Dry eyes have become a common condition, making around one-third of people switch to wearing glasses. Dry eyes are a constant inconvenience and irritation for many people. If you experience scratchy, hot, dry, or sore eyes, visit Wolchok Eye Associates, PA to relieve your symptoms. If you take medications and still have dry eyes, talk to your health provider and ask for any alternative medications you can use to reduce dry eyes. The following are some ways of reducing dry eyes.
Ways of Reducing Dry Eyes
Artificial tears
Dry eyes can be caused by schoolwork, reading, and using a computer. The best treatment is using artificial tears or other eye drops. There are various brands of artificial tears available without a prescription.
Artificial tears and over-the-counter eye drops are available everywhere with a variety of ingredients. Artificial tears with high density are watery and thin. They give quick relief with no or little blurring of your vision.
Restasis
Instead of over-the-counter artificial tears, your optician can recommend daily use of an eye drop called Restasis. It does extra by lubricating the eye, reducing inflammation caused by dry eye syndrome, and helps the body make more natural tears to keep your eyes comfortable, moist, and healthy.
The effect of Restasis is not immediate, so you have to use the drops continuously for 90 days to see the full benefits of this treatment. While using Restasis, you will experience burning eyes during the first weeks of treatment.
Steroid eye drops
Over the past years, inflammation has been the leading cause of dry eyes. Inflammation causes burning and redness associated with dry eye disease. Artificial tears do not improve these inflammation changes, and the doctor can recommend using steroid eye drops to manage the existing inflammation problem.
The use of steroid drops for eye conditions can cause side effects if used for long periods. It would be best to talk to your doctor about your full medical history before starting steroid eye drops. Steroid eye drops can cause a risk of increasing your eye pressure and may lead to contracts, but the risk can be low if used on a short-term basis.
Punctal plugs
These are used to help tears stay on the eye surface longer. The plug is a sterile device inserted into one of the tear drainage duct openings located in the inner corner of the lower and upper eyelids.
After the openings are plugged in, no tears can drain away from the eye through the ducts. This makes the tears remain intact on the surface of the eye longer, relieving dry eye symptoms. Tears will always evaporate from the surface of the eye without any symptoms.
The first step of treating dry eyes is by knowing what is causing your symptoms. With prescribed eye drops or the above treatments, you can ensure your eyes are always lubricated. The doctors at Wolchok Eye Associates can help you with some tips for preventing dry eye symptoms in the future. You don’t have to suffer alone with dry eyes. Book an appointment with Wolchok Eye Associates to book a consultation.
