treating dry eyes. The Women's Health Study reported by Brigham and Women's Hospital found that women with high omega-3 intake had less incidence of dry eye, and a 2003 study published in the "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found patients with dry eye from Sjogren's syndrome had lower omega-3 intake. Studies to determine the most effective dose and method of administration are still lacking.
Considerations
If you take blood thinners or have a medical condition that thins your blood, don't take fish oil without talking to your medical practitioner, because fish oil may increase bleeding. Fish oil can also cause vitamin E deficiency, so consider taking a supplement that also contains vitamin E, All About Vision suggests. Mercury contamination can also occur in fish oil supplements, so make sure the brand you take addresses the issue of possible contamination, eye surgeon Colin Chan of The Eye Institute, Australia, recommends.
