What Can You Do To Reduce Dry Eye This Winter?
During the winter, are your eyes dry and irritated? Are you traveling to or reside in a cold climate?
Dry eye is one of the most common complaints people have about the winter. Colder climates mean that you experience dry air and cold wind.
There are dry air and cold wind outside and dry air inside because you have the heat on. This is the perfect combination for your eyes becoming irritated.
Feeling like your eyes are drying out is only worse if you have chronic dry eye. This occurs because the eye is unable to make enough tears or they are low-quality.
Experiencing harsh weather can reduce your eye’s moisture levels. With dry eye, you may experience a burning or itching sensation.
With irritated eyes, it’s tempting to want to rub or scratch your eyes for relief. Instead of providing relief, this will only make things worse!
You may feel like there’s something in your eye even if there is nothing there. Some people with dry eyes even produce more tears than normal, meaning their eyes are watery.
With dry eyes, you would expect them to be dry, but that’s not always the case. If you have dry eyes, your eyes can overcompensate by creating more tears.
This is to balance out the lack of good tears your eyes aren’t producing. Dry eye can also cause blurry vision.
Even for people that don’t have dry eye syndrome, dry eyes can make winter more uncomfortable. Keep reading for some ways to reduce your dry eyes symptoms!
Drink Water
Staying hydrated during the winter helps keep your body hydrated. Hydration is a must if you want to keep enough moisture in your eyes.
Eye comfort is also linked to staying well hydrated, so make sure to drink enough water.
Keep Your Eyes Moist
Everyone should use artificial tears or eye drops to keep their eyes moist during the winter. Use them a few times a day.
Your doctor will recommend the best ones for you.
Use Humidifiers
Humidifiers put moisture back into the air, so if you spent a lot of time indoors you should use one. A humidifier will help your eyes stay moist.
Put humidifiers in the rooms you are in most, like a bedroom or living room.
Avoid Fans and Heaters
Being near a heater or fan blowing close to where you are can dry out your eyes. Try to move or angle it away from you.
Also, while fires can be relaxing, you should make sure to keep your distance from them so they do not dry out your eyes.
Cut Down On Screen Time
We use screens for everything today, but you should decrease the amount of time you spend looking at them. When you look at screens for extended periods of time, you do not blink as much as you need to.
This dries out your eyes because blinking moisturizes your eyes. If you must spend time in front of screens because of work, make sure you take frequent breaks.
Skip Rubbing Your Eyes
While you may want to rub your eyes when they are irritated, don’t! It is a normal reaction when they are uncomfortable, but it should always be avoided.
Rubbing your eyes will only cause more irritation and could cause an infection.
Listening to these tips will help make winter more enjoyable.
Are you tired of having dry eye? For some patients, they can treat dry eye with over the counter medications. For others, they need to see a doctor for dry eye treatment options. Schedule an appointment at Ginsberg Eye in Naples, FL to discuss your dry eye now!
