What is Really Causing Your Dry Eyes?

For individuals with contact lenses, one of the most common complaints is dry eyes. Contacts tend to cause dry eyes because of its constant need to draw out moisture from the surface tear film of the eye to keep the lens hydrated. Although contacts have many benefits, this draw back keeps its users having to maintain their eye’s moisture with re-wetting or lubricating drops. Another solution is to undergo LASIK eye surgery so that you no longer need to wear contacts.

However, contact lenses aren’t the only culprit of dry eyes. Before you treat your eyes with drops, it’s important for you to consider other possibilities. At CorrectVision Laser Institute, we want to ensure that you treat yourself correctly by recognizing the main source of your dry eyes. We have provided five root causes of dry eyes for you to investigate before choosing the most effective treatment.

1. Computer Use

Sitting in front of the computer all day or concentrating on one task for a long period of time may cause your eyes to become more dry. This is due to the fact that when you focus, you tend to blink less. Blinking assists with keeping your eyes moist as well as removing debris from your cornea and conjunctiva. We recommend that if you’re required to do this for work or for school, that you step away from the task for a few minutes or make an effort to blink more.

2. Dehydration

Keeping your body hydrated is important for all of its functions. One of the signs of dehydration is, in fact, dry eyes. To prevent dehydration, we recommend that you drink plenty of water or juice and reduce the amount of coffee, soda and alcohol you consume.

3. Environment

The environment is comprised of many elements that could potentially be the cause of dry eyes. Some of the causes could be cigarette smoke, pollutants and dust.

4. Inverted Eyelashes

Inverted eyelashes are those that touch the surface of the cornea, which causes the eye to tear up and feel irritated. To avoid this discomfort, you can manually pluck out the eyelash or you can have a professional do it for you.

5. Medications

Medications, such as antihistamines, birth control pills and antidepressants, may cause side effects like dry mouth, dry skin and dry eyes.

The best way to tell if your contact lenses are causing your dry eyes is by taking out one of the lenses and see how long it takes to dehydrate and shrivel up. It shouldn’t take longer than a few minutes to do so.

Solutions for Dry Eyes

The good news about suffering from dry eyes is that there are many solutions to offset it. Treatments include drinking more water, using lubricating eye drops, using punctual plugs and LASIK surgery. For dry eyes caused by contact lenses, LASIK surgery is the best solution.

CorrectVision Laser Institute is one of Florida’s most advanced vision correction practices and has extensive experience in LASIK surgery. Our goal is to open your eyes to the world of great vision by offering unparalleled expertise and the most advanced technology available. Contact us today for a consultation!