Can dry eyes affect your vision
Yes, it can. It is a common and growing problem faced by many.
Having dry eyes does not mean you will / only feel that your eyes are dry. You can also experience:
- Blurry vision / Fluctuating vision
- Glares / Haloes
- Teary eyes
- Red eyes
- Stinging / Burning sensation
At Evershine Optical, we often see patients who experience these symptoms.
Blurry vision / Fluctuating vision
Majority thinks that their blurry vision is caused by change in prescription or eye disease such as cataract. However, blurry or fluctuating vision can also be caused by dry eyes.
The image below shows stable and unstable tear film on a normal vs a dry eye.
When tear film is unstable, it cause light to be scattered upon entering the eye. Once you blink, the tear film becomes smooth and you will see clearer. However, due to dry eyes, it will quickly break up and you will see blurry images. This is why your vision can also fluctuate.
This may not be able to be improved by getting new spectacle. Instead, relieving the dryness such as putting lubricating eye drops may help.
Some may complain that their vision is blurry and when our optometrists check their vision, we found that when they blink they are able to see clearer.
Some who are more attentive, will complain that sometimes they can see clearly, sometimes they cannot. Also, when they blink / put eye drops, their vision improves.
Other symptoms such as glares / haloes are due to cornea irregularity, teary eyes are caused by reflex due to extreme dryness, red eyes and burning / stinging sensation are due to eye inflammation.
Causes of dry eyes
There are many causes to it.
- Aging
- Environment
- Eg, windy / aircon environment
- Allergies
- Blocked eyelid glands / Inflammed eyelid glands
- Medications
- Eg, for high blood pressure, birth control pills, antihistamines, anti-parkinson drugs
- Health conditions
- Eg, Diabetes, Sjogren’s syndrome
- Long hours of contact lens wear
The figure below shows the percentage of patients who suffer from dry eyes according to age groups, lens wear and genders.
According to the figure above, dry eye is more common / more prevalent:
- As you age (Most common in adults aged 61 and above)
- In contact lens wearers
- In female
- In people with hormonal changes like menopause
Dry eye has also becomes more common recently due to the increase use of digital devices. When you are focused using digital devices, you often forgot to blink, causing your eyes to be dry. This is also a reason why young adults can also get it even though it is more common in older adults / elderly.
How will you know if you have dry eyes?
Other than experiencing the signs and symptoms of it as mentioned above, you will also need to be tested for it.
At Evershine Optical, to check for dry eyes, you will go through Dry Eye Assessment done by our optometrist. It includes:
1. Fluorescein Test
This test is to assess :
- how fast your tear film (layer of tears that covers the front of your eye) break up
- whether there are any damage on your cornea (front part of your eyes).
In this test, a orange dye will be instill into your eyes.
The picture below shows the front part of the eye after putting the orange dye.
B has black patches which appears less than 5 seconds means it’s dry. C has yellow spots which are cells lost, this means the dryness has affected the health of the cornea. On the other hand, A has no black patches or yellow spots, which shows no dryness.
2. Schirmer Tear Test
This test is to assess your eye’s tear production.
A stripe of paper will be place inside the lower lid of your eyes. After 5 minutes, the paper will be removed to see how much tears are absorbed by the paper.
Other than assessing if you have dry eyes, these tests also assess:
- Severity of your dry eyes
- Whether it has affect your eye health.
After the assessment, advice on how to manage your dry eyes will be given depending on the severity of your dry eyes, environment and lifestyles.
How to treat dry eyes?
Unfortunately, there is no cure for it. However, there are ways to relieve it.
Lubricating eye drops
The most common way to relieve it is using lubricating eye drops. Daily disposable eye drops eg, Alcon Tear Naturale Free, are better than monthly disposable eye drops because they are preservatives free, hence better for the eyes.
Lubricant Ointment
Lubricating ointment provides a longer relief for your eyes as compared to eyedrops. However, it is thicker and can affect your vision when using it. Hence, it is normally used before sleep.
Warm compress
Warm compress is usually used when the dry eyes is due to clotted glands. It is done by placing a warm towel on your eyes.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Research have shown that adding Omega-3 into your diet or having it with supplements can reduce the symptoms of dry eyes. Omega-3 can be found in fatty fish such as salmon, flaxseeds, palm oil and more.
Reduce contact lens wear
The recommended contact lens wearing schedule is 5 days per week, no more than 12 hours per day. How many days / hours you should reduce your wearing schedule depends of the severity of your dry eyes and eye health.
Changing the modality to daily disposable and material to silicone hydrogel may also reduce the symptoms of dryness in your eyes.
Surgery
In severe cases, punctal plugs may have to be placed in the eye to keep the tears from draining or draining ducts in the eyes may have to be closed permanently.
Environment
Avoid windy or aircon environment. If you need to be in a windy environment, such as riding a bicycle, you can get an appropriate eyewear to shield the wind.
If you have screen time for a prolonged period of time, you can take more short breaks in between.
What if severe dry eyes is left untreated?
It can cause damage to the cornea (front part of the eyes), inflammation / infection and affect your vision.
Book an appointment with us or whatsapp us at +6588461234 to get your Dry Eye Assesment done!
References
- 5 Common Causes of Dry Eyes. health plus.
- Dry Eye in Optometry: Trends, Habits and Hang-ups. Review Of Optometry.