Eye hygiene is important for general eye health. Wash your hands before touching your eyes, use eye-friendly drops, clean your eyes gently morning and evening with a cleaning product along your upper and lower eyelids, and try not to rub your eyes. Adele Camarena, Owner and Director of Camarena Porter Optometrist Trading as Spectacle World gives us much needed insight on the importance of eye hygiene, here.
DRY EYES IS THAT YOU?
Do you experience scratchiness, burning, stinging, pain, redness or a discharge in your eyes? Do you constantly feel the need to rub them in the morning or after working on your computer for long periods of time? Then you might have dry eye syndrome.
TAKING CARE OF DRY EYES AKA DES
Dry eye syndrome, or DES as it is commonly known, is caused by a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye. Our eyes constantly need tears to nourish and lubricate them. DES is most often caused by insufficient or poor quality tears and can impact your quality of life.
It’s important to get treatment before symptoms worsen to the point that it harms the cornea. Hydration is essential for your eyes. Without adequate moisture they become dry and uncomfortable.
Tips to treat DES include using artificial tears throughout the day, blinking when you use your computer, read, or play video games, taking a break at least every hour, using a humidifier to keep the air moist, and more.
Adele adds that a warm compress that you heat in the microwave is very effective in treating DES. Prescription eye drops or ointments that increase tear production and taking an omega-3 fatty acid supplement also make a huge difference. It’s also advisable to use the eye drops on the outside corner of the eye, and not the inside as is commonly thought.
“Tears continuously bathe your eyes in moisture, wash away debris, and help prevent bacteria from causing infections. “This also happens when you’re not crying. Tears consist of an outer oily layer, a middle watery layer, and an inner layer that contains mucus. When your body senses that your eyes are not moist enough, it tries to repair it by producing tears. As you age, you produce fewer tears and they may not have the optimum balance of water, oil and mucus. Some medications, including antihistamines, beta blockers, antidepressants, pain killers, acne treatments and birth control can lead to decreased tear production.” says Adele.
