Prevention of Dry Eye

Most dry eye is built slowly, by habit and environment - which is good news, because habits and environments can be changed before symptoms ever settle in.

Screen and work habits:

• Follow the 20-20-20 rule - every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
• Blink completely and often. Screen staring halves the blink rate and makes blinks incomplete; the oil glands only empty on full blinks.
• Position screens below eye level so the eyelids open narrower.
• Take real breaks - the eyes recover during them, just as muscles do.

Air and environment:

• Keep fans and AC vents off your face, at home, at work and in the car.
• Humidify dry rooms - a humidifier, or simply indoor plants and a water bowl, in heavy AC use.
• Wraparound sunglasses outdoors against wind, dust and dry heat.
• Don't smoke, and avoid smoky rooms - smoke is a direct tear-film toxin.

Eye and lens care:

• Contact lens discipline: daily wear limits, never sleeping in lenses, regular replacement, and lens-free days to let the cornea breathe.
• Remove eye makeup fully at night; blocked lid glands begin at the lash line.
• Treat eyelid (blepharitis) early - lid margin inflammation is the seed of evaporative dry eye.