Your eyes experience a lot of stress throughout the day. This happens more often if you work in an office or spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen, causing your eyes to become dry and irritated. People often use artificial tears or eye drops to lubricate their eyes and relieve the symptoms. However, overusing these products can do more harm than good.

If you use artificial tears or eye drops too often, your eyes may become dependent on them. This means that your eyes will no longer be able to produce tears on their own, leading to further issues worse than just dry eyes.

Risks of Overusing Eye Drops

Washing Aways Your Tears

The overuse of artificial tears washes away your own tears. It happens because every time you blink, your tears spread over the surface of your eye. But when you put drops in, your lacrimal glands produce fewer tears. So, instead of having your tears lubricate and protect your eyes, you’ll have to rely on the artificial drops entirely.

Rebounding

The rebound effect is when the overuse of artificial tears causes your eyes to become more dry and irritated than before you started using the drops. It occurs because the drops contain ingredients that dry out your eyes. So, when you stop using them, your eyes can’t produce enough tears to make up for the loss, and you end up with dry, irritated eyes.

Hiding A More Serious Problem

People get easily used to the idea of dropping something in their eyes every time they feel discomfort. However, this can mask a more serious problem, such as an infection. If you experience symptoms like redness, discharge, or pain, you should see a doctor instead of using more artificial tears.

Protect Your Sight With The Best Optometrist In Frankfort, IL

At Nicholas Rutkowski O. D. & Associates, we have years of experience solving all kinds of vision problems. We can help you with anything from finding the right contact lenses to treating more serious conditions. If you searched for an eye doctor, we’re already looking forward to meeting you. Schedule an appointment today.