A Guide to Good Health

Dry Eye Care Can Help Women After Menopause

Menopause is a troubling time for many women and produces lifelong changes that may be hard for some to tolerate. For example, a woman may develop persistently dry eyes that are very uncomfortable and which require treatment to manage. This treatment takes on many forms and can help keep a woman's eyes as hydrated as necessary to prevent excessive dryness.

Menopause May Cause a Decrease in Tear Production

As women age, their bodies naturally start to change in various ways. For example, menopause will trigger a myriad of hormonal changes in a woman's body that can be very upsetting. Physical pain, emotional suffering, and much more are all common. However, many women may not realize that they produce less tears after menopause than they did before this change.

Unfortunately, this decreased production of tears can cause dry and red eyes that can be very painful and hard to tolerate. Unlike occasional dry eyes, which will come and go, a woman may experience persistent dryness in her eyes and this may require specialized treatment to manage. Thankfully, there are many different options from which she can choose, each of which provides many care benefits for her needs.

Ways Dry Eye Treatment Can Help

Dry eye treatment starts with a full eye examination and a measuring of the eye's tear volume and quality. Once the doctor fully understands the level of a person's tears, they can provide treatment that helps to keep dry eyes from becoming more of a problem. For example, there are many tear-stimulating drugs that can help to create more tears in a woman's tear ducts to help keep her eyes free from dryness.

However, other care methods like light therapy may help by naturally stimulating the tear ducts and producing a higher production periodically throughout a woman's life. Often, this option is a good choice for those with menopause because it can help to make relatively dormant or inactive tear ducts more active and ensure that she has the high level of tear production that she needs to keep her eyes hydrated.

In some cases, surgery may be necessary if other complications are affecting a woman's tear production. For example, a lack of tears during menopause may cause issues with her tear duct openings that require professional surgical help to open. Doing so can help to ensure that a woman's eyes are free of dryness as she ages.

To learn more about dry eye treatment, contact an eye doctor near you.