It has been a strange year, and many of us have found ourselves working from home, going out less and, essentially, spending more time on screens. This increased screen use has led to more of us experiencing dry eyes.

It’s difficult to accurately determine how prevalent dry eye is (mainly because there isn’t really an established diagnostic test) but I think it’s safe to say that a lot of us have probably noticed a dry eye symptom or two (see below).

In order to explain why dry eye happens, we need to briefly go over the importance of our tears. Contrary to popular belief, our tears do more than signify our sadness and amusement. They are responsible for providing oxygen to the eyes, removing debris and preventing infections. They also prevent the eyes from drying out.

What causes dry eye?

Dry eye mainly occurs when one of two things happen (or a combination of both);

The eyes don’t produce enough tears
The tears produced evaporate quickly

Blinking is important as it allows the redistribution of tears across the ocular surface. Studies have shown that when we are looking at screens we blink less often than when we aren’t looking at screens.

Dehydration can also lead to dry eye. Not drinking enough water can negatively impact tear production. These examples present some self-inflicted, and common, reasons that we may experience dry eye symptoms.

Less common, but also important to note, are the systemic diseases can lead to dry eye. One such example is lupus.

How to manage your dry eyes

Management of dry eye is largely dependent upon what is causing it (and it’s best to visit your optometrist to determine what is causing it).

The use of ocular lubricants can be effective in treating dry eye symptoms if the eyes aren’t producing enough tears. Drinking enough water can also encourage tear production.

If the tears produced are being evaporated quickly, then warm compresses can be used to prevent this from happening. Changes in our behaviour such as taking visual breaks from screens (looking away from all screens e.g. out of a window or down a corridor) and remembering to blink regularly can also improve symptoms of dry eye (but this is often easier said than done).

When the cause of dry eye is systemic, managing the systemic condition can often yield good results while the use of ocular lubricants can manage symptoms in the interim. Chronic dry eye may be the sign of an underlying condition, so visiting your GP is also a good idea.

Symptoms of dry eyes

Common symptoms of dry eyes include;

A stinging or burning sensation
A sharp random pain in the eyes
Red eyes
Discomfort when wearing contact lenses
Intermittent blurred vision
Watery eyes (yes, dry eyes can present as watery eyes)
Foreign body sensation (feeling like there’s something in your eyes)

If you’ve noticed any of the above symptoms, it’s a good idea to visit your local optometrist for an eye test!