A wide variety of common medications can also cause dry eye by reducing tear secretion. Although rare in the United States, dry eye can also be caused by a lack of vitamin A in the diet. This is a much more common problem in poorer countries, especially among children. There are several ways to treat dry eye. Tears can be replaced by using eye drops called artificial tears.
Artificial tears imitate all of the layers in the tear film.
They lubricate and moisturize your eyes. If you are sensitive to preservatives in artificial tears, or you use artificial tears more than every two hours, you may want to try a preservative-free variety. Conserving your eyes own tears is another way to keep your eyes from drying out. Tears drain out of the eye through a small canal into the nose. An ophthalmologist may close these canals, either temporarily or permanently, to conserve your tears or to make artificial tears last longer.