Waking up with dry eyes: 11 ways to treat and prevent them

Are you suffering with dry eyes? Here is all you need to prevent and treat them.

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Dry eye is a common condition that happens when your eyes don’t produce enough tears to lubricate your eyes, or the tears evaporate too quickly. It can be uncomfortable experience waking up with dry eyes, leaving you with itchy, dry, and a burning sensation in your eyes. 

Dry Eye Symptoms

Here’s some symptoms to look out for:

• Blurred vision
• Blood shot and eye redness that progresses through the day
• Discomfort, or an itchy sensation 
• Feeling as there’s eyelashes in your eye or a sandy / burning sensation

What Causes Dry Eyes?

There’s nothing worse than waking up with dry eyes, having made social plans, work and other commitments. Here are some of the common causes that lead to dry eyes, and how you could potentially avoid this situation from happening.

• Prolonged use of contact lenses
• Constant exposure to wind or dry air
• Allergies to pet or dust 
• Not blinking for a long time
• Staring at a screen for too long
• Medications 
• Vitamin deficiency
• Excessively rubbing your eye, which could also lead to your eye lashes falling out. If you are wondering how long it takes for them to grow back, see my article here.

Embracing a few important strategies, can help you avoid this situation.

Vitamins and diet

Waking up with dry eyes can also be a result of a vitamin deficiency. Consider vitamin A, B and D in your diet. Vitamin D Rich foods such as salmon, sardines, chia seeds, almonds, seeds are all great sources for vitamins D. Also eggs, orange Joyce, carrots, greens such as broccoli, kale or spinach are perfect for vitamin A and B. 

Cucumber

Cucumbers are widely considered a great option for treating dry eyes. The water helps soothe your eyes, reduce inflammation and redness. Cucumber is also rich in vitamin A. Simply Cut a chilled cucumber into round slices, stick a good podcast or playlist on, get comfy, place them on closed eyes, and sit back and relax!

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile is a great way to help you relieve your dry and inflamed eyes. Chamomile tea has natural calming ingredients, with anti-inflammatory and soothing properties

Waking up with dry eyes – Treatment 

To prevent your dry eyes symptoms, review your daily routine and activities, to ensure that your not doing anything which could irritate your eyes or make them worse.

• Eye drops. Use eyedrops to keep them lubricated.
• Avoid dry air. A humidifier is a perfect way to add moisture into the air and help your dry eyes. This is also beneficial for any dry skin conditions such as dry elbows, dry knees and itchy ears.
• Sunglasses. Glasses can help to block wind going into your eye. Also, consider blue light glasses to prevent strain, damage leading to dry eyes.
• Avoid air blowing in your eyes. Invest in a high quality hair dryer. Don’t direct hair dryers, car heaters, air conditioners or fans toward your eyes.
• Take a break. Particularly when using a computer or your phone, take a break and close your eyes for ac couple of minutes.
• For your home or work office, invest in an adjustable monitor arm and position your computer screen below eye level so that you won’t strain your eyes too much by looking upward.
• Believe it or not, crying can also have its benefits when it comes to dry eyes. Not only it has a soothing effect on dry eyes, it may also reduce the risk of eye lashes falling out and even make them grow longer.