Dry eyes – that irritating sensation when all you want to do is rub and scratch because your eyes are just so sore! The truth is, if you’re careful about your eye care, it need not get to the point of utter frustration!
But just a few simple changes will make the world of difference to you, your health and to your eyesight. Here we give you some top tips for preventing dry eyes.
Firstly, your diet: omega-3 fatty acids have been proven to lower ones risk of dry eyes. If you find that you’re not getting enough in your diet, then try to take dietary supplements.
If you are planning to spend any extended amount of time in front of your computer, reading, driving, or watching television, then you should take preventative measures and use eye drops before, and again after every half an hour. If you choose not to use eye drops, then at least ensure to give your eyes a rest and focus them on something else for at least five minutes every half hour. Very important is also to remember to blink and not rely on subconscious blinking but rather you should consciously force yourself to blink a lot in order to distribute your tears evenly across your eyes.
Those heavy dry eye sufferers should make a conscious effort to NOT rub their eyes. Yes – we know that they’re itchy and sore but rubbing removes moisture and will make the problem worse.
A top tip is to stay away from smoke and other forms of air pollution. These affect the eyes and dry them up. The same applies to hair dryers, car heaters, air conditioners, and electric fans when you direct them into your eyes, so watch out! Should you need to use heaters, air conditioners and so on, you should try to add moisture to the air by putting a bowl of water in front of the device, or you can install a humidifier.
Eye protection is a huge help when dealing with dry eyes:
If you’re swimming, wear goggles.
If it’s a windy day, try to wear eyeglasses in a wrap-around style so that your eyes are protected against the wind and flying debris.
If you’re in the sun – or even just outdoors – wear sunglasses or prescription glasses with a protective color tint.
Contact lens wearers should ensure to take regular day breaks when they wear glasses only. In addition, they should not wear contact lenses past eight hours a day as these also dry out the eyes – particularly when doing eye straining activities such as reading, driving and working on the computer.
Seeing through the incorrect prescription lenses will also cause you to squint and strain your eyes, not only causing headaches but also dry eyes. So, remember, wearing eyeglasses frames manufactured with your correct eyeglasses prescription is another important factor in dry eye preventative eye care. However, do take note that buying cheap eyeglasses for the sake of wearing lenses with the correct prescription will not help you. Cheap glasses offer no quality to the wearer, either in comfort, visionary standards or other. Discount glasses, and particularly online discount eyeglasses are always the way the go as the quality is never compromised.
Remember, your eyes are precious and only with supreme care and attention will your sight remain with you for many years to come.