When you’re dealing with a constant burning, scratchy, and stinging sensation in your eyes, it can be difficult to find relief. While your optometrist can help with in-office dry eye treatments, sometimes you just need some temporary relief from dry eye symptoms.
Eye masks can be an excellent way to enjoy a temporary reprieve from your symptoms. With gentle amounts of heat and soothing materials, they’re a simple but effective way to reduce irritation and inflammation.
What Is Dry Eye?
Whenever you blink your eyes, you spread a thin film of tears across their surface. This tear film, made up of 3 key layers—water, oils, and mucous—keeps your eyes protected from dirt, debris, and other harmful outside contaminants. However, an imbalance in the tear film leaves the eye exposed and vulnerable.
This is called dry eye, and it’s much more common than you might think. This can be broken down into 2 categories:
- Aqueous deficiency dry eye, where your eye can’t produce enough tears
- Evaporative dry eye, where the tears are of poor quality and evaporate quickly
This condition is easily recognizable by a constant stinging, burning sensation, and in severe cases, your eyes may be irritated by everything from wind to bright light. Dry eye can be temporary or chronic, with symptoms ranging from mild irritation to severe discomfort that interferes with your daily activities.
Dry Eye: Recognize the Signs
Dry eye is about much more than temporary frustration. Because a problem with the tear film leaves your eyes exposed, it significantly increases the risk of damaging your eyes. Corneal abrasions, scratches, and scarring are all much more likely, making it crucial to keep an eye out for the signs that something’s wrong.
Usually, you can recognize dry eyes by:
- A persistent gritty or sandy feeling in the eyes
- Redness and inflammation around the eyes
- Increased sensitivity to light
- Difficulty wearing contact lenses
- Excessive tearing, followed by dryness
- Blurred or fluctuating vision
- Eye fatigue or strain after prolonged screen time
If these sound familiar, it’s time to address the problem. There’s no need to live with this discomfort when relief is within reach.
How to Treat Dry Eyes at Home
Treating dry eyes at home is often simpler than you think. You can use eye drops or artificial tears when needed to find quick relief; these supplement your natural tear film to keep your eyes protected. You can find artificial tears with the help of your optometrist, and often at local pharmacies.
Meanwhile, eye masks can make a significant difference as well. These masks, filled with warming materials, are designed to provide gentle heat for a few minutes, which promotes the healthy flow of oils to your tear film. This can give you quick relief from the irritation and inflammation. You can find eye masks at your optometrist’s office.
It’s also crucial to stay hydrated and follow a healthy diet—especially if you find yourself constantly dealing with dry eyes. Your eyes need a mix of vitamins and nutrients to produce a healthy tear film, so your diet plays a key role!
If you find that these changes no longer help you find relief, it’s time to think about dry eye therapy.
IPL for Dry Eye
Sometimes, a more advanced approach is required. This is when treatments like intense pulsed light—or IPL therapy—can make a difference.
IPL uses short bursts of light to target and reduce inflammation around the eyelids. This stimulates the production of natural oils for your tear film while simultaneously reducing irritation, improving your overall eye comfort and significantly reducing your symptoms.
This noninvasive approach offers a quick and convenient way to find relief. The results are long-lasting and there’s next to no downtime, making IPL a popular treatment option for dry eye.
Radiofrequency for Dry Eye
Radiofrequency therapy, or RF, is another innovative way to address dry eyes. This noninvasive approach uses high-frequency electrical currents to generate heat in the deeper layers of the skin around the eyes. This stimulates collagen production and improves the function of the oil-producing glands in the eyelids to help you produce a healthy tear film.
RF is a quick and efficient approach with no downtime, and it tends to offer long-lasting results. Each session typically takes between 10–20 minutes with minimal discomfort, making RF a convenient solution to dry eye discomfort.
Get Help for Your Dry Eyes
If you’re dealing with dry eyes, it’s time to take action—and our team at Village Optical can help. Whether you need eye masks, IPL, or RF treatment, our team can work closely with you to find a solution that addresses your needs. Book your appointment with our team today and let us help! Relief is right around the corner.
