What causes dry eyes and the top ways to treat them?

Causes of dry eye syndrome include:

•    aging
•    autoimmune diseases, such as Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Grave's disease, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis
•    medications, including birth control pills, certain psychiatric medicines, antihistamines
•    Bell’s palsy

Some of the most common ways to treat dry eye syndrome are:

•    humidifiers, wet compresses, glasses that protect the eyes from dry air (such as wrap-around sunglasses, goggles or glasses fitted with "shields" on the sides) and avoiding excessively dry environments
•    artificial lubricants – lubricating tears or ointments can help
•    punctal plugs – these block the drainage of tears, making naturally produced tears last longer
•    cyclosporine or lifitegrast eye drops – these are medicines to reduce tear gland inflammation that can lead to dryness
Other available treatments are used less commonly because of side effects, lack of convincing evidence of benefit, cost or a combination of these.