While Alberta is a great place to live for many reasons, the low humidity poses a challenge for many peoples’ eyes. We hear from a many people who suffer from dry eye symptoms. We have several different treatment options we can pursue after having a chance to examine your eyes, but sometimes being more mindful of our environment and how we’re using our eyes can make a big difference on its own. Here are some no-cost tips for managing your dry eye symptoms…
- Hydration…As we head into summer and some (hopefully!) warmer weather it is important to be mindful of our water intake. Our body’s overall hydration level will impact mucous membranes like our eyes so make sure you are drinking lots of water.
- Screen time…We refresh our tear layer each time we blink. However, we blink less often when we are looking at our screens. On average, we are typically blinking about 17 times per minute. But when we’re staring at a screen our blink rate goes down to about 4 times per minute*. So when you are looking at a screen for an extended period of time try to take a short break (ie. 30 seconds) to blink your eyes every 20 minutes or so.
- Blowing air…Blowing air from a heater or air conditioning disrupts the tear film. So make sure the vents in your car, home or office aren’t directing air directly towards your face.
*Bentivoglio AR et al. Analysis of blink rate patterns in normal subjects. J Mov Disord. 2004;12(6):1028-1034.
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