Dry eye: how is it treated?

Tingling, tightness, eye fatigue: dry eye is a common and often mild disease. What are the risk factors? And what treatments to relieve this discomfort? We take stock with Dr. Marie-Caroline Trone, ophthalmologist.

“Dry eye is not inevitable, This pathology is one of the most frequent reasons for consultation in ophthalmology. And for good reason, it is in full expansion since the generalization of teleworking . Often underestimated, it can however have consequences on the quality of life of patients. “There are, however, simple treatments to gain comfort,” says the doctor.

Dry eye: what is it?

On a daily basis, the lacrimal glands constantly produce tears which are distilled over the entire surface of the eye thanks to the blinking of the eyelids. Tears are mostly water and oil. They protect the cornea from external aggressions and continuously nourish it.

“Each layer has its own function. The mucinic part ensures good adhesion of tears to the surface of the eye. The aqueous phase is responsible for the nutrition and protection of the cells of the ocular surface. Finally, the lipid portion limits the evaporation of tears and increases their duration of protection of the surface of the eye “, details the specialist. Dry eye is caused by a defect in the quantity and / or quality of tears.

Dry eye: what are the symptoms?

Dry eye is manifested by:

• redness
• frequent blinking
• tightness in the eyes
• sometimes painful sensations of grains of sand under the eyelids
• increased sensitivity to light
• eye redness
• excessive tearing.

People who wear contact lenses may also experience discomfort.

What are the risk factors?

“The quantity of tears can be reduced because of age, certain drugs, in particular antidepressants , or inflammatory diseases”, explains our expert before specifying that “this pathology particularly affects women over fifty . »Dry eye is also favored by environmental factors: active or passive smoking, dry air, cold, windy climates. The ophthalmologist assures that, since the start of the health crisis linked to Covid-19 and the implementation of the wearing of masks and teleworking, more and more people are concerned by this problem.

“The time spent on screens has increased considerably over the past year. However, we blink seven times less in front of a computer. This action is however necessary to protect them. The mask, on the other hand, reduces the diffusion of exhaled air to the outside. It spreads across the top of the mask and over the surface of the eye. This causes the tear film to evaporate, the eyes dry up.

How to treat dry eye?

Limit the contributing factors. “It is, unfortunately, impossible to act on genetic factors. But we can play on environmental factors.” Reducing the air conditioning in open spaces and in the car, protecting your eyes with sunglasses when you are in full wind, reducing the brightness of the screens are all small things to do on a daily basis. The ophthalmologist also recommends humidifying the air inside his house or apartment by placing a cup of water on the radiators when the heaters are on.

Use artificial tears as a first-line treatment, the use of artificial tears. There are many varieties. Some are sold freely in pharmacies, others on medical prescription. “Each family has its properties and its indications”, she specifies. So do not hesitate to get information from a health professional “even if there is no risk of overdose.”

Massage your eyelids. To revive the secretion of quality tears, the doctor advises to apply hot water compresses on the eyelids for five minutes, two to three times a day, every two days, for both eyes. “Gently massage with your finger on each of the eyelids.” For the upper eyelid, the gesture must be performed from top to bottom. For the lower eyelid from bottom to top.

Perform eye gymnastics. The tears should also be distributed correctly over the ocular surface. A simple exercise is to “stare at a point in the distance and perform three small blinks, three large blinks and then again three small blinks”, as soon as you feel a sensation of dry eyes. “The brain is able to rehabilitate itself in blinking. This action helps stabilize tears.”

When to consult?

\”We should not trivialize this syndrome. Many patients do not dare to consult or report to their ophthalmologist that they feel discomfort in the eyes. It is not normal to have permanently red eyes “, before specifying that:” in 95% of cases, the problem can be solved easily. “

>> More and more personalized treatments: “Research has made a lot of progress in recent years, notes the specialist. Thanks to high-performance machines, it is now possible to study the different layers of the film. tear and determine which part of the tear is affected. ” One of these treatments, polychromatic pulsed light, is to restore fat to tears. There are also special lenses with a tear reservoir.