What Are The Best Dry Eye Supplements?

Vitamin supplements can be helpful in treating dry eye. But which are the best?

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What Are The Best Dry Eye Supplements? in Hixson

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Vitamin supplements have been found to be helpful in reducing dry eye symptoms. What exactly do they do, and where can you get them?

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3s can help reduce inflammation on and around the eye. They can also help improve your tear quality by helping your meibomian glands, which produce oils that keep your tears from evaporating too quickly.

You can take omega-3 supplements as directed by a doctor, and they can also be found in various foods, including:

Fish
Soybeans
Green, leafy vegetables
Vegetable oil

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, also referred to as ascorbic acid, is helpful for several things related to the eyes, including the health of the blood vessels in the eyes, and in preventing cataracts, in addition to promoting overall eye health.

Vitamin C can be taken as a supplement, as directed by a doctor, and can be found in several foods, including:

Citrus fruits
Tomatoes
Cooked spinach
Apples
Bananas

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and can help prevent eye damage, in addition to boosting the immune system. It too can be taken as a supplement per a doctor’s direction, and can be found in several foods, such as:

Peanut butter
Sunflower seeds
Hazelnuts
Almonds
Sweet potatoes

Zinc

Zinc is a mineral which helps get important vitamin A to the retina to produce melanin, a pigment which protects the eyes. Zinc is not naturally made by the body, and zinc deficiency can lead to several problems, including an increased risk of eye infection.

Zinc can also be taken as a supplement, per a doctor’s directions, but it too is found in various foods, including:

Meat
Certain types of fish and seafood such as oysters, anchovies, sardines, crab, shrimp, and lobster
Milk
Beans
Nuts
Yogurt
Eggs
Fortified cereals

Common Questions

Are there dry eyes home remedies that work?

Some at-home remedies to relieve your symptoms of dry eyes is to apply warm compresses over your eyes for 10minutes. Some ways to achieve this at home is to boil an egg or potato then wrap it in a paper towel to place over your eyes to allow for consistent heat over your eyes. You can also heat up a bag of rice as an alternative warm compress. Taking omega-3 fish oil vitamins can also help. Also, if you stare at a digital device screen for long periods of time remember to take breaks; every 20 minutes look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

What are the typical treatments used to help people suffering from Dry Eyes?

There are various treatments used to help people who suffer from dry eyes. The type of treatment depends on the severity and type of dry eyes (aqueous or evaporative). One treatment option is to apply warm compresses 2x a day for 10 minutes over your eyes with lid massage and lid scrubs. Also using over the counter artificial tears 2-4x a day can reduce your dryness. If your dry eyes are more severe, you can also add a gel drop or ointment at night, and/or add prescription eye drops for dry eyes, such as Restasis or Xiidra. Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface, and one component that causes dry eyes is ocular surface inflammation and damage; so Xiidra and Restasis work by regulating the inflammatory processes in the eye that can affect tear production. Another treatment for dry eyes is to have your eye doctor insert punctal plugs in the inner corners of your eyes, which partially closes one of your tear ducts to allow your tears to stay longer on the front surface of your eyes and keep your eyes lubricated. There are also other in-office devices such as LipiFlow, iLUX, TearCare, Intense Pulsed Light, or Blephex that your eye doctor can use to treat your symptoms of dryness. Furthermore, changing your environment can also help reduce your dry eyes, such as adding a humidifier to your room or taking frequent breaks from your digital devices.

What eye drops do you recommend for dry eye syndrome?

Depending on the severity of your dry eyes there are different eye drops we would recommend. If you have the milder version of dry eyes then over the counter artificial tears such as Systane Balance or Refresh Optive Artificial Tears may be sufficient enough to help relieve your symptoms of dry eyes. However, if you have more moderate/severe dry eyes a more viscous drop such as a gel drop or ointment may be more beneficial. In the event that over the counter eye drops are not providing much relief, there are other various prescription eye drops that your eye doctor can prescribe, such as Restasis or Cequa or Xiidra. Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface, and one component that causes dry eyes is ocular surface inflammation and damage; so Xiidra and Restasis/Cequa work by regulating the inflammatory processes in the eye that can affect tear production.

Consult a Doctor

Before you start taking any supplements to help with your dry eye, be sure to consult your doctor. Some vitamins and minerals can accumulate in the body and cause problems if too much is taken, especially if taken as a supplement. If you are interested in taking supplements to help with your dry eye or have other questions, you can contact Amplify EyeCare Chattanooga at (423) 710 3965 to schedule an appointment for a consultation. Patients with dry eyes visit our clinic from all over Tennessee, and we are proud to be a leading provider of dry eye care for patients from Hixson, Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Middle Valley.

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Vision therapy is well worth the response, time and effort. Our Son had a hard time focusing and writing neatly. After vision therapy Seth could complete a task in half the time if previously took. His abilities to focus improved greatly and so did his handwriting.

Also, he was better at listening. As a parent, we wanted learning to be fun for our Son, and vision therapy made this possible.

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Vision Therapy is well worth the expense, time and effort. Our son had a hard time focusing handwriting neatly. After vision therapy Seth could complete a task in half the time it previously took his abilities to focus and improved greatly and so did his handwriting.

Also, he was better at listening. As a parent you wanted learning to be fun for our son and vision therapy made this possible.

Alexa H.

Vision Therapy has given or son the tools he needs to be able to scan and read the written word more effectively and efficiently.

He love working with John and these working sessions give him the motivation to gladly work on his homework assignments.

It amazed us to see the difference in the tracking of his eyes and along a line of it's from the beginning to the end of the treatment.

Dr. McBryar , Kristen and John are all marvelous and we would recommend them to anyone I only wish that we would have found them sooner!

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Prior to coming to the institute for vision development my son complained of daily headaches. Therapy has eliminated his headaches completely. I love knowing my son is able to learn pain-free for the rest of his life because of the work that has been done over just a few weeks in this office. He he absolutely loved coming that didn't even feel like going to a doctor or therapy. We are grateful for the relief he was able to find by coming here.

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When we first came to the practice, my son did not have huge issues, but lots of small ones- trouble with reading, sports (hitting the baseball consistently), coordination, etc- that were not easily detectable,but when put together presented issues. The staff here were all very professional and loving towards him. While I was concerned in the reading, my son was concerned with the athletic side. Seeing improvement night off the bat gave him confidence that i have nor seen in him and made him want to not only Come to therapy, but also made him want to work hard. He has surpassed his grade level and above in reading and hit his first home run this year! Thank you!!!