Why You Should Not Ignore Dry Eye Symptoms
It's easy to ignore dry eye, particularly if the symptoms come and go. Dry eyes are more than just a minor annoyance. If you don't treat your symptoms, you may be at risk for eye health issues. Fortunately, your optometrists can offer treatments and strategies that will improve your comfort and help you avoid vision issues.
Dry Eye Symptoms and Causes
In addition to a dry, uncomfortable sensation, you may also notice these symptoms if your eyes are too dry:
- Redness
- Burning or Stinging
- Blurry Vision
- Stringy White Discharge
- Eye Fatigue
- Sensitivity to Light
- Discomfort When Wearing Contact Lenses
- Watery Eyes (Your eyes may produce too many tears in an attempt to overcome the dryness.)
- Foreign Body Sensation (A feeling that something is stuck in your eye)
Your tear film lubricates and moistens your eyes. Dry eye can happen if you don't make enough tears, tears drain or evaporate too quickly, or your tears are of low quality.
Other factors that can affect the moisture level of your eyes, include:
- Environmental Factors. Tears evaporate more quickly on windy days, causing your eyes to feel drier than normal. Blasts of hot air can also cause tears to evaporate too quickly. Using a hair dryer or sitting next to a heating vent can worsen dry eye symptoms. Other environmental factors that increase dry eye risk include smoky conditions or living in a dry climate.
- Age. The eyes naturally become drier as you get older. Most people over 65 experience some dry eye symptoms, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA).
- Using Digital Devices. Blinking spreads tears across your eyes. Unfortunately, people tend to blink less often when they use digital devices.
- Gender. Women are more likely to experience dry eyes than men.
- Medical Issues. You may be more likely to notice dry eye symptoms if you have certain diseases, such as thyroid disease, diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis. Eyelid inflammation or eyelids that turn out or in too far may also cause dry eye. Dry eye can occur after LASIK surgery as well, although dryness in this scenario is a temporary problem for many people.
- Medications. Medications, including those for allergies, colds, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure, can cause dry eye.
The Dangers of Ignoring Dry Eyes
If you don't treat your dry eyes, you may be more likely to develop:
- Eye Strain. Sore, burning, or itching eyes; headaches; and tight shoulder, neck, and upper back muscles are symptoms of eye strain.
- Blurry Vision. Dry eyes can cause vision fluctuations that make it hard to see well.
- Eye Infections. Your tears wash away germs and irritants. Without a healthy layer of tears, your risk for inflammation, infection, or irritation increases.
- Corneal Abrasions or Erosions. Rubbing your eyes may feel good when your eyes are dry or itchy. Unfortunately, rubbing can cause painful corneal abrasions (scratches on the cornea) if your eyes are too dry. The clear, round cornea covers the iris, protects the inner layers of the eye, and helps focus light on the retina at the back of the eye. Corneal erosions can also occur if your eyes are dry. Erosions happen when your eyelid sticks to your cornea while you sleep. When you open your eyes, your eyelids pull off cells on the top layer of the cornea, causing pain, watery eyes, blurry vision, and light sensitivity.
- Vision Loss. Although corneal abrasions, erosions, and infections often heal without lasting damage, they can scar the cornea and lead to vision loss in some cases.
Treating Dry Eye
Based on the severity of your dry eye symptoms, your optometrist may recommend one or more of these treatment options:
- Eyelid Cleaners. Cleaning your eyelids with eyelid cleaners or diluted baby shampoo may help decrease eyelid inflammation.
- Warm Compresses. Warm compresses unclog blocked tear ducts.
- Lubrication. Artificial tears and lubricating eye drops keep your eyes moist. If dry eye is worse at night, you may prefer to use longer-lasting gel drops and ointments.
- Prescription Treatments. Depending on the type, prescription eye drops can increase tear production, reduce inflammation, or treat infections.
- Punctal Plugs. If over-the-counter methods aren't effective in relieving dry eye, your optometrist may recommend punctal plugs. The tiny plugs are added to the tear ducts to prevent tears from draining too quickly.
Tired of struggling with dry eye? We can help you improve your eye comfort. Contact our office to schedule an appointment.
Sources:
American Optometric Association: Dry Eye
https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/dry-eye
American Academy of Ophthalmology: What Is Dry Eye? Symptoms, Causes and Treatment, 12/8/2025
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-dry-eye
Healthline: How Does Dry Eye Affect Your Vision?, 5/1/2025
https://www.healthline.com/health/dry-eye/can-dry-eyes-affect-your-vision
American Academy of Ophthalmology: Corneal Abrasion and Erosion, 12/2/2025
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-corneal-abrasion
Mayo Clinic: Dry Eyes, 9/23/22
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-eyes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371863