★★★★★
Since thyroid medication for low thyroid can also cause dryness, especially if you're an elder, and since coffee and most herbs are dehydrating (some herbs more than others), hydrating foods like cucumbers and watermelons can help. When my eyes were at their worst, I put cucumber slices on my closed eyelids for about 20 minutes several times a day and on the first day there was real improvement.
On the second and third day I also ate half a cucumber and continued with the slices. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), hot and dry is associated with yang and cold and damp with yin. Not only is apartment air mostly too hot and dry in winter, chemicals in our air and water are very drying. Dry eye is an inflammatory condition with redness, heat and not enough yin fluids. So "strengthening yin" is recommended for convalescing, chronically ill or frail people. Some foods that strengthen yin are cooked string beans and beets, many whole grains, sardines, eggs, seaweed, and certain beans. Eyes are considered skin and in TCM skin conditions are linked to the liver.
Also associated with the liver are irritability and anger-- hot emotions. They resolve when the liver energy is flowing. Liver thrives on movement and dance---even moving in place when cooped up inside! Reading on EC that aloe can cure dry eye makes sense to me from a TCM perspective: aloe is cooling and mercifully soothing for inflammation, burns and severe itching. I don't use liquid aloe b/c all brands preserve it with citric acid, which I can't tolerate. So I keep aloe plants and snip off a small bit of branch when needed. I'm grateful to this plant!
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
I went to doctors, used Restasis, gentle. Nothing helped. Even made worse. Started researching. Found lady doc in Internet.
Said NO SUGAR AT ALL AND DRINK LOTS OF BOTTLED WATER.
FOR MONTHS I WAS IN PAIN AND MISEREABLE. IN 3 DAYS MY EYES CLEARED UP. NO MORE DRYNESS, WATERY EYES BURNING OR ITCHING.
I am legally blind and my vision has even improved.
No more drugs, drops or health aids, only healthy habits water and No sugar, no sugar has helped in other ways as well and losing weight.
