Home Remedies for Dry Eyes

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In this article, Authority Remedies provides you with top incredible home remedies for dry eyes that are successfully accessible.

What are Dry Eyes?

Dry eyes, considered as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, are characterised by a damage or disturbance to the eyes’ delicate tear film ^[1]. This eye ailment affects negatively nearly 60% of the world’s population, including both children and adults. Dry eyes syndrome occurs as the tea glands have not produced enough tears in order to lubricate the eyes. This condition often goes along with pain and discomfort. It is widely known that both environmental and medical elements are responsible for dry eyes.

What are Tears?

Before releasing more details, it is necessary to be aware of the importance of tears and how it works. Tears play such an important role in becoming a cleansing and protective layer on the eyes’ surface. Those tears are created from tear ducts ^[2] that are called meibomian glands and lacrimal glands. These glands can be located on the eyes ‘sides and enable to produce tears that effectively protect and clean the eyes from such damaging factors as bacterial, yeast and fungal infections.

According to a new study, tears combine proteins, electrolytes, enzymes, fatty acids, water, peptides and mostly salts. The tears are often separated three main layers, including water, mucus and oil. While the oil is created in the meibomian glands, the electrolyte water is produced in larcimal glands; followed by the occurrence of mucus that greatly helps spread equally the oil and water on the eyes ‘surface. As the oil, mucus, and water gather to make a thin layer on the eye, this is known as a tear film ^[3].

What causes Dry Eyes?

As you might not know, dry eyes can come from long-term or just temporary health issues and go common with age. There emerge a great number of causes of dry eyes, in which the hormonal changes can be mostly in charge of dry eyes.

Some other causes include:

Environment or workplace that is dry due to wind or air-conditioning
Smoking or even second-hand smoking exposure
Sun exposure
Allergy or cold medicines
Eye surgery
Chemical burns or heat
A autoimmune disorder ^[4]
Aging process (menopause ^[5])
Vitamin A deficiency

…

What are the symptoms of Dry Eyes?

Dry eyes can contain lots of various symptoms, including irritation, burning sensation, pain, and light sensitivity inside eyes.

Other symptoms can be:

Blurred Vision (caused by moisture deficiency, weakening the function of eyes)
Sjogren’s syndrome ^{[6] [7]}
Foreign body sensation ^{[8] [9]} (feel something in the eyes)

Dry eyes hardly trigger excess production of tears. Instead, this mechanism works as a protection as the dryness stimulates overly the production of tears.

Now, it is about time you could draw the attention to different home remedies for dry eyes that become perfectly workable. Those natural treatments are believed to successfully and safely reduce the irritation. Remember to take doctors’ consultation before applying those remedies since they are for the informational purpose only, not being treated as medical alternatives. Hopefully, the following treatments can work well for your eyes’ condition and cure efficiently the dryness symptoms at home.

Following are top 15 home remedies for dry eyes that should be taken into account.

1. Vitamin Supplements

Vitamins have a positive impact on every one’s eye health since they can protect the eyes from further destruction. Some vitamins that are good for eyes include A, C, E that aid in reducing the dryness symptoms because of its antioxidant compounds. You can extensively search for many vitamin A-rich foods, consisting of pork, fish, duck eggs, milk, and the liver of chicken…

Vitamin C-rich foods enclose lemons, pineapple, grapefruits, strawberries, oranges and so on. Another found Vitamin C in several kinds of vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, cabbages or peppers.

Vitamin E-rich foods are composed of some like peanuts, sunflowers, sesame and beans sprouts. Vitamin E is also found available in nuts, animal liver, and fish fat.

2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega -3 – fatty acids ^{[10] [11]} are widely known as one of the most effective natural remedies for dry eyes. This property is able to relieve the irritation triggered by dry eyes. Omega-3 fatty acids do not only worsen the inflammation but also help produce more tears and even higher tear quality. You should take advantages of fresh Omega – 3 fatty acids – rich foods that relatively include high source of this health nutrient. Some recommendations of those foods are shown as below:

Chia Seeds
Walnuts
Soybean Oil
Flaxseed Oil
Fatty fish (tuna, salmon, sardines…)
Eggs

3. Warm Compress

A recent research has disclosed that tears are consisting of oily glandular secretions and water; therefore another help to open the clogged meibomian glands to alleviate the dryness in eyes is using warm compress to subsequently soften the hardened meibum.

However, most people are unwilling to apply this treatment since the shorter use of temperature warm compresses can be judged ineffectively. In order to save hugely your money, you can use warm compress that has a temperature at about 108 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to apply:

Dip a cloth into lukewarm water
Put a wet cloth on the closed eyes
Leave it on for 10 minutes
Perform the treatment two times per day

4. Water

Increasing the regular consumption of water is another best home remedy for dry eyes. Water has been shown to be effective for relieving the dry eye symptoms since dehydration can party contribute to dry eyes. Water can serve wonder as a supporter for metabolic activity in the body. Basically, while a woman should drink about 90 oz, a man needs about 125 oz to keep their body staying hydrated.

5. Green Tea Bags

Green tea affords immerse health benefits, including treating dry eyes. Thanks to its un-oxidized leaves that are loaded with antioxidant properties and essential polyphenols ^{[12] [13]}, green tea makes it a trusted home remedy for dry eyes. Following is the easy way to help you make use of green tea:

Dip the tea bags into hot water and allow it to steep to make the tea
Soak 2 cotton balls in the tea
Let the tea warm and put the two cotton balls into each eye
Leave it on for several minutes
Apply these tea bags to the closed eyes for about 5 minutes
Wash the eyes with warm water carefully
Perform the treatment for two times every week

6. Castor Oil

Dr Carolyndean once stated that castor oil can work as one of the greatest cures for boosting the lymphatic circulation; hence, castor oil is a wonderful treatment for dry eyes that can be easily applied at home. This kind of oil helps greatly with floaters cataracts ^{[14] [15]} prevention as well as eye detoxification. All you need to do is to prepare about 2 drops of castor oil and then place each of them into each eye during night.

7. Lavender Oil

The reason why lavender oil is such an incredible natural remedy for dry eyes originates from its soothing effects to the eyes. This herbal cure can deal with dry eyes since it assists in gaining the moisture lost causing dry eyes. Lavender oil can soothe eyes and then provide you with a quick relief from irritation and pain. Do not forget this useful treatment if you have not found a suitable one for yourself.

How to apply:

Pour some water to the lavender oil and place them in a bowl
Dip cotton balls into the solution
Remove excessive oil out of cotton balls by squeezing them
Apply the cotton balls to the closed eyes
Leave it on for over 10 minutes before washing them with warm water carefully
Perform the same process two times per day to accelerate the recovery

8. Cucumber

Cucumber can become among top home remedies for dry eyes thanks to its ability to provide cooling effect for eyes. This healthy and fresh ingredient can help encourage moisture since it is loaded with over 95% of water that keeps your eyes staying hydrated and gets toxins eliminated from the eyes. Because packing with anti-inflammatory properties, cucumber is potentially effective for relieving the dryness and puffiness in your eyes.

How to apply:

Cut cucumber into smaller slices and cool them in the fridge for several minutes
Put those slices on the closed eyes
Leave it on for 20 minutes
Wash it off with clean water

9. Aloe Vera

Aloe vera has it gels that help soothe the dry skin and other conditions. Apart from soothing effect, it contains anti-inflammatory ^[16] and antiseptic compounds which are needed to reduce dry eyes symptoms. However, it is vital to consult to the doctors before applying this treatment since aloe vera can cause irritation and discomfort to your eyes. If you have no time to see the doctors, the safest way is to use a little amount of it first to notice how well your eyes surface can tolerate aloe vera.

How to apply:

Prepare some aloe vera to get the gel extracted and freeze it
Add some cold water to the freezing gel
Dip cotton balls into the mixture
Rub the cotton balls into the closed eyes
Leave it on for 10 minutes
Wash them off with cold water gently

10. Potatoes

Thanks to Vitamin C and carbohydrates found in potatoes, this healthy ingredient is extremely good for skin, hair and general health. Using potatoes can potentially cure dark circles and dry eyes since it has the cooling effect to get your eyes hydrated and thereby reducing the irritation and discomfort connected with dry eyes.

How to apply:

Grate a potato and put the grated potato over the eyes before bedtime
Leave it on for about 10 minutes before washing them off with warm water

11. Chamomile Tea

Chamomile is actually a herb, which officially belongs to the blooming part of daisy gang. This herb is traditionally used to make tea curing a wide variety of health issues. Thanks to its anti-inflammation and cooling effect, chamomile becomes one of the most excellent home remedies for dry eyes by gaining the lost moisture and thereby reducing the tired eyes ^[17].

How to apply:

Mix chamomile with some water and allow it to steep for 10 minutes
Strain it and cool down the liquid in the fridge
Dip the cotton balls into the liquid
Apply the wet cotton balls to the closed eyes for 15 minutes
Perform the same process for better outcomes

12. Honey

Known as a golden liquid, honey even works better than the artificial tears ^[18] when it comes to treating dry eyes because of its antioxidant and moisturized properties. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory effects that are beneficial for soothing the eyes and keeping the eyes away from dehydrated.

How to apply:

Add an equal amount of honey and water and mix them well
Use the mixture as homemade eye drop
Do the treatment two times per day until the dryness is completely gone

You might want to know how to get rid of blackheads fast by honey.

13. Change Environment

You already know that environmental factors are partly contributed to dry eyes; therefore, it is accessible to make some changes in places you live and work. Following are some better instruction that you can confer to:

Avoid smoking and avoid going around those who smoke since smoking can lead to dry eyes and cause harm to your health
Stay indoors when it is windy because the wind is able to dry your eyes. Put on eyewear to prevent the eyes against the wind and dust as you join some outdoor-activities
Put a humidifier in your room to keep the eyes moisturized after studying and working for such a long time.

14. Get Enough Sleeping

It is highly suggested to sleep up to 8 hours a day to help your eyes recover after hard-working days. If you stay up late, your eyes can become sunken and sleep deficiency causes dark circles in the lower lids of eyes. Getting enough sleep is among best home remedies for dry eyes. You should also try to limit the time of using computer since working or gaming on the computer during long time can be vulnerable to your eyes.

15. Get Enough Light

You should not switch off the light while watching TV since the light of TV screen and the darkness in your room can cause eyestrain. You can put a lamp next to TV to see the image clearly enough and your eyes do not have to regulate much.

As reading books, you can use lamps which light into the pages. It is highly recommended to place headboard lights to prevent eye straining. And also, try to have a bulb lighted when you are using computer.

You should wear eye protection glasses when on the road to fight off sunlight as well as dust. In addition, the glasses can prevent your eyes from sunlight and sun exposure to help treat dry eyes more efficiently.

Home Remedies for Dry Eyes

What are Dry Eyes?

What are Tears?

What causes Dry Eyes?

What are the symptoms of Dry Eyes?