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Tired of those dry eye feelings? Here's some Dry Eye January tips



DrEye January tips


Start the new year with these 3 must-do dry eye tips - and help make tired, sore and irritated eyes a thing of the past.


You need to start NOW to give your peepers a great 2024!

 

Dry eye is a chronic and progressive inflammatory disease. What this means is that although it will not ‘go away’ you do need to manage the symptoms to stop it from progressing and potentially causing permanent ocular surface damage. Managing dry eye successfully takes time and patience but once you establish a few good habits you will not look back.

 

So, if you are fed up with your dry, tired, itchy, gritty, sore, blurry or watery eyes then get started with your Dry Eye January tips from Dry Eye Zone

 

Diet

Incorporating more omega-3 fatty acids into your weekly menu has been demonstrated to help alleviate inflammatory conditions such as dry eye. Because you need to allow about 6-12 weeks to experience any benefits it makes sense to get started in Dry Eye January.

 

Omega-3 oils or fatty acids cannot be made by our bodies from other sources and are therefore known as essential fatty acids. This means they need to be part of a healthy balanced diet. Foods rich in omega-3 include oily fish (such as mackerel or sardines), chia seeds, walnuts, soybeans and eyes.

 

You could also consider taking a regular food supplement such as Dry Omega. Dry Omega combines omega-3 fatty acids with natural marine and plant oils, keeping them stable and effective for longer with no fishy after-taste or side effects.

 

You can get more information about omega-3 rich foods at Dry Eye Zone.


Dry eye drops

Nothing revolutionary here you might think but read on to find out what is different. The difference is Dry Eye Zone wants you to apply your eye drops BEFORE symptoms even start.

 

There is a really good scientific reason for this: - when your eyes dry and the natural balance is lost it triggers an inflammatory response which includes the release of histamine. You will have then entered what is know by eye care professionals as the dry eye ‘vicious cycle’ which can only be broken by restabilising the tear film. By not even letting this process start you are helping keep your eyes feeling comfortable and helping to protect them from dry eye progressing.

 

In practical terms this means keeping your dry eye drops with you throughout the day and applying them at regular intervals. Dry Eye Zone would suggest you apply eye drops first thing in the morning, mid-day and towards the end-of-day. This way you will keep those annoying symptoms at bay and allow you to look and feel at your best.

 

Remember: Not all eye drops are created equally. You should ideally use one free from preservatives, you can learn more about the best eye drops here but your eye care professional will advise you.

 

 

Rest

Modern lifestyles ask an awful lot of our eyes. The amount of time we spend looking at screens or reading is increasing all the time and this can take its toll on our eyes. In a study of prolonged computer use classic dry eye symptoms were reported such as blurred vision, watery, tired, red and dry eyes, were reported by 64–90% of subjects. When we are concentrating on a screen our natural blink rate slows resulting in less protective tears being spread over the surface of the eye. The result is tired, sore, dry feeling eyes.

 

Be kinder to your eyes in 2024 and remember the 20-20-20 rule. When working at a screen rest your eyes every 20 minutes by looking at a distant object, about 20 metres away, for 20 seconds. This way you will help to keep your eyes naturally moisturised with their own tears. For maximum impact you should add a few slow firm blinks too – this will help promote tear production and spread them over the eye.

 

 

This short list of Dry Eye January tips could easily have grown from just 3 to 10, or even 20, but getting some of the basics in place will help make a difference to your eyes in 2024. Perhaps one tip that should not need stating but often gets put-off because of our busy lives is the need for a regular eye examination. To find out more about the complexity of dry eye and its management visit Dry Eye Zone and subscribe to the regular free blogs and product offers.

 

 

If you are experiencing dry eye symptoms, then you should ask the advice of your eye care professional. Do not leave things untreated as symptoms may progress. Why not book your next eye examination with an independent optician today.

 

Sources:

Hessen M, Akpek EK. Dry eye: an inflammatory ocular disease. J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2014 Apr;9(2):240-50. PMID: 25279127; PMCID: PMC4181208.

 

Jones L, Downie LE, Korb D, Benitez-Del-Castillo JM, Dana R, Deng SX, Dong PN, Geerling G, Hida RY, Liu Y, Seo KY, Tauber J, Wakamatsu TH, Xu J, Wolffsohn JS, Craig JP. TFOS DEWS II Management and Therapy Report. Ocul Surf. 2017 Jul;15(3):575-628. doi: 10.1016/j.jtos.2017.05.006. Epub 2017 Jul 20. PMID: 28736343.

 

Takefumi Yamaguchi. Inflammatory Response in Dry Eye. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. November 2018, Vol.59, DES192-DES199. doi:https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.17-23651

 

Baudouin C, Messmer EM, Aragona P, Geerling G, Akova YA, Benítez-del-Castillo J, Boboridis KG, Merayo-Lloves J, Rolando M, Labetoulle M. Revisiting the vicious circle of dry eye disease: a focus on the pathophysiology of meibomian gland dysfunction. Br J Ophthalmol. 2016 Mar;100(3):300-6. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2015-307415. Epub 2016 Jan 18. PMID: 26781133; PMCID: PMC4789719.

 

Molina-Leyva I, Molina-Leyva A, Riquelme-Gallego B, Cano-Ibáñez N, García-Molina L, Bueno-Cavanillas A. Effectiveness of Mediterranean Diet Implementation in Dry Eye Parameters: A Study of PREDIMED-PLUS Trial. Nutrients. 2020 May 1;12(5):1289. doi: 10.3390/nu12051289. PMID: 32369989; PMCID: PMC7282256

 

Jo YJ, Lee JS. Effects of dietary high dose DHA omega-3 supplement in dry eye with meibomian gland dysfunction. Int J Ophthalmol. 2021 Nov 18;14(11):1700-1706. doi: 10.18240/ijo.2021.11.08. PMID: 34804859; PMCID: PMC8569578.

 

Giannaccare G, Pellegrini M, Sebastiani S, Bernabei F, Roda M, Taroni L, Versura P, Campos EC. Efficacy of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for treatment of dry eye disease: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Cornea. 2019;38(5):565–573.

 

The BBC Food Guide -  The best sources of omega-3 By Nicola Shubrook – Registered nutritionist

 

Walsh K, Jones L. The use of preservatives in dry eye drops. Clin Ophthalmol. 2019 Aug 1;13:1409-1425. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S211611. PMID: 31447543; PMCID: PMC6682755.

 

Usgaonkar U, Shet Parkar SR, Shetty A. Impact of the use of digital devices on eyes during the lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2021 Jul;69(7):1901-1906. doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_3500_20. PMID: 34146054; PMCID: PMC8374748.

 

Portello JK, Rosenfield M, Chu CA. Blink rate, incomplete blinks and computer vision syndrome. Optom Vis Sci. 2013 May;90(5):482-7. doi: 10.1097/OPX.0b013e31828f09a7. PMID: 23538437.

 

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