posted May 11, 2009 11:11 PM         

How to remedy dry eyes: you won't need eye drops if you follow these simple suggestions

DRY WEATHER, WIND, AND CONTACT lenses can dry your eyes, making them itch and sting. Aging and hormone imbalances cause the tear glands in people over 65 and postmenopausal women to produce less oil, making these two groups more susceptible, explains David Olarsch, N.D., a naturopath in Plymouth, N.H. Regardless of the cause, Olarsch recommends the following tips to both prevent and treat dry eyes.

Get Vitamin A. Consuming a serving of vitamin A-rich foods like salmon, sardines, or eggs once a day helps keep your eyes moist. Or take 10,000 IU of vitamin A with 400 IU of vitamin D daily; look for a supplement made from fish oil. When symptoms clear, reduce your dose to 5,000 IU of A. If you're pregnant, check with your doctor be fore taking vitamin A.

Fatten Up. The omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed and fish oil help keep the mucous membrane on your eyeballs lubricated. Take 2 tablespoons of either one daily.

Moisten the Air. Run a humidifier in your bedroom and, if possible, in your office during cold, dry winter months. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NAH/is_3_33/ai_104836607/

If you have Dry Eye then you are NOT getting enough essential fatty acids (EFAs). Our Western diet is too high in Omega-6 fats. Take: one good quality Primrose Oil GEL capsules, or Black Currant seed oil GEL capsules with each meal (needs some fats in meal to absorb the gel caps). These oils are high in GLA, something harder to produce as we get older (less dehydrogenase conversion enzyme, etc). GLA also very low production in pre-diabetics. Black Currant seed oil has highest GLA. You must also take FISH oil capsules (one per each meal)for omega balance. NOT cod liver oil, just DHA/EPA Fish oil. Cod liver too high in Vit A and D, which if too much (along with your multi-vit and food ingestion)causes root resorption of teeth and skeletal bones...I found out the hard way! Vit. A, especially harmful if more than 5,000IU total intake, folks. Get your Vit. A from primarily Beta Carotene in your multi, and no more than 1,000 IU Vit D from multi. Carlson Brand Fish Oil caps are the purest on the planet. Vitaminshoppe.com is where you will find Black Currant seed oil. Follow my recommendations and in a week or so...you'll be glad you did! I don't use drops for my eyes any longer. http://www.myhomeremedies.com/topic.cgi?topicid=1632

How To Make a Home Remedy For Dry Eyes

Step
1
Close your eyes and place a warm, damp wash cloth over your eyes. Keep it on for about 5 to 10 minutes, re-wetting with warm water as needed. This helps open clogged oil glands in the eyes, thus restoring moisture.

Step
2
Cut fresh slices of cucumber to place on each eyelid. This is one of the home remedies where you must lie down and close your eyes. Keep the cucumbers over your closed eyes as long as possible. The cucumbers help to relax the eyes and stimulate moisture.

Step
3
Put warm water in a bowl and add 2 to 3 drops of lavender oil. Take 2 cotton balls and dip them into this stirred mixture. Squeeze out the excess liquid and place 1 cotton ball on each of your closed eyelids. The lavender oil helps to replace the lost oil in your dry eyes.

Step
4
Brew some tea. Put 2 cotton balls into the warm tea and soak them well. When saturated with tea, place a cotton ball on each eyelid. Leave the tea bags on your dry eyes for about 5 minutes. http://www.ehow.com/how_2213181_make-home-remedy-dry-eyes.html

Oil your eyes with a washcloth compress. "Place a warm washcloth on your closed eyelids for five to ten minutes several times a day to help open the clogged oil glands in the eyelids," says Eric Donnenfeld, M.D., associate professor of ophthalmology at North Shore University Hospital/Cornell Medical College in Manhasset, New York.

Here's why it works. Tears are made up of three components: water, oil and mucus. Artificial tears, the kind sold in eyedropper form in drugstores, can replace the water component of your tears. But those drops don't replace the oil: Only your own eyes can do that. So the warm compress helps your eyes do the work they're supposed to, according to Dr. Donnenfeld.

Using a compress is especially helpful if you have "crusty" eyes when you wake up or at other times of the day, says Dr. Donnenfeld. (About 50 percent of dry-eye sufferers get this crusty condition-called blepharitis-in the morning or during the day.) http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/48/69.cfm

In order to keep your eyes healthy and keep the moisture levels up, it is important to eat lots of green leafy vegetables and drink 8 to 10 glasses of water daily. Avoid sugar, toxic fats found in red meat, fried foods and hydrogenated oils, coffee and smoking. Consume fruits and vegetables rich in Vitamins, especially Vitamin A which is excellent for the eyes and Beta carotene, found in abundance in carrots.

Exercise your eyes by rotating your eye balls and slowly moving them from right to left and vice-versa without moving your head. You can also use a humidifier to keep the air in your room from drying, and splash water in your eyes several times a day.

Dry eyes natural remedies
Normally, each time you blink, a thin film of tears spreads across your eyes. But some people, who suffer from the condition known as dry eyes, find that their eyes are not covered by the film of tears. Not only does this mean that these people are unable to cry, they also suffer from some kind of pain in their eyes. Since there is no protective layer across the eyes, these people find that their eyes burn. Sometimes they experience a stinging sensation in their eyes. An additional problem that may develop is blurring of the vision. In some cases people notice that their eyes are sensitive to light. Dry eyes can be caused due to a variety of reasons – from medications like decongestants to an allergic reaction to some products.

You can use a hot compress on your eyes by dipping a soft towel in hot water and holding it to your eyes. This treatment can be carried out as often as you like during a day. You should also ensure that your surroundings are sufficiently humidified. Avoid turning up the air conditioner or the heating on too high since this affects your eyes. You can also constantly splash water on your face. Ensure that you take regular breaks from your work, especially if this involves staring at the computer screen.

As far as diet is considered, you can increase your intake of fish since they contain fish oils that help the eyes to lubricate. It is better not to consume white bread, processed foods, margarine and refined cereals when you have dry eyes. The intake and use of vegetable oil should also be restricted in your day-to-day cooking.
Tamarind seeds can be soaked in warm water for some time. The extract from the seeds should be taken to help cure dry eyes. This is one of the many useful dry eyes home remedies.

posted May 12, 2009 03:00 PM         

Vitamin A supplements are dangerous to smokers.

Certain contacts actually help one avoid dry eyes.

Do not rub your eyes when hot or having a fever, and never after applying warm tea bags or cloths. The eye can be damaged when overly warm and rubbed.
People with cataracts or Glaucoma should get a doctor's advice.

Makeup can clog tear ducts.
Antihistamines are a common dry eye cause.
If you must use eye drops, use the moisturizing kind.

posted May 14, 2009 11:09 PM         

No, I am not a smoker.

T, a heartfelt thank you for starting this thread for me and everyone else who shares a similar eye condition with me. I visited my ophmothalogist just days ago, and he explained to me that I didn't have the condition called dry eyes (I really don't know what the medical condition is called in English), just that my eyes are dry- kind of difficult to tell the difference between the two conditions he tried to convey to me. I was off LL for ten days because I cried, and then my eyes hurt. I realize that I must not cry again.

I do appreciate the suggestions, T. Some of those are more suitable for me than others. My personal experience tells me that to keep my eyes fit, I need to:

* NEVER cry again

* Sleep well (I have skin allergy all over my body lately, and the itch has been affecting various stages of my sleep. At one point I could not get enough sleep and my eyes hurt even more)

* Spend time in front of the computer screen, e.g. on the Internet, with moderation. The less the better

* Visit parks, gardens, nature where there are many trees, flowers and other plants as frequently as possible. This has proven to be effective for me

After what I went through the past two years, my eyes are a great deal more fragile than they used to be. This fact needs to be taken into consideration.

I am on a peculiar diet for personal reasons. I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian now (but I do not actively consume dairy products, I just don't strictly avoid foods containing them), I eat one egg per day. I would not consume fish oil because I am a vegetarian. My eyes tend to be dry is not due to my being a vegetarian; A lot of other vegetarians can adopt a much more wholesome diet than mine- I remain on my strange diet for good reason. There are many nutritious vegetarian foods that I do not eat. However, I know I don't need to stay this way for long.

I tend not to take nutrient supplements as those are literally medications to me. The fewer medicines I take the better. A person with a wholesome diet would not need such supplements. Those are drugs.

Still, there are many great remedies mentioned in the initial post by T. I'm going to memorize those, and complement those with my own basics for keeping my good eyes.

All in all, I do very much appreciate it, T.

D

posted May 18, 2009 01:15 AM         

Randall,

Normally, there is nothing wrong with crying. It's extremely personal for me however. I used to abuse my eyes with excessive television viewing, Internet usage, long hours of reading, staying up and sleep too little...and each time my eyes began to hurt, I would rest, and when they got better, I did all those things I shouldn't do again. Two years ago, I experienced a lifetime crisis, and I shed a great deal of tears. After two years of harsh circumstances for survival, my whole body, among which, my skin and my eyes, has begun to age a little prematurely. Crying is usually not a bad thing, as long as it's for expressing and releasing your emotions, or being honest with yourself. However, I can no longer afford shedding more tears. If I cried, my eyes would be painful for days. The immense life force in tears and in the eyes is overlooked by the majority of humankind. In any event, I need my eyes to be fit for future purposes, and I simply must not cry again, if I want to keep my good eyes.

T, I am still learning to listen to my own gut-feelings and act according to my intuition. I'm getting there.

D