Dry eyes are a common condition among people who spend long periods looking at digital screens or in dry environments. Preventing dry eyes can not only enhance your comfort but also protect your eye health in the long term.
1. Keep Your Eyes Hydrated
One of the most effective methods you can use to prevent dry eyes is the use of artificial tear drops. These drops maintain the moisture level of the eyes, preventing dryness.
2. Reduce Screen Time
Prolonged staring at computers, phones, or tablet screens can cause dryness in the eyes. Take short breaks every 20 minutes and rest your eyes by looking into the distance.
3. Increase Room Humidity
Dry air triggers dry eyes. Particularly in winter, you can increase the humidity level in your environment by placing a humidifier.
4. Do Eye Blinking Exercises
Blinking helps keep the eyes moist. Try to blink consciously and frequently. This is particularly important for those who look at screens for long periods.
5. Eat a Healthy Diet
Consuming foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids can contribute positively to eye health. Include foods such as salmon, walnuts, and flaxseeds in your diet.
6. Clean Your Eye Makeup Thoroughly
Accumulation of makeup products around the eyes can negatively affect your eye health. Make sure to thoroughly clean your eye makeup before going to bed.
7. Avoid Direct Air Conditioning
Air conditioning dries the air and can cause eye dryness. If you are in air-conditioned environments, be careful not to be directly exposed to the airflow.
8. Wear Sunglasses Outside
Sunlight and wind are factors that dry out the eyes. Wearing sunglasses that protect your eyes from UV rays when going outside can be beneficial.
9. Avoid Smoking and Smoke
Cigarette smoke is one of the major factors causing eye dryness. You can protect your eye health by staying away from environments where smoking occurs.
10. Rest Your Eyes
Take rest breaks for your eyes during busy days. Short rest periods during the day are very beneficial for preventing eye dryness.
Protect Your Eye Health
By applying these simple tips to prevent dry eyes, you can keep your eyes moist and healthy for a long time. If your complaints of dry eyes continue, it is important to consult an eye health and diseases doctor. Do not neglect regular check-ups for your eye health.
Causes and Natural Solutions for Dry Eyes
Dry eyes are not just limited to prolonged watching of digital screens. There can be many different underlying causes. The answer to why dry eyes occur lies in both environmental and physiological factors.
Common causes include aging, hormonal changes, side effects of some medications, decreased tear production, and deterioration in quality. Contact lens use can also disrupt moisture balance on the eye surface, leading to dry eyes.
What Are the Symptoms of Dry Eyes?
The symptoms of dry eyes can vary from person to person. The most common symptoms include:
- A stinging, burning, or itching sensation
- Redness in the eyes
- Sensitivity to light
- Eye fatigue and blurred vision
- A sensation as if there is a foreign object in the eye
These symptoms may increase during the day and reduce quality of life. If not intervened early, it may cause damage to the eye surface.
Environmental Factors Causing Dry Eyes
Environmental conditions have a significant impact on the development of dry eyes. Some weather conditions and environmental factors encountered in daily life reduce moisture on the eye surface, triggering a feeling of dryness. The primary factors include windy weather, air-conditioned environments, dusty and polluted air, cigarette smoke, and low humidity.
Especially spending long periods outdoors, being exposed to harsh winds can accelerate the evaporation of tears, increasing dryness in the eyes. Constant presence in enclosed and air-conditioned offices can lead to dry air and loss of moisture on the eye surface. This situation causes frequent complaints of "office dry eyes" among office workers.
Dusty and polluted air can both trigger allergic reactions and disrupt the tear film layer, increasing the feeling of dryness. Symptoms such as burning, stinging, and itching in the eyes are more frequently observed in such environments. People living in big cities with high levels of air pollution are at greater risk in this regard.
Cigarette smoke is also extremely harmful to eye health. Since it contains toxic substances that irritate the eye surface, people in environments where smoking occurs exhibit more intense symptoms of dry eyes. Even if one is not an active smoker, passive exposure to smoke can negatively affect tear quality.
A low humidity rate in indoor environments such as homes or offices can also have a negative impact on eye health. In especially enclosed environments with heaters running and low air circulation during the winter months, complaints of dry eyes increase. Therefore, it is important to regularly humidify indoor air.
To prevent environmentally induced dry eyes, it would be beneficial to use sunglasses with UV protection, avoid wind and smoke, humidify the environment, and take precautions to protect the eyes in dusty areas.
Natural Solution Suggestions for Dry Eyes
Nowadays, dry eyes are frequently encountered particularly in individuals who spend long times in front of screens. This condition, which occurs when the eyes cannot produce sufficient quantity and quality tears, can cause complaints such as a stinging sensation, burning, redness, blurred vision, and fatigue. In mild and moderate cases of dry eye, symptoms can be alleviated with some natural methods. Here are natural solutions to help relieve dry eyes that can be easily implemented at home:
Application of Warm Compress
Applying a warm compress to the eyelids helps the meibomian glands that support tear production work more actively. These glands produce the oil layer of the tears, preventing evaporation. Letting a clean cloth sit in warm water and applying it on the eyelids for 5-10 minutes can increase the moisture balance of the eyes. This application can be repeated twice a day, morning and evening.
Diet with Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids can contribute to the reduction of dryness by improving tear quality. To obtain these fatty acids naturally, consume fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel. Apart from animal sources, walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds are also good sources of omega-3. If necessary, omega-3 supplements can also be used upon doctor's advice.
Increasing Daily Water Intake
Dehydration of the body is a fundamental cause increasing dry eyes. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day helps maintain the moisture balance of all tissues, including the eyes. In days when diuretic beverages like tea, coffee, and alcohol are consumed, water intake should be further increased.
Using Humidifiers
In enclosed environments during winter where heaters are active, the air dries which can trigger dry eyes. Steam machines or air humidifiers can be used to balance the humidity level in the environment. Being in a humid environment provides relief by reducing evaporation on the eye surface.
Resting Eyes from Screens
Long exposure to computer, tablet, or phone screens reduces the frequency of blinking, which causes the eye surface to dry. Therefore, it is important for eye health to look away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes and pay attention to blink frequency while in front of screens.
Paying Attention to Eyelid Hygiene
Accumulated dirt, oil, and makeup residues around the eyes can block the tear glands. Therefore, especially individuals who wear makeup are advised to gently clean the eye area every day with appropriate products. Eyelid cleansing is more effective when applied together with warm compresses.
Review Diet and Lifestyle
Consuming vegetables and fruits rich in antioxidants increases the intake of nutrients beneficial for eye health such as vitamin A, C, and E. Since smoking and alcohol consumption exacerbate dry eyes, giving up these habits also benefits eye health.
Natural Tear Drops (Artificial Tears)
Although not directly a natural method, using artificial tear drops that do not contain additives or preservatives is very effective in moisturizing the eye surface. These types of drops can be obtained from pharmacies without a prescription upon consultation with a doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can dry eyes completely heal?
Dry eyes can be either completely resolved or controlled depending on the underlying causes and the individual's lifestyle. Transient dryness due to environmental factors (such as air-conditioned environments, screen time) can often be completely eliminated by adjusting life habits and using appropriate eye drops. Individuals experiencing chronic dry eyes (such as cases related to autoimmune diseases) may face a long-term issue. In such cases, the goal is relieving symptoms and protecting the eye surface. Treatment plans are determined specifically for the individual and may require a multifaceted approach involving artificial tear drops, medical treatments, and lifestyle changes.
What helps dry eyes at home?
Various home methods can help alleviate dry eyes. Warm compress applications with a clean cloth soaked in warm water can help open oil glands in the eyelids and support natural tear production. Consuming foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, walnuts, and flaxseeds, regularly improves tear quality. Drinking plenty of water positively affects eye health by maintaining the body's overall moisture balance. Using a humidifier to keep the air moist, especially in winter, is an effective method for preventing dry eyes. In addition, limiting screen time and taking regular breaks every 20 minutes are quite beneficial.
What happens if dry eyes are not treated?
If neglected, dry eyes can lead to serious eye health problems beyond annoying symptoms in the long term. Continuous dryness can cause micro-cracks and epithelial disruptions on the eye surface. This situation increases the risk of infections and can leave permanent damage to the cornea. Over time, complications such as eye pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, and even vision loss may develop. Therefore, complaints of dry eyes should not be taken lightly, and a specialist in eye diseases should be consulted if symptoms persist.
What diseases cause dry eyes?
Some systemic diseases can directly affect tear production, leading to chronic dry eyes. Autoimmune diseases, in particular, are among these. For instance, Sjögren's syndrome, caused by the immune system attacking the tear and salivary glands, leads to dry eyes and mouth. Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, like other rheumatic diseases, can also negatively impact the functioning of tear glands. Diabetes, thyroid diseases (especially hyperthyroidism), and some neurological disorders can also trigger dry eyes. In these diseases, dry eyes can usually be controlled with systemic treatment. Therefore, if there are other systemic symptoms accompanying dry eyes, it is crucial to perform a detailed health assessment.