Ramadan Mubarak to all our followers – we hope your dry eyes are staying comfortable.

As you move through the month of Ramadan you might notice your dry eye symptoms getting worse. During the Holy Month people’s attention is rightly on their spiritual journey, but looking after your dry eyes should not be forgotten. Worsening of dry eyes symptoms during Ramadan is a reality , whether or not you have a pre-existing condition, so here are some practical solutions to protect your eyes while fasting…

1. Make sure you drink sufficient water between iftar and suhour

Keeping hydrated is essential for our health in general but if we allow ourselves to become dehydrated then our eyes may suffer. A loss of moisture from the eyes protective tear-film can trigger an inflammatory response – bringing with it eye irritation.

Do not get caught out. Make sure you are drinking regularly whenever possible, especially after breakfast. That regular top up is important as it is more effective that trying to drink a large amount of fluids in one go. Using a dry eye drop, such as HydraMed, can really help replenish lost moisture throughout the day and avoid that spike in dry eye symptoms.

And according to The Muslim Council of Britain, your fast will be broken only if an ‘agent of consequence’ (meaning a substance with nutritional or medicinal benefit) reaches the throat, stomach, intestines, or any cavity that has a pathway, and settles there - this does not apply to eye drops,

2. Get as much sleep as you can

Sleep patterns can be disrupted during Ramadan due to suhoor, taraweeh prayers, or later evenings. But remember there is a known link between getting sufficient good quality sleep and your general physical and mental wellbeing, this includes dry eye. Scientists have shown that sleep deprivation disrupts the lacrimal or tear production system leaving your eyes feeling drier and less comfortable. Although it may not always be possible during this time of new routines but try to be mindful of the overall health benefits of sleep and get as much as possible.

3. Make dry eye friendly food choices

There are well documented health benefits associated with fasting but when the time does come to eat make sure you choose options which support your eyes to help reduce dry eye symptoms. A simple healthy diet can improve wellbeing overall but make sure you include oily fish during Holy Month, this might even include taking high quality omega-3 supplements to give your diet a boost once fasting has ended.

4. Try not to give up on your dry eye routines

Ramadan is a special time, and with it often comes gentle changes to our daily routines. Effective dry eye management depends on a disciplined approach so if at all possible try to stick to the care routine recommended by your eye care professional. But if this is not possible due to so much going extra going on then try to adapt your routine rather than giving up all together. The use of eye drops does not break your fast so be sure to keep this going as a minimum. There is research which shows that the use of dry eye drops declines during Ramadan. You could also consider moving your heat therapy to breakfast time rather than let your symptoms continue to progress. Massage and cleansing might then wait to the end of the day, or make it part of your prayer time.

5. Remember to rest your eyes

As you pray close your eyes to rest then, this will slow down the rate of evaporative loss of moisture and help protect dry eyes. This can be particularly helpful in bringing relief during taraweeh prayers which can extend for long periods of time.

If you are working at a screen, then break every 20 minutes and look at an object across the room (approximately 20 feet away for 20 seconds to reduce eye strain. This will help reduce eye strain, especially if your hydration is already compromised. You can find details of other dry eye ‘eye exercises’ at the Dry Eye Zone.

Make sure you explore the many links in this blog to bring more depth to the subjects touched on here and to help give you a fuller knowledge of all things dry eye related.

You can learn more about all things dry eye related at the DRY EYE ZONE. Don’t forget to subscribe to the regular free information and research updates.

If you are experiencing dry eye symptoms then you should ask the advice of your eye care professional. Why not book your next eye examination with an independent optician today.

Sources:

Li S, Ning K, Zhou J, Guo Y, Zhang H, Zhu Y, Zhang L, Jia C, Chen Y, Sol Reinach P, Liu Z, Li W. Sleep deprivation disrupts the lacrimal system and induces dry eye disease. Exp Mol Med. 2018 Mar 2;50(3):e451. doi: 10.1038/emm.2017.285. PMID: 29497171; PMCID: PMC5898890.

Armstrong BK, Coc IR, Agarwal P, Smith S, Navon S. Association of Ramadan daytime fasting with ocular surface inflammation and dry eye. Int Ophthalmol. 2019 Dec;39(12):2857-2863. doi: 10.1007/s10792-019-01133-5. Epub 2019 May 31. PMID: 31152289.

Alomari AF, Issa S, Musleh A, Abusamak M, Bdair O, AlRyalat SA, Al-Wakfi A, Jaber M, Alloubani A, Sahawneh H, El-Faouri M, Abdul Aziz A, Al Bdour M. Impact of religious fasting on ocular dryness: objective and subjective assessment. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Feb 5;12:1488765. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1488765. PMID: 39975678; PMCID: PMC11835933.

Rouhani MH, Azadbakht L. Is Ramadan fasting related to health outcomes? A review on the related evidence. J Res Med Sci. 2014 Oct;19(10):987-92. PMID: 25538785; PMCID: PMC4274578.