{"id":24508,"date":"2022-05-19T13:41:09","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T20:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearly.ca\/thelook\/?p=24508"},"modified":"2022-07-26T13:40:28","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T20:40:28","slug":"dry-eyes-symptoms-or-allergies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clearly.ca\/thelook\/dry-eyes-symptoms-or-allergies\/","title":{"rendered":"How to manage dry eye symptoms and eye allergies every season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Your eyes are itchy, red, and troublesome. You thought that your allergies are causing flare ups, so you take antihistamines. But just when you expect to get better, your dry eye symptoms worsen. What\u2019s going on? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though it\u2019s possible that you confused dry eyes with eye allergies, allergies can exacerbate dry eye symptoms as well. While the symptoms of these two conditions may appear similar, the causes and treatments are different, and they affect your body in distinctive ways. In fact, antihistamines which reduce allergy symptoms can make dry eyes worse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to understand the differences between dry eye symptoms and eye allergies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Causes Dry Eyes? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dry eye syndrome is a common condition that affects 30% of Canadians\u2014predominantly in women and older people due to changes within the body. Nevertheless, this can occur at any age, gender, and otherwise healthy people.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry eye condition is often caused by various reasons that disrupt the healthy tear film. Reasons around health, environment and lifestyle are many.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some health-based reasons that could affect your ability to make tears include aging process, hormone changes, or autoimmune disease.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some lifestyle-based reasons that might affect your tear-flow system include side effects of certain drugs like antihistamines, antidepressants, or extended use of digital devices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, you may experience dry eyes in certain environments that could dry out your tear film, such as on an airplane, in an air-conditioned room, or in a heater-heated room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms for dry eyes <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Within your tear film is three layers: fatty oils (outer), aqueous fluid (middle) and mucus (inner). Optometrist Justin Asgarpour<\/a> highlights that this combination works together to ensure the surface of your eyes are lubricated, smooth and clear, \u201cwhich also serves as one of the most critical components of the immune system of the eye.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dry<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once any of these layers is out of whack, they create multiple dry eye symptoms which vary based on the person. You may experience: <\/p>\n\n\n\n