There can be a number of dry eyes causes. It is definitely advisable to consult your general practitioner when you experience dry, red, irritated, itchy and inflamed eyes. More often than not, these practitioners (and even eye specialists!) use the broad diagnosis of ‘dry eye’ and the real dry eyes causes go undiagnosed. This means that an effective course of treatment is generally delayed. Many times a patient will become frustrated because the treatment they are offered does not work. Some of the most common causes of dry eyes include…
Dry eyes causes include:
• LASIK (laser surgery done to correct vision)
• Staphylococcal infection under the eye lid (can be treated with an antibiotic cream applied to the eye, and prevented by a consistent hand washing routine)
• Rosacea (facial redness which can also affect the eyes)
• Sjogren’s syndrome (systemic disease attacking the glands that make tears)
• Rheumatoid arthritis (systemic inflammatory disorder which can affect the eye)
• Menopause/pregnancy (hormonal changes lead to a change in tear quality)
• Natural aging process (dry eye is more common to people over the age of 40)
• Side-effects from certain medications (it is better to carefully go through the side effects as mentioned on the medicine packaging before taking it).
It is quite unfortunate that most often people are suggested treatments which actually do not bring chronic dry eye relief. If this is the case, a dry eye relief home remedy can be tried. It has been observed that this remedy offers relief and prevents symptoms by targeting blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelid). It works by preventing eyelid infections and the clogged ducts are unblocked to improve the quality of tears. This simple technique may not work for everyone, but is worth trying out for at least two weeks to assess whether there is any considerable reduction in eye redness.
In case you decide to go with (or have been recommended to use) artificial tears, then choose carefully. Most of the ones that are available over-the-counter do not contain the essential oils that will relieve your eyes of dryness and address the dry eyes causes. In addition to that constituent chemicals and preservatives can damage your eyes if you use these medications long term.
It is highly recommended to always choose eye drops that come in individual plastic vials. This will limit your exposure to chemicals and preservatives.
A wrong diagnosis can often lead to an improper treatment and a very high level of frustration and disappointment ie time and money wastage but the future seems to be brighter. More healthcare providers are beginning to take note of the widespread chronic dry eye problems and the pain and suffering the symptoms invoke. With the awareness spreading among more ophthalmologists, the hope for appropriate diagnosis and resultant relief is on the rise too.
There are hundreds of thousands of people affected by this ailment and identifying dry eyes causes is the only way to treat them the right way the first time.
