“How are dry eyes treated in children?”

Dry eye drops without preservatives is a good first step. But you should always see you local ophthalmologist before you do anything.

Generally speaking, dry eye in children is treated the same way it is treated in adults -- artificial tears. Use them anytime the eyes feel dry or irritated, just like you would use chapstick for your lips or lotion for your skin. The thing about kiddos, is that they may not be cooperative with drops (I know I wasn't). In that case, I find the easiest solution is to have them lie down and close their eyes. You place a drop in the inside corner of each eye and then tell them to open; the drops will simply fall in. That way you can avoid the (sometimes traumatic) struggle of holding their eyes open to administer them. If that doesn't solve the problem, or you're still having trouble, I would recommend making an appointment with my office or your eye care provider and discuss other solutions, which do exist.

Regards,

Eric Downing, MD

I would suggest you take your child to a specialist, pediatric ophthalmologist in your area. There could be many reasons that cause dry eyes.

You could use artificial tears. There are different types of artificial tears that are safe to use on kids. Artificial tears especially made from pure saline are harmless on kids of any age.

Dry eye in children is rare and is typically autoimmune. Evaluation by an OPH recommended.

Typically, artificial tears. If he needs medicated drops, he will need to see an eye care professional.

Alan J. Franklin, MD, PhD

Artificial tear lubricants, and drink lots of fluids.