The eye depends on a constant flow of tears to maintain lubrication and comfort. When the eye becomes dry, this can be a source of irritation. Dry eye syndrome is a common and often painful condition that can cause damage to the cornea and harm vision. People who wear contact lenses often suffer from dry eye syndrome, as do many of those who undergo laser procedures to correct their vision. Women going through menopause also frequently develop this condition. There are many causes for dry eye syndrome and I have listed them below.

Dry eyes symptom
Dry eyes can effect the eyes in many ways. Patients can have burning, irritation, blurred vision, and the most common symptom of dry eyes is excess tearing.

Natural treatment for dry eyes
There may be some natural treatment for dry eyes that could be helpful to certain individuals. Discuss with your doctor if these are appropriate for you.

Fish oils and / or krill oil should be considered, as well as decreasing the intake of omega 6 fatty acids and increasing the intake of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are found in fish, particularly the highly unsaturated EPA and DHA fatty acids.
Flax seed oil capsules taken internally may be helpful or you can substitute flax seed oil for other types of common cooking oils. It is best to not heat flax oil. Cooking oils changes their structure and takes away their benefits.
Eat more fish and less vegetable oil, and avoid white bread and refined cereals. Avoid margarine and processed foods.
Tamarind seed extract could be helpful.

Causes of dry eyes
Dry eyes can be caused or made worse by exposure to many environmental conditions that have a drying effect, such as a dry climate, sun exposure, wind, high altitude, cigarette smoke, hot blowing air and the dry air that commonly occurs in the cabins of commercial airplanes. Those who wear contact lenses can have dry eyes.
   Dry eyes occur due to lack of tears being produced or the quality of the tear is suboptimal. There may be inflammatory cells within the tears, and because of this inflammation, (that cannot be seen unless under a microscope), the tears may not stick to the surface of the sclera or the cornea.
   Dry eyes may occur after LASIK treatment.

Diet and dry eyes
The idea that diet may have an influence on dry eyes is being explored, and it is possible that consuming a higher amount of fatty acids from fish may help.

Medications as cause of dry eyes
Medications that can cause dry eyes include diuretics, antihistamines and decongestants, certain sleeping pills, tricyclic antidepressants, and isotretinoin-type drugs for treatment of acne.

Diseases that cause dry eyes
Diseases that can cause dry eyes include Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and collagen vascular diseases.

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Bilberry extract (Vaccinium myrtillus) contains anthocyanins which protect the retina.
Eyebright extract (Euphrasia officianales)
Jujube extract (Zizyphus jujube)
Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo biloba)
Suma extract (Pfaffia paniculata)
Mucuna pruriens extract (Cowhage)
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
Lycium berry extract (Lycium Barbarum)
Sarsaparila (Sarsaparilla Smilax)
Alpha Lipoic Acid is a powerful antioxidant that enhances glucose use in brain and eye cells.

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Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter  Twice a month you will receive a brief review of  several new studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including dry eye treatment, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Dry eyes diagnosis
An ophthalmologist can put a strip for five minutes and see how much tear production there is.

Dry eyes treatment -- medication for dry eyes
Artificial tears eye drops can be used for dry eyes. The treatment for dry eyes has to be customized to the patient. Dry eyes are typically treated with artificial tears often containing hyaluronic acid. The problem with these eye drop preparations is that they do not stay on the eye surface for very long.

Tear duct plugs
Plugging the tear ducts is another option for severe dry eyes. The most widespread treatment for dry eyes in clinical practice is an instillation containing artificial tear fluid. When an instillation does not improve dry eye,  punctal plugs are used. The insertion of punctal plugs is an eminent curative that positively improves the corneal and conjunctival epithelial disorders and the amount of lacrimal fluid accumulated in the conjunctival sac.

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Dry Eye research update
Relation between dietary n–3 and n–6 fatty acids and clinically diagnosed dry eye syndrome in women.
Biljana Miljanovic, Komal A Trivedi, M Reza Dana, Jeffery P Gilbard, Julie E Buring and Debra A Schaumberg. From the Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (BM, JEB, and DAS); the Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA (KAT, MRD, JPG, and DAS); the Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MRD, JPG, DAS) and the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention (JEB), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; and the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (JEB and DAS)
The researchers tried to determine the association between the dietary intake and ratio of n–3 and n–6 fatty acids and dry eyes syndrome occurrence. Of the 39876 female health professionals in the Women’s Health Study, 32470 women aged 45–84 y who provided information on diet and DES were cross-sectionally studied. Fatty acid intakes were assessed by using a validated food-frequency questionnaire and assessed dry eyes syndrome by using self-reports of clinically diagnosed cases. Of the sample, 1546 (4.7%) subjects reported dry eyes. The researchers found that a higher dietary intake of n–3 fatty acids is associated with a decreased incidence of dry eyes in women.

Association between Symptoms and Signs of Dry Eye among an Elderly Chinese Population in Taiwan: The Shihpai Eye Study.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005 May;46(5):1593-8.
To analyze the association between dry eye symptoms and signs in an elderly Chinese population in Taipei, Taiwan. The participants were those of the Shihpai Eye Study, a population-based survey of eye diseases in the elderly (>/=65 years) in Shihpai, Taipei, Taiwan. Dry eye symptoms were evaluated with an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Dry eye signs, including tear-film breakup time, Schirmer test result, score for fluorescein staining of the cornea, and meibomian gland dysfunction, were assessed. Of the participants, 33% were symptomatic, defined as reporting one or more dry eye symptoms often or all the time. A Schirmer result of </=5 mm was the only sign associated with frequent symptoms. Its sensitivity and specificity in detecting symptomatic subjects were 62% and 43%, respectively. The agreement between each sign was statistically significant, although weak, except that no correlation was found between the Schirmer result and meibomian gland anomalies. Of the symptomatic subjects, 85% (392/459) had either a low Schirmer result or a meibomian gland anomaly; 38% (178/459) of them were abnormal on both tests. The Schirmer test was shown to be incapable of detecting meibomian gland disease. However, a low Schirmer result was significantly associated with dry-eye symptoms in this elderly Chinese population. This result differs from that of previous reports of elderly white populations.

Dry eyes is not a serious eye disorder, however it is extremely annoying and reduces quality of life.

Dry eyes emails
Q. I have used Eyesight Rx for one month now and find it beneficial for dry eyes and visual acuity.
   A. Thanks for letting us know.

Q. I have been taking fish oils to assist with a dry eye condition. It has helped greatly.

Q. I was wondering how Eyesight Rx compares to Theralife dry eye product. I am ready to make a purchase and was wondering the difference in the 2 products.
   A. We are not familiar with Theralife dry eye product.

Q. I doubled my dose of EFA fish oils and stopped taking the mulberry fruit derived Chinese herbs that i had previously been taking for dry eye. As a test, I stopped taking the fish oil and a day later, i experienced dry eye symptoms.

Q.  Since several years, when I drink hot coffee or hot tea, my eyes hurt. Especially in the night. Since a year, even 1 cup hurts. I have a dry eye problem since childhood. Several eye doctors only prescribe tear drops. In July, dr prescribed gel rather than liquid for tear drops.
   A. Perhaps fish oils or flax seed oil may help.

Q. Recently I was diagnosed with dry eye syndrome by an eye doctor. Previous to my diagnoses, I experienced severe eye pain in both my eyes, along with severe light sensitivity and blurred eye vision but only when the other two symptoms occurred. I experienced these symptoms suddenly about a year previous to my diagnoses. I am 28 years old, white, female. I do not wear contacts or glasses. My question is why would I suddenly develop dry eye syndrome? My symptoms lesson when I use the eye gel, but I need quite a lot of it. Is there a more natural solution?
   A. There are many dry eye syndrome causes.

Q. I have been researching a product for dry eyes that can increase tear ducts and have found HydroEye to have black currant seed oil in it. Does the black currant seed oil have to be unrefined to do the job? The HydroEye people are saying it is not. They say many people taking this product are seeing improvement in tears and some do not need to use artificial tears anymore. I have been told my tear test shows 7 in the right eye and 5 in the left. Fifteen is the normal for most people. I'm on doxycycline for the gland dysfunction and blephamide ointment for the blepharitis. However, I feel since dry eyes are not something we are born with there should be something to help bring back the tears. I also went through early menopause which they say can cause some difficulties with dry eyes. Finally, does environment play a large part in the cause? I recently moved from Austin, Tx to the triangle of North Carolina and have been having problems with my eyes since. I thought Texas was too dry and think North Carolina is a better climate with more humidity than Texas.
   A. If environment plays a role, it is minor. There are many causes for dry eyes. Very little research has been done with black currant seed oil. We are not familiar with the HydroEye product. Although unrefined oils are often the better option, in this case, since human studies are not available to compare unrefined black currant seed oil to refined black currant seed oil, it is difficult to tell whether the former offers more benefits. Perhaps you can discuss with your doctor some of the options discussed on this page regarding the natural treatment of dry eyes.


 

This dry eyes page was last updated in January 2008.