Grittiness
The sense of sand or an eyelash that is not there, worst on waking or late in the day.
Dry Eye Treatment in Singapore
Gritty, burning or watery eyes are usually dry eyes. This page is what causes them, what helps, and when it is worth being seen.
- Assessed over video or in clinic
- Everyday eye care, adults and children
- Seven clinics at six locations
Camden (Orchard)Joo ChiatClementiBedokToa PayohJurong
Talk to an eye doctor online
$29 nett
A video consultation with an eye doctor can start treatment the same day. A teleconsultation is with The Straits Eye Community Clinic.
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What dry eye is
Dry eye is a tear film that is not doing its job — not the same as having no tears. When the film breaks up between blinks, the surface underneath is left exposed, and that is the grit, heat and soreness you feel.
Either the oil runs short, so the film evaporates seconds after a blink — the common one, and it starts at the meibomian glands in the lid margins — or the water runs short, with age, an autoimmune condition or a medication.
Watering is a dry eye symptom, not its opposite. A dry patch triggers a reflex flood that runs down your cheek instead of coating the eye. A blocked tear duct is a different problem, and so is a red eye with discharge.
Dry eye symptoms: what you may notice
Burning and stinging
A heat in the eye rather than a sharp pain, often with heavy, tired lids.
Watering
Tears that spill rather than spread, triggered by wind, air-conditioning or a screen.
Vision that clears when you blink
Soft, then sharp for a few seconds, then soft again. The tear film is the first lens the eye looks through.
Redness
A surface that looks pink by evening. Rubbing makes it worse — and an eye that truly itches is usually an allergic one.
Contact lenses stop being comfortable
Hours you used to manage easily become two or three, and the lens feels dry by lunchtime.
Why eyes get dry in Singapore
An air-conditioned room, a screen and a contact lens are three of the commonest causes, and all three are negotiable.
- Air-conditioning and fans. Moving, dried air pulls the tear film off the eye faster than it can be replaced. A fan pointed at the face overnight is a classic cause of eyes that are sore every morning.
- Screens. Concentrating roughly halves the blink rate, and a half-blink leaves the lower part of the eye uncovered. A screen above eye level widens the gap further, because you open your eyes more to look up at it.
- Contact lenses. The lens sits in the tear film and uses part of it. Long days, old lenses and an already thin film compound each other.
- Age and hormones. Tear production falls with age, and falls faster around the menopause. It is the single commonest reason dryness starts in the fifties.
- Medication. Antihistamines, some blood pressure tablets, antidepressants and isotretinoin all reduce tear production. Bring your list to the consultation rather than guessing which one it is.
- Lid margin disease. Blepharitis and blocked oil glands change the oil the film depends on, which is why treating the lids is often what treats the dryness.
- Previous eye surgery. Dryness after cataract surgery or laser vision correction is common and usually settles over weeks to months.
Dry eyes and the haze
Haze is fine particles suspended in warm, still air. HealthHub lists irritation of the eyes, nose and throat among the short-term effects of breathing it, and notes that in most cases the irritation settles on its own. An eye that was already dry starts the week with less margin, which is why a haze episode is felt first by the people who were managing before it arrived.
- 1 Lubricate more often, not harder. A preservative-free drop four to six times a day through a hazy spell does more than a thicker drop twice.
- 2 Keep the particles out of the room. Windows shut, and a portable air purifier if you have one.
- 3 Glasses rather than contact lenses while it lasts. A lens holds particles against the surface of the eye and takes part of the tear film with it.
- 4 Do not rub. Rubbing a gritty eye drags the particles across the surface it is meant to relieve. A cool, clean compress settles the itch instead.
Pain, a drop in vision, or one eye worse than the other is not haze, and should be looked at.
Eyes sore since the haze came in? Talk to our friendly staff, or see an eye doctor over video the same day.
Some eye conditions can be reviewed over video by our Primary Eye Care Physicians.
What helps a dry eye
Three habits carry most of the result, and all three are daily rather than clever.
- 1 A warm compress. A clean flannel run under hot water and wrung out, held against the closed lids for five to ten minutes, then a light sweep along the lash line. It softens the oil in the lid glands so it can reach the film. Reheat the cloth as it cools, because one that has gone cold is doing nothing.
- 2 Lid hygiene. Once a day, the lash line cleaned gently with warm water on a cotton bud or a lid wipe. This is the half people skip, and it is the half that keeps the glands open.
- 3 Lubricating drops. Preservative-free if you are using them more than four times a day. Use them before the discomfort rather than after it, and not the drops sold to take redness out of the eye, which do nothing for dryness.
Then the room and the desk: the fan turned away from your face, the screen set below eye level so your lids cover more of the eye, and a twenty-second look into the distance every twenty minutes. Give a new routine four to six weeks before deciding whether it works.
What a consultation adds
An examination answers what the drops cannot: which part of the tear film is failing. The lid margins and oil glands are examined under a slit lamp, and the surface is checked for dry patches with a dye. That is what decides the treatment. Six weeks of compresses, lid hygiene and lubricants with no change is the point to stop guessing.
When to see an eye doctor
Most dry eye is a comfort problem. See an eye doctor if any of these apply.
- Pain rather than discomfort, or an eye that cannot bear light.
- Vision that does not clear when you blink, or that has dropped.
- One eye much worse than the other. Dry eye is usually even-handed.
- Redness with discharge, which points at an infection rather than a dry surface.
- No improvement after six weeks of compresses, lid hygiene and lubricants.
- A dry mouth as well as dry eyes, which is worth mentioning because it can point at a condition beyond the eye.
Any of these is a reason to be examined rather than to try the next drop. If you are unsure, start with a teleconsultation with one of our eye doctors.
What it costs
Dry eye is seen at any of our clinics. These are the fees at the community clinics, where a video consultation is also available.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| With a Primary Eye Care Doctor — Bedok, Clementi, Toa Payoh and Jurong | |
| Teleconsultation | $29 |
| First consultation | $76.30 |
| Follow-up consultation | $54.50 |
| With a Senior Eye Specialist — Bedok, Clementi, Toa Payoh and Jurong | |
| First consultation | $130.80 |
| Follow-up consultation | $98.10 |
| Drops and medication | |
| Lubricants and any medication | Please enquire |
All fees shown are nett, with GST included. Drops and medication are charged separately, only where they are needed, and are quoted at your consultation. Fees at Camden (Orchard) and Parkway East (Joo Chiat) differ, and are in our what a consultation costs list.
Common questions
Why do dry eyes water?
Because the surface is dry, not because it is wet. A dry patch on the front of the eye irritates the nerves there, and the gland above the eye answers with a flood of watery tears. They run down the cheek instead of spreading across the eye, so the eye stays dry and your face stays wet. Watering that comes with stinging or grittiness usually points at dryness rather than at a blocked tear duct.
What causes dry eyes all of a sudden?
Something has changed, and it is usually in the air or in the day. Air-conditioning, a fan pointed at the face, a long stretch at a screen, a new medication, a bout of haze, or contact lenses worn longer than usual. Dry eye that arrives overnight and stays, or that comes with pain or a change in vision, is worth having looked at rather than waited out.
Can dry eyes be cured?
Most dry eye is controlled rather than cured. It behaves like a long-term condition: better when the daily routine suits it, worse when it does not. That is not the same as being stuck with it, and the great majority of people get their comfort back with lubricants, warm compresses and a few changes to the environment they sit in.
Can dry eyes cause blurry vision?
Yes, and the pattern is distinctive. Vision goes soft, you blink, and it clears for a few seconds before softening again. The tear film is the first lens the eye looks through, so when it breaks up between blinks the image goes with it. Blurring that does not clear on blinking is a different problem and should be examined.
Does the haze make dry eyes worse?
It can. Eye irritation is one of the short-term effects of haze listed by HealthHub, alongside irritation of the nose and throat, and in most cases it settles on its own. If your eyes are already dry, smoke particles and the extra blinking give you a worse few days than someone whose tear film is comfortable to begin with.
Can dry eyes damage my sight?
Permanent damage is uncommon. Ordinary dry eye is a surface problem and the discomfort is out of all proportion to the risk. Severe, long-standing dryness can scar the front surface of the eye, which is why dryness that is getting worse rather than better, or that is painful, is assessed rather than endured.
Which eye drops should I use for dry eyes?
Start with a preservative-free lubricant if you are using drops more than four times a day, because the preservative in a multi-dose bottle can irritate the surface it is meant to soothe. Avoid the drops sold to take redness out of the eye: they work by narrowing the blood vessels, do nothing for dryness, and the redness tends to come back harder when you stop. Which lubricant suits you depends on whether your tears are evaporating or simply thin, and that is what an examination settles.
How long does dry eye last?
A dry spell caused by a week of haze, a flight or a deadline at a screen usually settles within days of the cause going away. Dryness that has been there for months is the long-term kind, and it responds to a routine rather than to a one-off. Give any new routine four to six weeks before judging it.
Can dry eye be assessed over video?
The symptoms can — what they feel like, when they are worst, what you have already tried, and what medication you are on — and that is often enough to start treatment. The measurements that grade a dry eye, and an examination of the oil glands along the lid margin, need you in a chair at a clinic. A video consultation is a sensible first step and a short one.
Why are my eyes worse at night and in air-conditioning?
Both dry the air you are sitting in, and a screen makes it worse by cutting your blink rate by about half. Eyes that are sore by evening and fine by morning are telling you about the room, not about disease. Moving the fan, lowering the screen below eye level and taking the twenty-second look away every twenty minutes do more than any drop.
Get your eyes comfortable again
Tell us what they feel like and when they are worst, and we will tell you whether a video consultation can settle it or whether you need to be seen.
