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Tips to salve those dry, winter eyes – Metro US

Tips to salve those dry, winter eyes

Polly Dewulf suffers from dry eyes. A very common condition in Calgary, where there’s little humidity.

“It’s very irritating, it’s a scratchy feeling, and very, very sore at night.”

That’s why she is seeing her optometrist Dr. Paul Dame regularly these days.

“It’s basically an evaporation of the tear film on the eye, and the tear film is the key thing with regard to the eye, as far as keeping it lubricated. In Calgary, where we don’t have much humidity, tear film evaporates very quickly, so we have very thin tears that lead to dry eye,” Dame said.

The traditional treatment is eye drops, but they can be difficult for some to use.

“You have to use drops quite regularly in Calgary in winter,, so it’s not that practical.”

In addition to drops, one of the best things to treat or even prevent dry eye is to use omega-threes that can be found in fish oils.

“I try to promote with my patients lets not put as much stuff on the eye, but work from the inside out,” said Dame.

It also helps to make some changes to your diet.

Dame often counsels patients about cutting down on caffeine that can dehydrate eyes. And of course, drinking more water is a no-brainer.