As winter intensifies and the weather becomes colder and drier, so do the high incidence of fall and winter diseases, and our eye health faces many challenges.

Normal people’s healthy tears not only have “water”, there are also blepharoplasty gland secretion of “oil”, oil distribution in the aqueous layer of the surface, can effectively reduce the evaporation of aqueous fluid. The secretion function of the glands of the blepharoplasty gland decreases in the fall and winter, many people will feel dry eyes, even itchy eyes, transient vision loss, this time it is easy to more dry eye, if not properly handled in a timely manner, it may lead to other eye problems.

People who are susceptible to dry eye syndrome

Middle-aged and elderly people: As they age, tear secretion decreases, making their eyes susceptible to irritation and sometimes causing a violent tearing reaction, known as tear overflow.

Frequently engaged in concentration work or activities: e.g. prolonged use of computers, prolonged reading or working in front of screens, lack of normal blinking, excessive exposure of the eye surface.

Certain disease factors: such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, thyroid abnormalities, asthma, cataracts, glaucoma and lupus erythematosus.

Long-term use of certain drugs: Certain drugs can reduce tear secretion and lead to dry eye symptoms, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, diuretics, blood pressure medication, anesthetics, anti-ulcer drugs, etc.

Environmental factors: living or working environment with air conditioning, smoke, ultraviolet rays, high temperature, air dryness and pollution can increase tear vapor and lead to dry eye.

Contact lens wearers: contact lenses are floating on the tears, wearing contact lenses will accelerate tear evaporation.

Meanwhile, people who often stay up late or have poor sleep quality, use electronic products for more than 4 hours a day, and often wear makeup are also prone to dry eye.

Common Symptoms of Dry Eye

Dry and cold weather in fall and winter, more evaporation of tears, coupled with the reduction of outdoor activities, commuting to and from work to the computer and cell phone screens for too long, it is very easy to dry eyes, astringent and other symptoms.

If your eyes have the following symptoms, it is important to pay attention:

Frequent dryness and itching of the eyes, non-pathological congestion of the conjunctiva, and easy fatigue of the eyes.

Frequent and intermittent blurring of vision occurs, accompanied by non-pathologic foreign body sensation.

Often there is tightness of the eyelids, which can feel heavy and uncomfortable, and sometimes the discharge becomes sticky, making the eyes uncomfortable.

There is a burning sensation in the eyes, with heat and tingling, and defects in the corneal epithelium.

Sensitivity to external stimuli of light, wind and smoke, photophobia and tearing.

To determine whether you are suffering from dry eye, you can go to the hospital for a checkup, including tear secretion test, tear film rupture time, tear osmolality, tear lysozyme content and other tests can confirm the diagnosis.

Tips for preventing dry eyes

1、Increase the environmental humidity in the fall and winter weather is dry, usually in the office or home can use a humidifier, increase the humidity of the air.

2、Usually more blinking eyes less screen more far away, feel dry eyes to blink more, blinking can help the secretion and distribution of tears.

3、Hot and cold compresses on the eyes

Hot compresses help melt the lid fat to promote discharge, cold compresses can promote tear secretion.

4、Pay attention to eyelid hygiene

Paying attention to eyelid hygiene is also one of the effective ways to prevent dry eye. In normal life, pay attention to eye hygiene, be diligent in washing hands, do not rub your eyes with your hands, because your hands may become a medium for spreading germs.

5、Maintain good working habits

Avoid operating the computer for a long time and let your eyes relax and rest. When working, adjust the distance and position of the monitor and eyes, the position is slightly below the eye level 10 to 20 centimeters, the brightness of the monitor should not be too bright, adjusted to half of the maximum brightness can be.

6、Maintain a healthy diet

You can eat some grapes, citrus, fresh dates, carrots and other fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement a variety of trace elements, to promote the healthy development of the eyes.

Dr. Chen Xiangxi, Secretary of Cornea and Ocular Surface Group of Aier Eye Hospital Group, Deputy Chief Physician, Deputy Director of Ocular Surface and Corneal Disease Specialty of Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Hubei Headquarter of Aier Eye Hospital Group), said that dry eyes are easy to get but not easy to cure, so it is important to pay attention to it. Once the eyes appear dry, uncomfortable symptoms, must go to the regular eye hospital to seek professional medical help, identify the cause of the disease, symptomatic treatment.