You're sitting at your desk and suddenly it feels like someone threw a handful of fine sand directly into your eyelids. You blink. Nothing changes. You blink again, harder this time, and your vision blurs for a second before that familiar, stinging scratchiness returns. Most people think they know what to do with dry eyes—they grab a bottle of whatever "redness relief" was on sale at the pharmacy and move on. Honestly? That’s probably the worst thing you could do.
Dry eye syndrome isn't just a minor annoyance you should "power through" while staring at a MacBook for nine hours straight. It’s a legitimate chronic condition called Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca. It affects nearly 16 million Americans, and for many, it’s not even about a lack of tears. It’s about the quality of those tears. Your eyes are basically covered in a complex sandwich of oil, water, and mucus. If one of those layers is off, you’re in trouble.
Why your tears are basically failing you
We need to talk about the Meibomian glands. These tiny little structures live in your eyelids and they’re responsible for the "oil" part of the tear film. Without that oil, your tears evaporate almost instantly. It’s like putting water on a hot sidewalk; it’s gone before it can do any good. This is called Evaporative Dry Eye, and it accounts for about 85% of cases.
When people ask what to do with dry eyes, they usually focus on adding more moisture. But if your oil glands are clogged, adding more water-based drops is like pouring water into a bucket with a giant hole in the bottom. You have to fix the bucket.
The screen time trap is real
Think about how you're reading this right now. You’re likely staring at a phone or a monitor. When we look at screens, our blink rate drops by about 60%. We don’t just blink less; we perform "incomplete blinks," where the lids don't even touch. This prevents the Meibomian glands from being squeezed, which means the oil gets thick, waxy, and eventually stops flowing altogether. It’s a recipe for permanent gland atrophy. Once those glands are dead, they don't come back.
Practical steps for what to do with dry eyes right now
First, ditch any drop that says "gets the red out." Products like Visine contain vasoconstrictors like tetrahydrozoline. They shrink your blood vessels to make your eyes look white, but they don't hydrate anything. In fact, they can cause "rebound redness" where your eyes look even worse once the meds wear off.
Switch to preservative-free artificial tears. Preservatives like Benzalkonium Chloride (BAK) are actually toxic to the ocular surface if used more than four times a day. If you’re reaching for drops every hour, go for the single-use vials. They’re annoying to open, sure, but your cornea will thank you.
Warm compresses are the secret weapon
If you want to know what to do with dry eyes that actually solves the root problem, buy a microwaveable eye mask. A warm washcloth doesn't work. Why? Because a washcloth loses its heat in 60 seconds. To melt the thickened oils in your eyelids, you need sustained heat at about 102 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 10 minutes.
- Buy a Bruder mask or a similar beaded mask.
- Heat it up (test it on your wrist first, don't burn your lids).
- Lie down for 10 minutes.
- Gently massage the lids afterward to help the melted oil express.
When the "home stuff" isn't enough
Sometimes, the environment is just stacked against you. If you live in a dry climate like Denver or Phoenix, or if you work in an office with industrial-grade HVAC systems sucking every drop of moisture out of the air, your eyes are fighting a losing battle. A humidifier on your desk is a game changer. It sounds like something your grandma would suggest, but increasing the local humidity around your workspace can reduce tear evaporation significantly.
There’s also the nutritional angle. The TFOS DEWS II report—a massive, global consensus on dry eye—noted the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids. But don't just grab the cheapest fish oil at the grocery store. You’re looking for the re-esterified triglyceride form, which is absorbed better by the body. Brands like PRN or Nordic Naturals are often recommended by ophthalmologists because they actually reach the concentration needed to change the chemistry of your oil glands.
Medication and clinical interventions
If you've tried the masks and the drops and you're still miserable, it's time for the big guns. Prescription drops like Restasis (Cyclosporine), Xiidra (Lifitegrast), or Cequa work by reducing the inflammation on the surface of the eye. This isn't an overnight fix. These drugs often take three to six months to show full results. It's a marathon.
Then there’s LipiFlow or iLux. These are in-office procedures where a doctor uses a device to heat and "pulse" your eyelids. It’s essentially a professional-grade declogging of your oil glands. It’s pricey—often not covered by insurance—but for people with severe Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), it can provide relief that lasts for six months to a year.
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The weird things that make dry eyes worse
You might be surprised by what's sabotaging your comfort.
- Ceiling fans: If you sleep with a fan blowing directly on your face, you're basically "curing" your eyes like beef jerky overnight.
- Retinol creams: Anti-aging creams containing tretinoin or retinol can migrate into the eyelids and damage the oil glands. If you're using high-strength Retin-A, keep it far away from the orbital bone.
- Antihistamines: Benadryl or Claritin might stop your sneezing, but they dry out your mucus membranes everywhere, including your eyes.
- Makeup habits: Tightlining—applying eyeliner to the inner rim of your lashes—literally plugs the holes where the oil is supposed to come out.
Actionable roadmap for long-term relief
Figuring out what to do with dry eyes requires a systematic approach rather than a "scattergun" method of trying random products.
Start with the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds and blink forcefully five times. It sounds trivial. It isn't. It resets your blink reflex.
Next, audit your environment. Point car vents away from your face. If you're a contact lens wearer, talk to your doctor about switching to daily disposables or Scleral lenses. Scleral lenses are large-diameter gas-permeable lenses that trap a reservoir of saline against your eye all day. They are life-changing for people with severe disease.
Lastly, get a formal Tear Breakup Time (TBUT) test from an eye doctor. They’ll put a little yellow dye in your eye and watch how long it takes for your tear film to "pop" under a blue light. If it pops in under 10 seconds, you have dry eye. If it’s under 5 seconds, you have a serious problem that needs more than just over-the-counter help.
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Stop ignoring the grit. Your vision depends on a smooth, wet surface to refract light properly. If that surface is jagged and dry, your vision will fluctuate, your head will ache, and you’ll be exhausted by noon. Take the heat, take the Omegas, and put down the "redness" drops.
Immediate Next Steps
- Switch to preservative-free drops immediately if you use them more than 4x daily.
- Invest in a dedicated eye heating mask (not a washcloth) and use it nightly for 10 minutes.
- Adjust your workstation so you are looking slightly downward at your monitor; this keeps the eyelids lower and reduces the exposed surface area of the eye.
- Schedule a specialized dry eye evaluation that includes Meibography (imaging of the glands) to see how much functional tissue you have left.