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Dry eyes are a serious concern because they can cause pain and affect a person’s quality of life (Benitez-Del-Castillo et al, The Ocular Surface, April 2017). There are artificial tears and other eye drops designed to moisten the surface of the eye, but could frequent blinking help as well? One reader is sure it does.
Exercises That Involve Frequent Blinking:
Q. Many years ago, when I was young and vain, I was trying desperately to wear contact lenses, but my eyes were too dry. The doctor told me to start doing eye exercises multiple times a day, whenever I thought about it.
He had me blink rapidly ten times and look up. Then I was to look down while blinking ten times, followed by looking first to the right and then to the left, blinking rapidly ten times on each glance. This frequent blinking really made a difference in easing my dry eyes.
A. Frequent blinking is important for moisturizing the surface of the eye and preventing dry eye syndrome. People who stare at computer screens may not blink often enough (Morcego et al, Journal of Biomedical Optics, Feb. 2016). In some workplaces, the computer camera is tracking blink frequency and reminding people when they are not blinking enough. Your doctor’s recommendation still makes sense.
New Approaches to Dry Eye Treatment:
There are newer approaches to overcoming dry eyes as well. The meibomian glands in the eyelids secrete the oils that keep tears from drying out too fast. A LipiFlow machine to treat these glands when they stop working efficiently can make a significant difference in dry eye symptoms for several months following treatment (Zhao et al, Journal of Ophthalmology, online Dec. 27, 2016).
Margaret
St. Louis
I had been experiencing dry eye symptoms, chiefly awakening in the morning with my eyelashes glued together from a nocturnal discharge and the unpleasant sensation at different times of the day of my eyelid snagging on my eyeball. At night I would apply a lubricant eye ointment, as instructed by my ophthalmologist. During the day when the snagging sensation would occur, I would use lubricating eye drops or artificial tears for temporary relief.
Then a friend suggested I try moringa tea. She, too, had been diagnosed with dry eyes. She said that if she missed a day of drinking the moringa tea, she was aware of dry eye symptoms the following day. Both my partner, another dry eye sufferer, and I began drinking a mug of moringa tea each morning. Both of us felt rapid improvement. A month later, I no longer awake with gummy eyelashes nor do I experience eyelid “snagging.” I haven’t gone so far as to stop use of the bedtime eye ointment, but I am very pleased with our results this past month. From my reading, the tea is harmless and we find it’s taste is not unpleasant. I would recommend it as a simple home remedy that might make pharmaceutical treatment unnecessary.
Lee
I had severe dry eyes; since I started taking 1200 mg of fish oil daily this problem has disappeared.
Cindy
Flaxseed oil – in a casule which is inexpensive and readily available – makes all the difference to dry eyes. Just one capsule a day resolves this for me. If I go more than 2 days without the flaxseed oil I get uncomfortable dry eyes.