It’s hard to see when you have a desert on your face.
As the focal point of one of your five senses, your eyes are one of your most important organs and deserve only the best of care. Then again, it’s also extremely tempting to stare at your phone all day or read books late at night, which your eyes very much do not appreciate. Your tear glands produce tears and moisture to keep your eyes clean and fluid, but when you strain them too hard in a particular way, your eyes start to dry out. Dry eye is extremely uncomfortable, as it’s often accompanied by blurry vision, itchiness or burning, and sensitivity to light. Instead of forcing yourself to live in blurry purgatory, try a home remedy to clear that dryness up.
The primary causes of dry eye are heat and light. What emits a lot of heat and light? Screens. Your phone, TV, computer, or anything else with a screen can dry your eyes out if you’re looking at it for a long time. If your eyes start aching after you’ve been looking at a screen for a while, give them some time to rest. Wrap some cloth around your head to make a blindfold and keep your eyes closed for a little while so they can recover. If they’re aching really bad, then cover your eyes with a warm compress help your glands open up.
Airflow is a big factor in dry eye as well. Certain home heating systems produce a lot of dry, hot air that can irritate your eyes, and the same can happen if you use hair dryers for too long. When the air in your home is too dry, use a humidifier to get some moisture back. A pan of water on top of a radiator will also work in a pinch.
If home remedies aren’t doing it for you, try some over-the-counter eye drops to soothe that burn. Just don’t overdo it, as some commercial eye drops have preservatives in them that could irritate your eyes in large quantities.
