There are many people around the world, that experience dry eye symptoms. Dry eyes can cause sensitivity, redness, burning, itching, and many other uncomfortable symptoms. Having to constantly deal with dry eyes every day can make your normal daily activities challenging. That is why it is important to gain an understanding of what causes dry eyes, and learn about some of the ways or products that can help to treat them.

1. Causes of dry eyes
The makeup of our natural tears helps to protect our eyes. Whenever our eyes do not create enough of tears, they become dry. There are a few reasons why our eyes may not have enough tears. Sometimes the cause could be that our eyes are simply not creating enough natural tears anymore. There are many factors that could be causing this like, damage to the eye, diabetes, lupus or other medical conditions, aging, antidepressants or other medications, your diet, and many other factors, including:

• Computer work without blinking
• Reading
• Wind and dry environment
• Allergies (i.e., pollen or pet dander)

2. Over the counter dry eye remedies
Eye drops, are a very effective way to treat dry eyes over the counter. There are many different kinds of eye drops, formulated to treat a number of eye conditions. Most are formulated to add moisture to the eyes and maintain it, in order to remedy the symptoms. Humectants in the drops, help with that. For chronic dry eyes, it is best to only purchase drops that do not contain any preservatives. In some cases, artificial tears can help to provide moisture and relief for dry eyes, but it may not always be beneficial for people suffering from chronic dry eyes.

3. Prescription dry eye treatments
There are a few dry eye prescription treatments that can help to relieve the symptoms. An eye doctor may prescribe an eye drop that contains medicine, that will help your body produce more of your natural tears, reduce any kind of inflammation of the eye, and remedy your symptoms quicker than most over the counter treatments. Some dry eye prescription treatments include Restasis, Xiidra, and a few others. There are many remedies for dry eyes, that could possibly provide relief for chronic dry eyes.

4. Underlying health issues
It is important to speak with your eye doctor about your symptoms, to determine what the underlying cause is. For instance, an underlying medical condition may be interrupting tear production or eye lubrication including:

• Vitamin A deficiency
• Lupus
• Scleroderma
• Thyroid disorders
• Diabetes
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sjogren’s syndrome