It’s fair to say that perimenopause likes to keep us on our toes, with a range of surprising symptoms that we wouldn’t, at first glance, think had anything to do with changing reproductive hormones.
But the effect these hormones have in our bodies is broader than you might think. And one of the lesser-known symptoms of menopause is the impact it has on our eye health.
So, if you’ve been noticing drier, more irritated eyes since the start of perimenopause, it is entirely possible that this is yet another side-effect of seesawing hormones. Over 64% of women will experience dry eyes during menopause, so this unexpected symptom is also a relatively common one.
In this blog, we’ll explore the link between dry eyes and the menopause further and suggest some options to alleviate the discomfort and care for your eye health through menopause and beyond.
How does menopause cause dry eyes?
Although there are plenty of different factors that can be involved in dry eyes, hormonal changes often play a major role.
Notably, we’re more likely to experience dry eyes as we age – and women over 50 are 70% more likely to have dry eyes than men in the same age group, pointing to the link between dry eyes and the menopause.
Dry eyes are also associated with conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which again indicates the important role that sex hormones play in our eye health.
Usually when we talk about the impact of changing hormones during menopause, we focus on oestrogen. And this hormone does seem to have some impact on eye health. However, research suggests that it is androgens that are the main culprit here.
Androgens are a group of sex hormones that include testosterone. Like other sex hormones, levels of androgens in our bodies decrease as we age, with a particularly noticeable drop after the onset of perimenopause.
This can cause a range of different symptoms, but when it comes to our eyes, the most noticeable is that our tear ducts become less effective at keeping our eyes properly hydrated.
As a result, we may experience dry, itchy, or gritty eyes. Dry eye can also be associated with blurred vision, light sensitivity, and gummy or “sleep” filled eyes.
How to treat dry eye during menopause
Dry eye is an uncomfortable and irritating condition that can affect our quality of life. Long-term, it may also lead to other eye complications, so it is worth seeking out treatment options to alleviate this menopause symptom.
Options can include both lifestyle tweaks and medical interventions. As always, we advise seeking the opinion of your doctor, especially if you are experiencing other menopausal symptoms too.
Treatments you can try for dry eyes include:
1. Reduce screen time
Spending long hours looking at computer and phone screens can make dry eyes worse, mainly because we typically blink less when we look at screens. If you can, find ways to reduce your daily screentime.
If this isn’t an option – which it often isn’t for those of us who rely on screens for work – try to take regular breaks and to blink more often while working at the computer or looking at your phone or the TV.
2. Use a humidifier
Avoiding dry environments can help to ease dry eyes by slowing down the evaporation of tears, keeping your eyes better hydrated. Using a humidifier can help here by adding moisture to the air.
3. Avoid irritants
Dust, smoke, and other pollutants can make dry eyes worse, so avoid these as much as you can. Similarly, if you wear eye makeup, make sure you thoroughly remove it before going to bed, and consider having some makeup-free days each week.
4. Switch to glasses
Contact lenses have come a long way but can still contribute to dry eyes, so switch to glasses instead to give your eyes a break.
Even if you don’t need glasses to see, if you are a keen cyclist or runner, you might want to try wearing wrap-around sunglasses to protect your eyes from dust and dirt.
5. Increase omega-3 intake
Omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in tear production and eye health, so making sure you get enough may help to alleviate dry eyes. Choose a high-quality supplement or look for foods that are high in omega-3, such as oily fish, nuts and seeds, and avocados.
6. Get enough vitamin A
Another key nutrient for eye health is vitamin A, which can help to increase the quality of your tears and reduce the symptoms of dry eye. Again, oily fish is a good source of vitamin A, as are leafy green vegetables, dairy, eggs, and organ meats. You can also take a supplement to increase your vitamin A levels.
7. Use eyedrops
Eyedrops, also known as artificial tears, can provide some relief from the symptoms of dry eyes. There are numerous over-the-counter and prescription options available, so it is best to consult a pharmacist, optometrist, or GP to discover the option that is best for you.
Also, be careful of using eyedrops that contain preservatives, since these can irritate your eyes and make dry eye worse in the long run.
8. Hormone treatments
Evidence is mixed, but there’s some reason to believe that the HRT treatments that can be so effective for other menopause symptoms are less successful at treating dry eyes. Some studies even indicate that HRT can make dry eyes worse.
However, those treatments typically contain oestrogen and progesterone. And, as we’ve already seen, it is actually androgens like testosterone that are more involved in tear production and quality.
Although further research is needed, there’s emerging evidence that topical androgen treatments (such as ointments and eyedrops) may be an effective treatment option for dry eyes during menopause.
References
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