When the body loses more water than it takes in, dehydration occurs. We expel liquids when we breathe out as vapor, urinate, or sweat. Yet, there is only one way we can hydrate ourselves: to consume enough water or another beverage we choose each day.
All your organs, including your eyes, suffer when dehydrated. Your body stops making enough tears to adequately moisten the eyes, and dry eye syndrome and eye discomfort can be a result of this.
Let’s learn why we need enough water for the health of our eyes.
Can Dehydration Affect Your Eyes?
Water in the form of tears is what keeps the eyes lubricated. Maintaining eye moisture, removing bacteria, and removing dust and other microscopic particles that enter the eyes are all made possible by lubrication. When there isn’t enough water in the body for your eyes, the eyes will get dry. They might start to itch and feel scratchy. As you blink, you could have a scratching feeling like something is lodged in your eye. Dehydration-related eye symptoms include blurred vision, headaches, pain, and red eyes.
Dehydration typically only results in impaired vision or difficulty in focusing. Dehydration can, therefore, in a sense, lead to eyesight loss. But, if you hydrate your body with lots of water, the visual loss is frequently only transient. Constant eye dryness can raise the likelihood of acquiring cataracts earlier in life. Cataracts develop when proteins in the eye’s natural lens begin to clump together. Vision loss and, finally, blindness will result when the cataract enlarges.
How Dehydration Occurs
Consideration for the beverages you consume is one action you may take to fight dehydration. Your eyes are undoubtedly dehydrated if you consume large amounts of coffee, carbonated soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages while drinking little to no water. Moreover, excessive salt consumption or salt addition to meals may result in dehydration of the eyes. Hence, to check whether it helps, try drinking extra water and limiting your salt intake.
Ways to Stay Hydrated
Here are some simple ways to keep yourself hydrated to improve your eye health:
- Give your water a taste. If you find plain water unpleasant, exchange it with fresh fruit or juice. Broths, ice pops, or sports drinks are also acceptable options.
- Don’t avoid drinking till you’re thirsty. When it’s hot outdoors, drink enough water daily and increase fluid intake, especially while exercising.
- Consume fruits with high water content, such as watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches, and pineapples. Cucumbers, green leafy vegetables, radishes, celery, zucchini, and tomatoes are also good options.
- Put on breathable, lightweight clothing that allows your skin to breathe. Stick with lighter colors, as dark colors absorb heat. To keep your head cool in the heat and prevent sunburn, which can raise your skin’s temperature and make it more difficult to stay cool, wear a wide-brimmed hat and apply plenty of sunscreen.
- Stay indoors in a cool setting on really hot days. If your home doesn’t have air conditioning, consider a mall, a cinema, or a public library. Avoid being in the sun, especially between 10 am and 2 pm when the rays are most intense.
- Pay close attention to how much your family members can drink if they’re sick, especially little children and the elderly. Drink lots of water if you’re sick or have diarrhea, vomiting, or a fever. Do not hold off until you start to feel dehydrated.
Stay Hydrated This Summer
Like any other body organ, our eyes also require adequate hydration to keep working properly. Following the tips above, keep your body hydrated and avoid eye issues and diseases. You can also visit an eye doctor for professional and skilled guidance to avoid vision issues.
Book an appointment with Total Focus Optometry in Edmonton if you have any concerns about your eye health!
