Eye Health and Dry Eyes
Dry eyes can cause discomfort, blurred vision, and even impact your daily activities. At St. Lawrence Eye Care, we are committed to providing comprehensive care and innovative treatments to alleviate symptoms and improve your overall eye health. Let’s explore the causes of dry eyes, effective management strategies, and how vision therapy can help restore comfort and clarity to your eyes, contributing to your quality of life.
What are Dry Eyes?
Dry eyes are an ocular condition that occurs when the eyes are unable to produce adequate moisture. The condition (also known as keratoconjunctivitis Sicca) is largely linked to unstable low-quality tears or inadequate production of tears, but there are other causes1. Let’s discuss them below.
What Do Dry Eyes Feel Like?
There are many common eye conditions that exhibit many different and similar symptoms. How do I know if I have dry eyes? Common symptoms of dry eyes include2:
- Discomfort in the form of a burning or stinging sensation
- Gritty, scratchy, or sandy sensation in your eyes
- Sensitivity to light
- Blurred vision or change in vision
- Discharge from the eyes
- Eye fatigue
- Eye redness
Waking Up with Dry Eyes: Causes of Dry Eyes in the Morning
Many things can interfere with the tear film’s ability to produce tears effectively. The most notable include:
- Tear film dysfunction: The tear film is composed of three layers: mucous layer, aqueous fluid, and fatty oil layer, which must work together to keep the eyes lubricated. The tear film can malfunction because of underlying medical conditions (autoimmune conditions), hormone changes, inflamed eyelid glands, or eye allergies3. These factors directly or indirectly decrease tear production or increase tear evaporation.
- Environmental conditions: If you are subjected to a dry environment with no humidity, you are bound to wake up with dry eyes. The same applies to sleeping in a room exposed directly to a fan or air conditioning.
- CPAP treatment: Research also suggests a link between dry eye disease and sleep apnea. Devices used for treating sleep apnea (CPAP treatment devices) blow air directly to the face and eyes, increasing tear evaporation4. Patients undergoing CPAP treatment may therefore wake up with dry eyes.
- Other factors: It’s also worth noting that the eyes tend to produce fewer tears at night. This can make the tears dry out overnight when they are shut. Some medications are also risk factors for dry eye disease like depression, glaucoma, and high blood pressure medication. Some lifestyle factors such as smoking, and spending too much time on digital screens can also increase the risk of dry eye disease. Laser eye surgery can also cause dry eyes before your eyes heal5.
Dry Eyes Diagnosis
Since there are many factors that can cause dry eye disease, it’s advisable to book a dry eye consultation to identify the exact cause of your problem. A comprehensive eye exam evaluates your entire visual system and overall health (internally and externally) to offer the most accurate ocular health diagnosis and dry eye treatments.
It’s worth noting that there are several types of dry eyes based on underlying causes like evaporative dry eyes (linked to rapid tear evaporation), inflammatory dry eye (linked to inflammation), aqueous-deficient dry eye (linked to inadequate tear production), mixed dry eye disease (linked to several causes). This makes a professional diagnosis crucial in your recovery.
Treatment for Dry Eyes
If you wish to stop waking up with dry eyes, there are several treatment options for you:
- Eye drops (artificial tear drops): Eye drops can temporarily relieve dry eye symptoms by adding lubrication and/or preventing tear evaporation. However, consider prescription eye drops from your optometrist just to ensure you get the right ones for dry eyes. It also helps to administer as prescribed (right before sleeping) to protect the eyes with moisture.
- Specialty contact lenses: Some lenses such as scleral lenses boost eye surface moisture and may help alleviate dry eye disease symptoms among patients who wear contacts.
- Dry eye therapy – Systane iLux therapy (for meibomian gland dysfunction): Dry eye disease is linked to meibomian gland dysfunction, a very common cause of dry eye disease6. The condition can be treated using Systane iLux therapy which restores tear gland function by using digital heat technology to clear any oil blockages.
- Home remedies: If the dry eyes are linked to environmental factors like air vents, wind, and allergens, you can avoid such triggers. Nutritional supplements can also help (omega-3 supplementation) for boosting the function of the tear film (lipid layer). Other remedies include using a warm compress for persons with dry eye disease related to conditions like meibomian gland dysfunction.
Prioritize Your Eye Health
Dry eyes can be a fairly common issue, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the symptoms. In order to find lasting relief, it is essential to have a comprehensive eye exam done by an experienced downtown Toronto optometrist to establish the underlying cause of your dry eyes.
Schedule an appointment with your local eye care provider today to discover the underlying cause of your condition. A professional can craft a custom, effective treatment plan that will help you regain your health and comfort.
References
[1] ClevelandClinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24479-dry-eye
[2] Mayoclinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-eyes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371863
[3] National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5345890/
[4] MedicalNewsToday: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/sleep-apnea-dry-eyes#cpap
[5] ClevelandClinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24479-dry-eye
[6] National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6619403/