Tag: Eye Health

How Do I Treat My Dry Eyes?

Have you been suffering from chronic Dry Eye? Maybe you spend a lot of time behind a computer at work, school, or even at home. If your dry eyes have been causing a problem, you’re probably wondering how you can treat them on your own. In some cases you can get temporary relief from Dry Eye symptoms over the counter, but in other cases a prescribed drop or procedure maybe needed.

Below are a few types of treatments for your chronic Dry Eye:

When you are first diagnosed with Dry Eye, your eye care professional will have you try different treatments, depending on the severity of your Dry Eye. Below are a few treatments you may encounter after diagnosis.

Over the counter drops:

These types of drops are found in your pharmacy and provide temporary relief for your dry eyes. They are helpful if you experience an occasional episode or two. If you have chronic Dry Eye it is likely you will have to continue using these drops multiple times a day, while also using other methods.

Prescribed Eye Drops or topical treatments:

If you continue to have difficulties with Dry Eye, your doctor may prescribe some drops for you to use regularly. These drops are often prescribed for those who have continued Dry Eye or have difficulty producing tears. If you have an issue with the lipid glands, topical creams or ointments may be suggested (such as testosterone cream). Prescribed eye drops and creams can often provide better relief than over the counter eye drops.

Lipiflow® Procedure:

For those who have difficulty with chronic Dry Eye related to a lipid deficiency, Lipiflow® may be a great treatment option for you. Lipiflow® is a painless 12-minute outpatient treatment that heats and massages the eye lids and glands that create the lipids. This action loosens and unclogs the glands, allowing lipid to be produced and excreted more effectively. While the procedure is relatively new, it has been extremely effective in providing relief for those who suffer from chronic Dry Eye that previously had no great treatment options.

Watch Jennifer, a Dry Eye sufferer for over 30 years, discuss how she finally found relief:

Foods Essential to Your Eye Health

Summer is here and many of us are thinking of ways to stay fit through exercise and healthy eating. We can’t forget that we can improve our vision health by eating better and getting the right amount of vitamins daily as well. There are several foods we eat everyday that can improve your overall eye health.

Listed below are some foods and vitamins that are vital to your eye health:

There are several foods that can help you improve your vision by including them in your daily diet. In addition these foods can assist you in improving your bodies overall function. Take a few minutes to read the list and how they can help improve your vision.

Riboflavin – Vitamin B2

Riboflavin also known as Vitamin B2 provides benefits for your vision but also improves the production of other vitamins which benefit the rest of your body (Vitamin B3- Niacin & Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine). Riboflavin helps the body’s cells produce energy from our intake of protein, fats, and carbohydrates.

Foods with Riboflavin:

• Spinach
• Mushrooms
• Pasta (Egg noodles)
• Milk
• Cottage Cheese
• Pork
• Fish including (Trout, Squid, Salmon)
• Cuttlefish – Contains highest amount of Riboflavin – (1.3 mg per serving)

EFA – Essential Fatty Acids

Essential Fatty Acids are not just important to your eye health but your body’s overall health because the body doesn’t naturally produce them. Ensuring that they are a part of your diet regularly is important to your body.

There are two types of essential fatty acids:

Omega-3

Omega-3s are found in breast milk and are essential to our early development. Omega-3s also help protect vision from conditions like macular degeneration, and even Ery Eye syndrome. EFAs or essential fatty acids are also known to help drain intraocular fluid which can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and risk of Glaucoma.

Foods- (with Omega-3s)

• Tuna
• Herring
• Sardines
• Salmon

Recommended amounts would be 2 serving per week.

Omega-6

While Omega-6 can’t be produced by our bodies, it is in a lot of the foods we already eat regularly. In fact, most of us get too much Omega-6 so it is not often recommended to eat additional amounts with our daily diet. Of the EFAs, it is recommended that your focus be on Omega-3s.

To see a news segment about foods that are good for the eyes, as well as other helpful summer eye health tips, watch below.