Dry eye syndrome is a common eye condition that leads to irritation and grittiness in the eyes. In addition to the symptoms of discomfort, dry eyes can cause blurry vision. This blurred vision is often able to be cleared with a blink or by rubbing the eyes. Any time there is intermittent blurred vision, dry eyes are at the top of the list for potential causes. In these cases, treating the underlying dry eye will also improve blurry vision.
What is Dry Eye Syndrome?
Dry eye syndrome is the term given to a group of eye conditions that lead to symptoms of dryness and ocular irritation.
Dry eyes can be a result of insufficient tear production, abnormal tear composition, or due to an anatomical change like not completely closing the eyelids during a blink.
If the dry eyes are due to insufficient tear production, the lacrimal or tear gland may be functioning at a lesser than normal rate or be impacted by medications such as antihistamines.
If the cause of the dryness is poor tear quality, it is likely that the oil glands that contribute to the oil-producing component of the tears are clogged, damaged, or missing.
When the eyelids do not close completely, when sleeping or blinking, the tears are unable to be distributed properly across the front of the eye.
If the eyes are particularly dry in the morning, it is possible that the eyelids are not closing entirely throughout the night.
How Does Dry Eye Impact Vision?
Dry eyes can have many impacts on eye health, but the main symptoms that are perceived are blurred vision and irritation of the eye.
When the eyes are dry, the tear film is unable to completely cover the outer surface of the eyes.
This leads to areas of the tear film that pool or gather tears and other areas that dry out from the lack of tears.
This variation in the front surface can lead to blurred vision from the different optical qualities of the areas.
Blinking will redistribute the tears across the eye and should correct any blurred vision from the dryness.
The more often blinking is needed, the drier the eyes are likely to be. It can become so bothersome that in order to see clearly, a new blink is needed every time focus is shifted.
How to Treat Blurry Vision from Dry Eyes
While blinking can improve blurred vision, it is not a long-term treatment option for most cases.
Instead, the underlying dry eye symptoms need to be addressed and treated.
Artificial tears, warm compresses, punctal plugs, prescription eye drops, light therapy, and even a prescription nasal spray can be used for treating dry eyes.
Usually, over-the-counter options will be used to treat mild dry eye symptoms and more involved therapy choices are reserved for symptoms that persist even with early treatments.
If vision is blurred from the dryness, some measure of treatment should be initiated to improve the dry eye symptoms.
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