Health News Share Email Print Discover tips for dealing with dry eye The gritty, burning discomfort of dry eye occurs when our eyes don’t make enough tears to keep them healthy and wet or when the tears don’t work well. If you have dry eye, your doctor may suggest treatments like artificial tears. There are also other things you might try. EASE THE SYMPTOMS OF DRY EYE: Avoid hair dryers. The air can dry your eyes. Use a humidifier. Moist indoor air may help your peepers. Keep the wind out of your eyes. Wear wraparound sunglasses when outdoors. Drink more water—at least 8 daily cups. Ask your doctor about omega-3s. Omega-3 fatty acids from food or supplements may be helpful for some people with dry eye. Eye diseases don't always have symptoms at first. That's why getting comprehensive eye exams is important. Have a look at how regular eye exams can help keep you seeing clearly. Reviewed 7/17/2023 Sources American Academy of Opthalmology. "What Is Dry Eye? Symptoms, Causes and Treatment." https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-dry-eye. American Optometric Association. "Dry Eye." https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/dry-eye?sso=y. National Eye Institute. "Dry Eye." https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/dry-eye. Related stories Health information main Health tools go Select a health topic ADHD Aging Alcohol use disorder Allergies Alternative medicine Alzheimer's disease Arthritis Asthma Babies Backs Bladder Bones Brain Breast cancer Cancer Cancer prevention Caregiving Cervical cancer Children and parenting Cholesterol Colds Colorectal cancer Coronavirus Dental care Depression Diabetes Disaster preparedness Down syndrome Ears Eating disorders Emergencies End of life/Palliative care Environmental health Epilepsy Eyes Fall prevention Family and relationships Feet Fitness and exercise Flu Food safety Hair Headache Health assessments Health calculators Healthcare Heart attack Heart health Hepatitis Hernia High blood pressure Hips HIV/AIDS Holiday health Hormones Imaging Incontinence Joints Kidneys Knees Leukemia Liver Lung cancer Lungs Medications Men's health Menopause Mental health Multiple sclerosis Nails Nose Nutrition Obesity Oral cancer Ovaries Pain Parkinson's disease Pets Pneumonia Pregnancy Prostate cancer Rehabilitation Reproductive health Safety School health Sexuality Sexually transmitted infections Skin Skin cancer Sleep Smoking Sports injuries Stomach pain Stress and anxiety Stroke Substance use disorder Summer safety Surgery Teen health Throat Thyroid Travel Vaccines Vascular health Violence Vitamins and supplements Weight management Winter health Women's health Workplace health Wound care i Providers Ophthalmology RSS If you have questions or comments, please contact Randolph Health. Problems reading or opening a page? Legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site.