Our human body is approximately composed of 60% water. , Hhydration has always been deemed essential for the body, especially for proper organ and tissue functioning, and overall health and well-being.
Eye care is not an exception. When it comes to eye health, we don’t always pay attention to the connection and importance of hydration even though it plays an important role in taking care of our vision and preventing various eye conditions.
Keep reading to find out how keeping yourself hydrated will take care of your eyes plus some tips to make sure to keep your eyes healthy and hydrated.
How important is hydration for the eyes?
Simply put, our eyes need fluids to function properly and water is a significant component of the fluids that nourish the eyes. This includes the aqueous humor or the clear fluid in the front part of the eye, and the tears that lubricate the surface of our eyes. When we have enough water in the body, these fluids maintain the balance to support eye health and functions like the following:
- Tears Production and Eye Lubrication
Tears are important as they keep our eyes moist and comfortable. Tears also protect the eyes from irritants such as dust, dirt, and allergens that sometimes get into our eyes. It provides a smooth surface on the eye’s cornea for clear vision. Getting Keeping yourself regularly hydrated makes sure that the tear glands produce enough tears to keep the eyes lubricated. Dehydration causes decrease in tear production, resulting in discomfort and having dry and irritated eyes. - Nutrient Delivery and Waste Removal
The aqueous humor (the clear liquid inside the front part of the eye) helps deliver nutrients to the cornea and lens, two avascular structures that lack blood vessels. This makes hydration essential for the proper circulation of fluids in and around our eyes. The aqueous humor also removes waste products from our areas and dehydration can worsen this process, resulting in the buildup of toxins and causing eye strain, inflammation, and other eye-related complications. - Maintaining Eye Pressure Maintenance
The fluid pressure inside our eyes, known as the Intraocular pressure (IOP), is regulated by the production and drainage of aqueous humor. It is essential to maintain optimal IOP as it helps prevent potential eye conditions such as development of glaucoma, an eye disease causing vision loss and blindness through optic nerve damage, if not treated. Proper hydration helps regulate the balance between the production and drainage of the aqueous humor, regulating healthy eye pressure, while dehydration increases the risk of developing elevated IOP. - Eye Strain and Fatigue Prevention
Not getting enough water, or chronic dehydration leads to general fatigue, including eye strain. Dehydration can lead to strained and dry eyes especially in our daily activities which involves prolonged exposure to digital devices such as mobile phones, computers, and even simple reading. Dehydration worsens digital eye strain, but proper and regular hydration lessens the risk for eye strain and improves eye comfort as we perform our daily tasks.
Signs of dehydration and how it can affect our eyes?
Common dehydration symptoms that can affect the eyes include:
- Having dry eyes
Dehydration prevents fluid production of our tear glands making it insufficient to produce moisture to lubricate the eyes. This results to a burning, or the sensation that something is stuck in the eye. - Eye Redness and Irritation
Dehydration can make the eyes not lubricated enough resulting to irritation, inflammation, causing the visible blood vessels appearance or redness. - Having a blurry vision
Temporary blurry vision can appear in some cases as the moisture-dependent cornea, becomes dry and loses its smooth surface. The way the light enters our eye will be affected resulting to distorted or a blurry vision. - Potential increased risk of Infections
Our eye’s tears flushes out bacteria and other foreign particles from the surface of the eyes, so when we’re dehydrated, it makes the eyes less effective in protecting our eyes to clear these harmful particles and substance. This results to an increase risk for possible eye infections such as acquiring conjunctivitis (commonly known as the pink eye) or other bacterial and viral infections.
Hydrate to take care of eye health
Consistent practice of proper hydration can help avoid eye health risks. Here are some practical tips to make sure your eyes stay hydrated:
- Drink a lot of water
This is the most simple and effective way to stay hydrated throughout the day. The general rule or recommendation is to make sure to drink at least 8 glasses ( or 2 liters) of water daily, but it varies in each individual considering factors of age, activity level, and climate. A tip to make sure that you won’t forget to hydrate, is to carry a water bottle or water flask with you to remind you to drink water regularly throughout the day. - Consume hydrating foods
Besides water, fruits and vegetables like cucumbers, watermelon, oranges, and leafy greens, are excellent sources of hydration. By incorporating this to your daily diet, you can get better eye health support eye health as these are also packed with vitamins and antioxidants. - Learn to rest your eyes
Prolonged digital device use and screen exposure can be tiresome for the eyes and can possibly cause dry eyes or have digital eye strain. Learn to take a break for your eyes by following the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look away from your screen at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This helps reduce eye strain and gives your eyes a chance to rest and recharge. - Use eye lubricants
Artificial tear eye drops provide temporary relief for the eyes if you have chronic dry eyes. These drops can be purchased over-the-counter and can help lubricate the eyes and mimic natural tears. You can ask your pharmacist for the best eye drop variation to use if you plan to use it for a long time. - Limit your alcohol or caffeine intake
It’s okay to consume alcohol or caffeine moderately but excessive intake can cause dehydration. As we have earlier discussed, dehydration contribute to having dry eyes plus other dehydration-related symptoms. It is recommended to even out your coffee or alcohol consumption by taking with plenty of water to stay hydrated. - It is important to include your eye health in looking after your overall health. Maintaining proper and regular hydration supports tear production, protects your eyes against infections, and lessens the risk of acquiring dry eye syndrome, eye strain, and other vision-related problems. Another important factor to consider in taking care of your eye health is by regularly getting eye check-ups from your trusted eye clinic like Vision First Surgery (VFS). Prevention is better than cure and by booking your appointment at VFS, you can get sound advice and health tips to prolong comfort and better take care of your eyes.
