Common questions
Why eyes water when they are dry, what grittiness actually is, whether it is allergy instead, and what to do about any of it.
Why this page exists
These are the questions people ask at the front desk, in the chair, and on the phone. Each one has a short answer here and a fuller explanation behind it.
None of it replaces an assessment. The same symptom can come from blocked oil glands, from lid margin inflammation or from allergy, and those are treated differently — which is the honest reason we keep pointing at an appointment rather than a product.
Short answers here, full explanations behind each one.
Watering eyes are usually a symptom of dry eye, not the opposite of it. When the tear film breaks down, the surface of the eye becomes irritated and responds by flooding itself with a rush of watery tears — which run down your cheek rather than coating the eye properly. Treating the underlying dryness is usually what stops the watering.
The usual signs are burning, grittiness, redness, watering, and vision that blurs then clears when you blink. A strong clue is the pattern: dry eye typically gets worse through the day and worse on screens. What it is not is something you can diagnose from symptoms alone, because the treatment depends on what your glands are doing.
A contact lens sits in your tear film, so it is only ever as comfortable as that tear film is. Lenses that were fine for years and now fail by mid-afternoon are one of the most reliable signs of evaporative dry eye — the lens has not changed, the tear layer holding it has.
That sandy, something-in-the-eye feeling usually means the surface of your eye is drying out between blinks. The grit is not debris — it is the sensation of dry patches forming on a surface that should stay evenly wet. Inflammation along the lid margin often adds to it.
Vision that softens and then sharpens when you blink is usually about the tear film, not your prescription. The tear film is the first surface light passes through, so when it breaks up between blinks, the image genuinely goes out of focus until the next blink resurfaces it.
The most useful single question is whether your eyes itch. Itch is the hallmark of allergy; burning, grittiness and a sandy feeling point towards dry eye. The complication is that the two frequently occur together, and each makes the other worse.
Drops are worth using, but it helps to be clear about what they do: artificial tears top up the watery layer, and most dry eye is a problem with the oil layer. They relieve the symptom for a while without changing what is causing it. As for which to buy: preservative-free, which is always our recommendation.
Yes, with a few adjustments. The one worth knowing about is tightlining — drawing liner along the inner rim of the lid. That line runs directly over the openings of the oil glands, and blocking them is exactly what causes evaporative dry eye.
It helps, but it is not the cure people hope for. Water is a major component of tears, so being dehydrated gives your body less to work with — but most dry eye is a problem with the oil layer, not the watery one. Drinking more will not unblock a meibomian gland.
Yes — Omega-3 is anti-inflammatory and supplements the oily layer of the tear film, which is why it is one of the four things we prescribe as a set. But the form and the dose decide whether it does anything, and plenty of supplements on a shop shelf fall short on one or both.
Commonly, yes — at least for a period. Laser surgery interrupts the corneal nerves involved in triggering tear production, so the eye makes fewer tears and feels dry while those nerves recover. For most people it settles over months. If you already have dry eye, it is worth treating before surgery rather than after.
Yes — and ideally well before the date. Surgery is planned from measurements taken off the surface of your eye, and that surface is the tear film. Settle it first and the measurements are more reliable, the healing is smoother and the result lasts better. A healthier eye is a better seeing eye.
Where treatment starts
Visit one of our experienced optometrists to get started on your journey to true dry eye relief. The exam is what separates blocked oil glands from allergy, from lid margin inflammation, from everything else that produces the same symptoms — and it is what tells us whether the treatments we offer will help you.
If your question is about your own eyes rather than eyes in general, that is what an assessment is for — and it is the only way to answer it properly.