People who suffer with dry eyes might be tempted to use homemade remedies. Making your own saline solution, for example, sounds like a no-brainer. It’s really just water and salt, right? How hard could it be? In fact, if you search on Youtube, you will find a link which recommends adding raw, organic honey to distilled water and using this in place of commercial eye drops, because they could be unhealthy. Um, what now? Honey in your eyes? Not for me!
Even if you are responsible and use distilled water and industry-grade ingredients to make saline solution at home, unless you have access to a 100% sterile environment, even the container you use to store your drops might be problematic. And if you have experienced even a mild eye infection, you know how painful it is, not to mention a more serious infection such as Acanthamoeba.
Here are a few easy tips to try at home–which don’t include putting harmful, untested, non-sterile mixtures or ointments into your eyes–and which can make a big difference to your dry eyes.
- Stay hydrated. Not only is this good for your eyes, it is also crucial for the rest of your body to function optimally.
- Reduce screen time. If you spend a lot of time in front of the screen, you might want to find ways to limit it. Screen time is so bad for your eyes because it decreases the amount of time you blink. Try to consciously blink more and follow the 20/20/20 rule: Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away. If you have a job that requires spending a lot of time in front of a screen, ensure that your screen is set below eye level.
- Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have shown that eating more oily fish like salmon or mackerel or taking supplements can help.
- Switch to silicone hydrogel lenses. If you wear contact lenses and suffer from dry eyes, this switch could help. These are much easier on your eyes than other lenses. Check with your eye doctor to see if they would work for you.
- Remove your contact lenses a few hours before bed. This will give your eyes good exposure to oxygen. Dr. Shibayama, an optometrist and lens specialist from UCLA Health, advises taking your lenses out at least two hours before you go to bed, and to try to wear them for two fewer hours than the total amount of time you’re awake per day.
If your symptoms continue and just don’t get any better, you’ll also want to make a visit to the eye doctor to be sure you don’t have dry eye disease, which can be quite serious. In these uncertain times, many of us are looking to cut back on expenses. Thrift can be a good thing, but not when it comes to your eyes!
Written by Gila Isaacson