Buckle up and wet those eyes. . .

Noise-cancelling headset plugged into my iPod and a bottle of water in my hand, I push back into my usual seat, 5A. The airplane climbs through 10,000 feet, heading out of O’Hare and back home after my wonderful day of speaking in Chicago.

Following the captain’s orders, I sit back, relax and decide I will, indeed, have a great flight.

Then a gentle nudge against my shoulder awakens me. Four hours have, if you’ll excuse the pun, flown by, and the flight attendant is reminding me to remove my headset in preparation for landing.

What a fantastic sleep. But what’s this? My eyes are burning and they sting as I try to rub them open. The cabin light irritates them even more. Have I picked up some kind of eye infection?

No. I simply have dry eyes.

The condition known as dry eyes is something you should not ignore, particularly if it persists. It’s a source of substantial irritation and can lead to tiny abrasions on the surface of your eye. In persistent cases, the eye may even be susceptible to more severe damage.

Causes of dry eyes, reasonably enough, include dry environments, such as airplanes, or the outdoors when you’re exposed to the sun. Smoking, allergies, certain medications and good old aging can also bring on dry eyes.

Eyes like fluid. In fact healthy eyes are continuously covered by fluid, basically bathing in the stuff. Tears are a mixture of water, fatty oils, proteins, electrolytes, mucous and bacteria-fighting substances. This mixture helps regulate the health of your cornea.

Normally, the eye’s tear film consists of three layers. The outer layer is mostly fatty oils. These smooth the eye surface and slow evaporation of the thicker middle layer. The middle layer is mostly water, and the inner-most layer covering the cornea is mucous. The mucous layer allows tears to be evenly spread on the eye’s surface.

Dry eyes may result if an imbalance occurs in any of these component layers. Reduced fluid from the tear glands tends to occur with age in both men and women, but especially in post-menopausal women. It is also associated with diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

Impaired blinking can occur from eyelids that turn out or in. This may occur with aging and disrupt the normal blinking that distributes the tears across the surface of the eye. Individuals concentrating on a monitor or task may not blink enough. Without adequate tears bathing the eye, they’ll feel eye strain and suffer from dry eyes.

Certain drugs can worsen symptoms. These include diuretics, ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, antihistamines, decongestants, sleep medications, some antidepressants and opiate-based pain relievers.

Most people with dry eyes don’t have long-term complications. But severe dry eyes left untreated are at increased risk of infection and scarring.

So what can you do to prevent dry eyes? Understand that if you work in dry environments (wind or air conditioning), you may need to protect your eyes and use artificial tears. Try a humidifier. Wear sun glasses to protect against the sun exposure and wind.

Wrap-around sunglasses are not only cool looking – remember them on the Olympic athletes? – but provide added protection. Avoid smoking and second-hand smoke. Purposefully blink more often and rest your eyes.

If dry eyes persist, you should ask your health-care practitioner to determine the cause. Get your eyes checked if you have red or painful eyes. You may notice flaking or a lesion on your eye lid and be sensitive to light. Dry eyes that are a result of a medical condition will need to be addressed.

Your health-care practitioner will want some information about your condition, so make some notes beforehand. How long have you had dry eyes? Does it involve both eyes? Does it affect your vision?

Do you have drainage from your eyes and what color is it? Do you have allergies and what medication are you taking? How have you tried to solve the problem?

Your health-care practitioner will then examine you and your eyes to correctly identify a diagnosis. Then specific treatments may include over-the-counter drops, prescription medications, moisture chamber goggles, and supplements such as omega 3. In certain conditions, surgery may be recommended to repair your eyelid.

So, some warm compresses on my eyes and a few days with artificial tears, and no more symptoms for me.

Note to self: iPod, headset, water – and artificial teardrops – before the captain says seat belts on, sit back, relax and have a great flight.

Dr. Larry Ohlhauser, MD, is an internationally acclaimed health consultant and author living in Edmonton. Reach him through his website at www.thehealthyceo.com.