Dry Eye Treatment
If your eyes feel gritty, burn by late afternoon, or water for no obvious reason, you may have dry eye. It’s one of the most common things we treat, and living on the Grand Strand doesn’t help. Air conditioning, ceiling fans, salty wind, bright sun and pool water all pull moisture off the surface of your eyes. Add a few hours of screen time and your eyes are outnumbered.
The good news: dry eye is very treatable once we know what’s causing it.
Signs you may have dry eye
- A burning, sandy or gritty feeling
- Eyes that feel worse as the day goes on
- Tired eyes, especially after reading or screen time
- Contact lenses that used to be comfortable and now aren’t
- Watery eyes. Yes, really.
Why dry eyes water
This is the part that confuses everybody. When the surface of your eye gets irritated, it responds with a flood of reflex tears. Those tears are mostly water, so they drain away quickly without fixing the dryness underneath, and the cycle starts over. Your tear system has two settings, off and flood, and neither one is helping.
What causes it
Dry eye happens when your eyes don’t make enough tears, or when the tears you make are poor quality and evaporate too fast. Common culprits include:
- Screens. Your blink rate drops by more than half when you focus on a phone or monitor.
- Air conditioning, fans and wind, which we have no shortage of around here
- Contact lens wear
- Certain medications
- Medical conditions such as arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome and thyroid disease
How we treat dry eye
There are several types of dry eye, and a bottle from the drugstore aisle treats the symptom, not the cause. So we start by figuring out which kind you have. From there, treatment is tailored to you and may include:
- Preservative-free artificial tears, used the right way and at the right times
- Prescription eye drops such as cyclosporine (Restasis), which help your eyes make more of their own tears
- Punctal plugs, tiny plugs placed in the tear ducts so your tears stay on the eye longer
- Omega-3 supplements, which can improve tear quality
- Practical changes to your contact lenses, screen habits and surroundings
Both of our doctors, Dr. Jason Siegmund and Dr. Cyndi Siegmund-Drenth, diagnose and treat dry eye.
What you can try at home
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds
- Choose preservative-free artificial tears
- Drink plenty of water
- Point car and home AC vents away from your face
- Wear sunglasses outside, especially on windy beach days
If you’re reaching for drops every hour, or your eyes still bother you after a couple of weeks of trying, it’s time to come in.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my eyes water if the problem is dryness?
When the surface of your eye gets irritated, it sends out a flood of reflex tears. Those tears are mostly water, so they drain away quickly without fixing the dryness underneath, and the cycle starts again.
Are over-the-counter eye drops enough?
For mild, occasional dryness, often yes. Choose preservative-free artificial tears. If you find yourself using drops all the time, or your eyes still bother you after a couple of weeks, it is time to have us take a look.
How does Siegmund Eye Care treat dry eye?
We start by finding out which type of dry eye you have. Depending on the cause, treatment may include preservative-free artificial tears, prescription drops such as cyclosporine (Restasis), punctal plugs that keep tears on the eye longer, omega-3 supplements, and changes to your contact lenses, screen habits and surroundings.
Why is dry eye so common in Myrtle Beach?
Air conditioning, ceiling fans, salty beach wind, bright sun and pool water all pull moisture off the surface of the eye. Long hours on screens make it worse, because your blink rate drops by more than half when you focus on a phone or monitor.
Book a dry eye visit in Myrtle Beach
Call (843) 796-1155 or request a time online. We’re at 4278 River Oaks Dr in Carolina Forest. Want to read more first? Try why the coast makes dry eye worse, or the dry eye section of our eye conditions guide.