What to do about dry eyes?
You often suffer from dry eyes. What causes dry eyes? What eye sprays and eye drops can you use? Our optician, Sarah Marlien, can help you understand this symptom.
We talk about dry eye when the eye, or more precisely the lacrimal system, no longer produces enough tears, creating a feeling of discomfort and irritation when blinking or wearing contact lenses . You may then experience stinging, a feeling of sand in the eyes, red eyes, or sticky eyelids. This symptom is often linked to aging.
Tears have a protective role. They act as barriers against bacteria and dust. It is through blinking that tears spread, which helps to flush out any impurities that might enter the eye.
If this barrier is broken or not thick enough, the cornea can be directly irritated and damaged (for example, by direct friction from dust that scratches the eye when the eyelid is blinked). Having an irritated cornea can be a gateway for the spread of bacteria inside the eye (keratitis, etc.).
This phenomenon of dry eye can be accentuated by elements of the external environment (air conditioning, prolonged staring at a screen, pollution, cigarette smoke, etc.). Some medications can have side effects such as a reduction in tear secretion or a modification of it.
Indeed, tears are composed of fat, which prevents them from evaporating too quickly. If the balance of tear composition changes, this can cause discomfort due to this accelerated evaporation. Perhaps you also have a vitamin A deficiency? The cause could also be a blockage of the excretory ducts.
Fight dry eyes with artificial tears
and eye sprays
and eye sprays
It is important to understand the cause of the problem in order to choose the best treatment for your individual case. However, there are some tips that apply to everyone:
- Have good eye hygiene (clean your eyes well, don't hesitate to use warm compresses and clean by stimulating the glands along the free edge of the eye by massaging with cotton wool while the eye is closed),
- Respect the daily wearing time of your contact lenses (8 hours/day on average),
- Limit harmful external agents (air conditioning, pollution, wind, cigarette smoke, etc.).
Vitamin B12 can help heal if the eye is irritated,
Tear replacement eye drops and gels can be used as many times as necessary to restore occasional comfort and prevent friction leading to irritation of the cornea.
For example, you can use eye sprays from the Bausch+Lomb brands Blink (Refreshing Spray) and Aqualarm Intensive Spray, or Bausch+Lomb Aqualarm UP eye drops and Blink Refreshing (1/4 strength) and Blink Intensive (3/4 strength) eye drops. You can also experiment with different products and find the eye spray or eye drops that best suit your needs and your individual dry eye condition.
This dry eye syndrome should be closely monitored to avoid diseases that can occur if it is not treated.
Do not hesitate to talk to your ophthalmologist or optician or ask us your questions on our site using our form in order to obtain an answer adapted to your eyes, your lifestyle and your colored lenses or contact lenses .