Do your eyes feel drier in winter than at any other time of year? Or find that your eyes are producing more tears than usual, but they still feel blurry, irritated or gritty?
You could be suffering from a condition called ‘dry eye’. Dry eye syndrome is exactly what it says – when your eyes become overly dry and then uncomfortable.
Normal, healthy eyes blink an average of 22 times a minute. It’s a completely natural mechanism, designed to keep your eyes fresh and healthy. The problem is that when the weather’s bad, we tend to turn the heating up and spend more time staring at a screen, whether that’s watching tv or surfing the net. Both activities have a negative effect on your eyes, because centrally heated air is very dry and staring at a screen means you blink less than usual.
Dry eye can make your eyes very uncomfortable, but luckily it’s relatively easy to treat. Possible treatments include eye drops or ointment, a heat compress, massage or blink exercises. If dry eye is affecting you now or at any time of year, pop in and ask us for some friendly advice.