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Home Remedies for Risk Factors in Dry Eye
In addition to tear supplements (´artificial tears´) and your own eyelid therapy at home for the improvement of dry eyes, there are also many ways for preventive strengthening the health of the eye and to avoid the most prevalent risk factors.
=> here is a short overview of risk factors
7 golden rules for eye health
On this page you will find 7 golden rules for improving eye health :
Home remedies for dry eye disease can often alleviate the symptoms
Eye fitness - so keep your eyes fresh and healthy
Adequate drinking and healthy eating are important
Eyewear with evaporation protection can help to improve dry eyes
Regular and complete blinking is important - blinking exercises can be useful
Reduce air pollution and air dryness as much as possible - eg by using suitable houseplants
If the improvement of risk factors as shown here does not bring about sufficient improvement, it may be advisable to use eyelid hygiene and lid care.
In order to improve an often co-existing Meibomian gland dysfunction a home physical therapy is often suggested (warming, massage, squeezing) of the eyelids to improve potential blockage of the meibom oil glands.
Above all, it is advisable in all eye problems to visit an ophthalmologist for an exact diagnosis and therapy instructions !
Home Remedies for Dry Eye
The possible development and worsening of dry eye depends essentially on many external factors in our daily environment, which usually have a drying effect on the tear film.
The frequent occurrence of negative influences in office work environments often leads to a dry eye condition. This is called ' Office Eye ' and also affects younger people.
Many of these unfavourable environmental factors can be improved if they are known and taken into account.
The development and progression of dry eye disease can be influenced positively by simple home remedies for dry eyes.
How to improve your eye fitness
Physical fitness certainly plays a major role… and that also applies to “ eye fitness ”.
The following is useful for this
as well as sufficient sleep
sufficient physical exercise
fresh air
and other things that improve your physical fitness
Adequate drinking and nutrition - First of all, the internal homeostasis has to be right
Before we think about external disturbing influence factors ... the internal homeostasis of the body must be balanced first !
Sufficient drinking to supply the body with water is important
This includes, for example, a sufficient amount of drinking, so that there is a sufficient amount of fluid in the blood, from which the tear gland 'distils' the water for the tears :-).
For an average body volume, about 1.5 to 2 litres of water are considered the minimum. Slightly higher drinking quantities can be positive, depending on body volume, activity, heart and kidney function and environmental factors. Please consult your doctor about your suitable drinking amount.
The drinking amount in this sense only includes water itself, fruit juices and fruit tea.
Drinks such as coffee, black tea, milk etc. do not count. Due to their ingredients, coffee and black tea can typically increase urine production and thus can remove water from the body.
Healthy nutrition - vitamins, minerals, vital substances, oils
It is also important to eat a healthy diet that contains sufficient vitamins and vital substances. This should include sufficient fresh fruit and vegetables.
With regard to the oil production of the meibomian glands, omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish, are also considered beneficial for the health of the ocular surface and as a helpful supporting measure for the prevention and, if necessary, also for the therapy of dry eye.
Avoid desiccating environmental factors
Even with a fit and well-groomed eye, there are some important negative environmental factors that can limit its health and function.
Important desiccating risk factors occur in office work environments
Many desiccating risk factors accumulate in modern office work environments and lead to a dry eye, which in this context is called 'office eye'.
Rare eyelid blinks with concentrated visual work, typically during computer screen work.
Various types of air pollution including smoke and dust
Wear contact lenses, especially if you already have a dry eye (even if only marginal).
THERAPY options :
=> Try to avoid such drying environmental factors by reducing drafts / blowers and avoiding too dry room air or wearing glasses with evaporation protection.
If you experience or feel dry eyes, you should make sure that you blink frequently and completely. => For immediate improvement of eye dryness it often helps to blink vigorously several times.
=> Another good and free ´home remedy´ for a dry eye is the regular cleaning and care of the eyelids and the eyelid margin through physical eyelid therapy (with warming, massage and cleaning of the eyelids). This may help to improve the stability of the tear film.
Contact lenses are a desiccating environmental factor
Wearing contact lenses is a well-known negative factor influencing the health of the eye surface and belong to the desiccating environmental factor.
Contact lenses generally have increased demands for the volume and quality of the tear film. They require a larger amount of tears and they increase the evaporation of the tear water from the eye surface.
Due to increased friction, contact lenses can have a negative impact the tear film and on the fine structure of the eye surface, particularly when there are already symptoms of dry eyes.
Contact lens wear is thus a challenge for the ocular surface already when the eye is healthy. It becomes more of a burden when there are tear film deficiencies and dry eyes.
THERAPY options :
=> Reduction or avoidance of contact lenses if a dry eye already exists or a dry eye needs to be prevented.
=> the addition of missing tears when wearing contact lenses with tear substitutes is not a recommended permanent solution
In addition to avoiding desiccating risk factors (screen work, drafts, dry room air, contact lenses etc.), regular physical eyelid margin therapy (with warming, massage and cleaning of the eyelids) can be carried out. In most cases of chronic dry eye there are deposits on the eyelid margin and on the eyelashes that can be removed in this way. Such deposits can interfere with the function of the eyelids and tear film and even contribute to inflammation.
On the next page there is information about a possible therapy with tear substitutes , which usually directly improves the dryness and irritation of the eyes.
Evaporation-protection glasses can be useful for preventing dry eyes
Increased air flow (wind, blowers in vehicles, fans in summer) increase the evaporation of the tear water from the surface of the eyes.
Dry Air makes the problem worse - in air conditioned environments, as is the case in many workplaces, the desiccating effect of dry air and increased air flow can add up.
THERAPY options :
=> Reduction of wind and blowers wherever possible
=> Reduction of air dryness, through regulation of air conditioning, if possible change/modification of work environment or more frequent short breaks.
=> Try glasses with evaporation protection against wind and drought. Such wind protection is relatively inconspicuous to wear and has proven itself in people with a lack of tears and with a strong sensitivity to dryness and wind. Complete wind protection glasses and clip-on side wind protectors for existing glasses are available inexpensively. It can also be tried to wear inexpensive but effective windbreak goggles for cyclists.
Regular and complete blinking is important
Blinking disorders are an important risk factor for Dry Eye Disease
Rare eyelid blinks are usually triggered by concentrated visual tasks, especially with any type of screen work (including smartphones, tablet computers, etc.). This means that the tear film is not renewed sufficiently often, so it breaks open and the eye dries out.
=> here is more information about the neural basis for rare eyelid blinks
Incomplete eyelid blinks ("nervous blinking") is another disturbance of blinking that disturbs the tear film and can therefore lead to visual disturbances and discomfort in the dry eye.
In this case the eyelid is not completely closed when blinking and therefore the tear film is not completely renewed. As a result, dry spots and complaints are easier to develop. Identifying incomplete blinking is not easy, as blinking is quick and only takes a short distance. The close examination of the eyelid blink may require special equipment.
=> here is more information about the neural basis for incomplete eyelid blinks
THERAPY options :
=> occasional short breaks with deliberate eyelid blink exercise (there are also computer apps that remind you of this at regular intervals)
=> 5-10 strong, conscious blinks can often improve a feeling of dry eyes, due to increased tear flow and increased oil squeezing from the meibomian glands in the eyelids (!)
Laxity of the tissue with advanced age or scarring distortions may lead to deformation of the eyelid shape and position. This may disrupts the normal eyelid blinks and thus the regular distribution of a stable tear film. This can be corrected surgically by a doctor if necessary.
Reduce air pollution and air dryness as much as possible - eg by using suitable houseplants
Dry room air as well as dusts and particles in the air due to air pollution, smoking, the evaporation of computer blowers and printers etc. as well as own smoking and passive smoking have a negative influence on the surface of the eye
THERAPY options :
=> Reduction of air pollution and smoke - a good incentive to quit smoking yourself
Sufficient ventilation, simply by opening the window, can also lead to improvement of dry eyes, as fresh air is usually cooler and less dry.
=> Various well-known houseplants are considered to be good air fresheners, because they not only increase the air humidity in the room, but also filter out dusts and pollutants that can occur in everyday office life. This applies, for example. Chemical solvents or preservatives from furniture and carpeting or exhalations from computers and printers etc.. - Best is of probably simply sufficient ventilation of the rooms.