Dry eyes affect nearly everyone at some point because this symptom can be brought on by so many different factors. Allergies, various medications and hormone imbalances can all cause this problem. Lifestyle factors such as lack of vitamin A in the diet, living at a high altitude or working on a computer all day can dry your eyes out too. The risk of developing eye dryness, presbyopia and other chronic ocular conditions increases with age. Some older people also experience an increase in dry eye problems following cataract surgery.
Recommended Treatments
Your eye doctor will determine the best treatment option for you based on the underlying cause of your symptoms. There are three basic ways of correcting dry eyes:
1. Lubricating Drops. Over-the-counter or prescription eye drops that contain lubricating ingredients are most commonly used to treat eye dryness. Lubricating gels and inserts that dissolve over time and keep the eyes moist longer than drops do may be recommended in some cases. Eye drops that contain corticosteroids are often used to reduce severe inflammation. Continuous steroid use can be problematic, so it is important to treat the underlying problem that is causing the eye dryness, if possible. One commonly prescribed dry eye treatment is Restasis, a prescription medication that relieves eye inflammation by helping the eyes product more tears.
2. Antibiotics. Sometimes an infection can cause problems with tear production by causing the channels that deliver fluids to the surface of the eyeball to swell shut. If you are experiencing inflammation as the result of bacterial infection, you may be prescribed antibiotics to treat your eye dryness. This type of medication may be applied as an eye drop/ointment or taken in pill form.
3. Drainage Plugs. In some cases, eye dryness is caused by insufficient tear production and the use of artificial tears doesn't provide enough relief. Temporary and permanent methods can be used to block the drainage ducts in the upper and lower eyelids to keep the eyes wet for longer periods of time. Tiny silicone inserts (punctal plugs) can be slipped into the ducts, or the ducts may be burned shut surgically. Plugging of the ducts is usually only undertaken after testing to measure whether there is actually a problem with the amount of moisture being produced. Some patients find punctal plugs uncomfortable. Also, since tears are no longer draining out of the eye, watery eyes may result from this treatment. This is one reason a temporary fix may be tried before the ducts are permanently cauterized.
What About Eye Surgery?
You may have heard that having corrective eye surgery can cause dry eyes. This is a common side effect that is usually temporary. PRK and LASEK procedures can both cause dryness during the healing process; but ongoing discomfort is a sign for concern. You should follow up with your ophthalmologist to address this problem and investigate treatment options. Some ophthalmic surgeons don't recommend laser eye surgery at all for patients who already have a problem with normal tear production. In addition, regression of vision after LASIK surgery has been reported among patients who leave a persistent dry eye condition untreated.
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