Dietary choices can help you avoid dry eye syndrome
Keeping it Artificial
Dry eyes can be annoying, but chronic dry eye syndrome can be dangerous, prompting cornea damage and even vision loss.
Dry eye syndrome (DES) is most common among those who wear contact lenses, women during menopause, and patients who have undergone laser eye surgery. Older people may also experience DES because our bodies produce less oil as we age, which can throw off the balance of water, salt, proteins, mucus, and oil that coat and protect the surface of the eye.
Many doctors treat DES with Restasis, a prescription medication that helps produce tears. But look at this list of potential side effects:
- Temporary burning
- Eye pain
- Itching
- Stinging
- Blurred vision
You might end up wishing your eyes were just dry again.
Tears fall down
Most over-the-counter “artificial tears” treatments for dry eye contain hyaluronic acid (HA), which has one key drawback: it doesn’t remain on the ocular surface very long. In a study from Italy’s University of Genoa, researchers tested HA against tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP), extracted from tamarind tree seeds. TSP has a molecular structure much like mucus, which helps it stay longer on the surface of the eye.
STUDY PROFILE
- Researchers randomly assigned 30 subjects with DES to receive either TSP 0.5 percent, TSP 1 percent, or HA 0.2 percent at least three times daily for 90 days
- The TSP 1 percent applications worked better than HA in relieving ocular burning, ocular pain, blinking trouble, and sensation of foreign body
- None of the three groups reported blurred vision, ocular burning, or ocular itching when treatments were administered
- No overall adverse reactions were reported in any of the three groups
TSP eye drops may be hard to find, but TSP is used as an ingredient in some commercial treatments.
Oil shortage
As I mentioned above, a reduction in natural oils produced by the body may play a role in dry eye syndrome.
In a 2005 study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, dietary intake was assessed for more than 32,000 women between the ages of 45 and 84. About 1,500 of the subjects had been diagnosed with DES.
Analysis of the data showed that women who had the lowest intake of omega-3 fatty acids were 20 percent more likely to develop DES compared to women with the highest intake. Omega-3 from tuna provided the most effective prevention: Women who ate five or more tuna servings per week reduced DES risk by more than 65 percent compared to women who had only one serving of tuna per week.
If you have chronic dry eyes, talk to doctor before using TSP eye drops or omega-3 supplements.
Sources:
“Learn About Restasis” restasis.com
“Establishing the Tolerability and performance of Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide (TSP) in Treating Dry Eye Syndrome: Results of a Clinical Study” BMC Ophthalmology, Vol. 7, No. 5, 3/29/07, biomedcentral.com
“Relation Between Dietary n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids and Clinically Diagnosed Dry Eye Syndrome in Women” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 82, No. 4, October 2005, ajcn.org
