The best eye drops for dry eyes UK

The best eye drops for dry eyes UK

There are several types of eye drops to treat different symptoms of dry eyes, and numerous brands sell those eye drops, with and without preservatives. So if you’ve recently developed dry eyes and are looking to relieve your symptoms with eye drops, it can be a daunting task finding the best eye drops for dry eyes.

You can shop around to find which eye drops work best for you, but ultimately, you’re better off seeing an eye specialist to find the cause of your dry eyes in order to find the best treatment for them.

Let’s look at what the main causes of dry eyes are, so you can find the best eye drops for your dry eyes.

What causes dry eyes?

Dry eyes can be caused by environmental factors, lifestyle factors, medical conditions and side effects of medicines, so it’s useful to see your GP or an eye specialist to get to the bottom of your dry eyes to know whether simple changes can relieve your symptoms.

The main environmental causes of dry eyes include:

• Air conditioning (especially on aeroplanes).
• Cold, dry winds (especially when cycling).

While lifestyle factors include:

• Not drinking enough water.
• Looking at a computer screen for extended periods and at close range.
• Vitamin A deficiency.
• Omega-3 oil deficiency.

If any of these are the cause of your dry eyes, they should go away on its own after a few days, or can easily be rectified by changing your diet and water intake. However, if you have a health condition such as a thyroid disorder, a chalazion blocking your tear duct, or rheumatoid arthritis, you should see your GP for advice on how to treat the condition, and an eye specialist to help you with your symptoms of dry eyes.

Your GP may also be able to change your medication if it’s the cause of your dry eyes. Some medications that cause dry eyes include:

• Birth control.
• Antidepressants.
• Antihistamines.
• Antihypertensives.

Don’t stop taking your medicine without consulting a doctor, even if you have developed dry eyes. Book an appointment with a medical professional as soon as possible to discuss changing your medication.

Who is most susceptible to dry eyes?

Some people are unfortunately more susceptible than others to developing dry eyes. People over the age of 50 start to produce fewer fluids, which causes their skin to lose elasticity and their eyes to become drier. So you may experience dry eyes as you get older and should start using eye drops to relieve your symptoms to avoid complications and discomfort.

Other eye complaints are also more common with age, including:

• Glaucoma.
• Cataracts.
• Macular degeneration.

However, although you may also experience dry eyes with age, there is no causal link between the two conditions.

Women are also more at risk of developing dry eyes, as it is a common symptom of hormonal changes. Although men do experience hormone changes throughout their lives, during puberty and the gradual decline of testosterone thereafter, hormone changes are more common and extreme in women, with hormones changing significantly through each menstrual cycle.

Women also experience great hormonal changes through pregnancy and the menopause, and will likely experience dry eyes during each of these periods.

As with eye conditions, women are very likely to experience headaches during each hormonal change; however, there hasn’t yet been conclusive evidence to point to dry eyes causing headaches or vice versa.

How do you treat dry eyes?

If your dry eyes have been caused by an environmental factor, they will get better naturally and won’t require treatment. However, if you have dry eyes due to a lifestyle factor such as working from a computer (or a laptop, as these screens are often much closer) or have an underlying health condition, you should seek treatment for your symptoms.

Dry eyes can feel like they’re stinging, burning, itching or as though there is something stuck in their eye, which is caused by the surface of the eye drying and becoming sensitive to the air, as well as bacteria and dust particles that would usually be flushed away with our tears and blinking.

The best treatment for dry eyes is, therefore, eye drops, as they can replicate the moistening effect of tears, making our eyes feel more comfortable, and help clear dust and debris from our eyes, draining into the tear duct or being swept away with mucus to the corner of our eye to be washed away.

Is there a natural remedy for dry eyes?

Natural remedies can be great as they generally save us money by using household items, and we know exactly what ingredients we’re using, so if you’ve got a cold, go ahead and make yourself a hot lemon with ginger and turmeric to treat your symptoms. However, dry eyes are unfortunately not treatable with natural remedies.

Some people recommend putting a drop of coconut oil on each eye before bed, as it has some qualities as an antiseptic and moistens our skin nicely; however, this is not recommended by eye specialists and has not been proven to be safe or effective.

If you want a natural remedy for dry eyes, your best option is to increase your water intake to ensure you’re well hydrated.

What are the best eye drops for dry eyes?

There is no one answer for the best eye drops for you, as eye drops work in different ways for different issues; sometimes dry eyes can be caused by insufficient tears, while for others it can be the excessive drainage of those tears that dries out our eyes.

The NHS recommends eye drops with the ingredient carmellose sodium as the best treatment for dry eyes, as it helps to lubricate the surface of our eyes. It’s available with and without preservatives, so people with allergies can still use it and have no common side effects. Preservatives are added to keep eye drops safer for longer, but single-dose eye drops are available, which are preservative-free.

However, if you’re looking for a popular brand of eye drops, you can try:

• Hycosan Eye Drops.
• Biotrue Hydration Boost.
• Thealoz Dry Eye Drops.
• Blink GelTears Lubricating Dry Eye Drops.

Eye drops are available to buy over the counter in most pharmacies, so you don’t need a prescription from a specialist before treating your symptoms. However, if your symptoms don’t improve, you should see a specialist for advice.

Can you cure dry eyes?

Dry eyes can be a great nuisance or, at worst, severe pain and if you’ve ever experienced them, you’ll want to know if there’s a cure (and if not, who’s working on it?). Unfortunately, there is no permanent cure for dry eyes; however, eye drops do effectively relieve symptoms and allow people with severe dry eye syndrome to live their lives in relative comfort. Untreated dry eyes may not cause vitreous detachment or lead directly to blindness; however, they can leave people vulnerable to infections such as blepharitis or conjunctivitis, so seeking treatment early on is crucial.

You can also make small changes, like adding a humidifier to your room in particularly dry weather, avoiding air-conditioning and wearing wrap-around glasses when cycling or going out in cold windy weather to prevent your symptoms from worsening.

However, in very severe cases of dry eyes, eye specialists may recommend a surgical procedure. Punctal plug insertion is a common treatment for severe dry eyes, where small plugs are inserted into the tear duct to prevent tears from evaporating or being drained too quickly. However, after this procedure, you will usually still need to use eye drops to moisten your eyes.

A Minor Salivary Gland Transplant is another, less common procedure, that has also been shown to be effective in treating dry eyes, as it places salivary glands from your mouth next to your tear duct to replicate the formation of tears to lubricate your eyes.

See the Eye and Dental Clinic for expert eye care today

At the Eye and Dental Clinic, we have an expert team of ophthalmologists ready to treat your eye conditions. Contact us to book an appointment today or read through our latest news to learn more about your condition.

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