---
title: "Dry eye: symptoms, causes & treatment | Sanara Health"
description: "Dry eye disease happens when your tears can’t keep the eye surface comfortable — usually because the oily layer of the tear film is inadequate."
url: "https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/conditions/dry-eye/"
source: "Sanara Health"
licence: "Quote with attribution and a link to the url above."
---
# Dry eye: symptoms, causes & treatment

Dry eye disease happens when your tears can’t keep the eye surface comfortable — usually because the oily layer of the tear film is inadequate. It’s extremely common, worsened by screens, and very manageable.

Editorial information by **Kaiser Khan**. Not clinically reviewed.

## Symptoms

- Gritty, burning or sandy feeling
- Tired eyes that worsen through the day
- Blurring that improves on blinking
- Watery eyes (reflex tearing)
- Discomfort with contact lenses or screens

## Why it happens

Most dry eye is evaporative: the meibomian glands in the eyelids under-deliver the oil that stops tears evaporating. Screen use (which halves blink rate), age, hormonal changes, some medicines and lid inflammation (blepharitis) all contribute.

## Treatment

Consistent home therapy — lubricating drops, daily warm compresses and lid hygiene — controls most dry eye. Persistent cases benefit from specialist assessment, where prescription options and in-clinic treatments exist.

## Self-care that helps

Preservative-free lubricating drops as needed; a 10-minute microwavable warm compress daily; the 20-20-20 screen rule with deliberate full blinks; omega-3-rich diet or supplement.

## When to get help

Eye pain, marked light sensitivity, sudden vision change or one increasingly red eye are not normal dry eye — seek prompt assessment. Otherwise, if a month of consistent self-care hasn’t helped, get checked.

[See our dry eye support →](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/supplements/?category=eye-health)

Go deeper

## Related guides

[Blepharitis: the eyelid condition behind so many irritated eyes — Consultant-reviewed guide to blepharitis — symptoms, the daily routine that controls it, and how it links to styes, chalazia and dry eye.](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/guides/blepharitis-treatment-guide/)

[Dry eye: why it happens and what genuinely helps — A consultant ophthalmic surgeon's guide to dry eye disease — from screen habits and MGD to drops, warm compresses and when to seek help.](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/guides/dry-eye-complete-guide/)

Available without prescription

## Products that can help

[Eye health — Macular carotenoids](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/supplements/macular-carotenoid-complex/)

[Eye health — AREDS2 eye supplements](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/supplements/areds2-eye-formula/)

[Eye health — Preservative-free dry eye drops](https://www.sanarahealth.co.uk/supplements/preservative-free-dry-eye-drops/)