Not a dry eye in the house

0117 962 2474

0117 965 4434 www.turnersopticians.co.uk

Now I’m not referring to either Meat Loaf’s ballad of the same title or an audience at a Peter Kay gig, but a recent dry eye survey that revealed that around a third of people didn’t know the symptoms of dry eye despite around half of them having experienced dry eye symptoms! So what is dry eye?

Dry eye is a mild inflammatory condition that usually results from a reduced or incomplete tear layer on the surface of your eyes. What are the symptoms of dry eye?

The most common dry eye symptoms include, not unremarkably; a dry, sore or mildly painful feeling in the eyes. You might also experience burning, gritty or an itching sensation from your eyes too, as well as sometimes your eyes looking a little red.

What can I do if I get dry eye symptoms?

Firstly an easy option is to ensure you drink plenty of water, approximately 1 to 1.5 litres a day, in addition to tea / coffee. If you’re drinking alcohol then you may well need to up your water consumption too!

Another often overlooked good tip, which only takes a tenth of a second, is the humble blink. If reading, try blinking every time you swipe or turn the page. When looking at a display screen, it’s recommended you blink every 3-4 seconds, for example blink when scrolling a web page or sending an email. They key seems to be consciously forming good habits which then become second nature after a few weeks practice.

What else can I do to help dry eye?

The next step is to try artificial tears. These days there is no shortage of options, you can buy eye drops, gels and even eyelid sprays. With so many to choose from we’re often asked where you should start. Good options these days contain sodium hyaluronate, a poly glycol derivative or carmellose sodium.

How can we help you?

If you’ve tried the tips above, and perhaps even more, and still experience dry eye type symptoms then you might be interested in our dedicated Dry Eye Clinic. You can benefit from a specialist dry eye assessment. In the Turners Opticians Dry Eye Clinic we will take the time to listen to your symptoms, carefully inspect your eyelids, tear film and ocular surface to understand the nature of your dry eye, the composition (or lack thereof) of your tears and explain our findings. From there we’ll recommend a personalised dry eye treatment plan.

To book an appointment, or to discuss how at Turners Opticians we can help you, please call our Henleaze team on 0117 962 2474 or Fishponds team on 0117 965 4434

Marta

Former physiotherapist Marta joined Turners Opticians having re-trained as an optician. She has a particular interest in helping patients achieve relief from their dry eye symptoms.