Does Coffee help with dry eyes?
When it comes to “old wives tales” the eye is no different than other parts of the body. People can think of all sorts of home “remedies” for ailments, but often these “remedies” cause no result at best and a worsening of the problem at worst. One interesting theory involves caffeine. Specifically, is caffeine helpful with the dry eye syndrome?
Dry eye syndrome, also called Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), keratitis sicca, and xerophthalmia are a group of eye diseases with uncomfortalbe eye symptoms such as tearing, burning, redness, reduced vision, etc.
There was a study in Japan done recently where tear production was examined. One group of patients was given caffeine and the second was not. What the research found was that taking around 400 mg of caffeine (about 4 cups of coffee) created significantly greater volume of moisture than not taking caffeine. Researchers proposed that caffeine could have been responsible for this change, stimulating tears glands the same way the substance stimulates saliva and digestive juices. These researchers were very quick to point out that further study would be needed before doctors began prescribing caffeine for this ailment.
One of the problems with this study is that caffeine has side effects far beyond potentially increasing tear production. Caffeine increases the heart rate, sweating, nervousness and can lead to upset stomachs for some if ingested as coffee or coffee-drinks. In addition, the amount of caffeine ingested will range from patient to patient, depending upon genetic makeup, current caffeine intake and other factors.
More research will be done on this topic, and this office in no way suggests people should take caffeine to “cure” dry eye syndrome, but it is good to know that the San Jose Eye Doctor at Dr. Sayed Jovkar’s office is keeping a close eye on new trends and potential remedies for his patients.
Finding a Good San Jose and Los Gatos Eye Doctor
If you are looking for eye care assistance in San Jose, and looking for an eye doctor who can help you with that, and other eye care, and who can also make sure you’re comfortable, call Dr. Sayed Jovkar at (408) 985-2020.