Why Menopause Can Bring on Dry, Tearing Eyes—and the Surprisingly Simple Fix

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One of the less glamorous changes I noticed after entering menopause was persistent dry eyes. In the morning, or while sitting at my desk looking at a screen, my eyes can feel irritated and gritty, as if they’re coated with sand or tiny bits of glass. I’m always reaching for preservative-free eye drops.

It gets even worse when I’m outside and there’s even a faint breeze. The moment air moves across my face, my eyes start watering intensely, leaving makeup streaks on my cheeks and prompting worried passersby to ask whether I’m all right.

I started relying on oversized sunglasses and tissues tucked into every coat pocket, but that routine was becoming absurd. I wanted an actual fix, so I asked experts for advice. The answer was more surprising than I expected.

Why Menopause Can Lead to Dry, Watery Eyes

To begin with, I wanted to understand why my eyes had become both dry and overly watery over the past few years. “Dry eye symptoms are strongly associated with menopause and hormonal changes,” Joseph J. Allen, O.D., an optometrist in Virginia and creator of the YouTube channel Doctor Eye Health, explains.

Along with hot flashes and brain fog, dry eyes can also be linked to the sharp drop in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, says Marni Robins, O.D., an optometrist and instructor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “These hormones influence the production of our tear film components, and changing hormone levels, altered feedback mechanisms, and altered receptor sensitivity change the balance of our tear film and result in dry eyes,” she says.

The reason dry eyes can become so watery in the wind is that the tear film, which contains oil, water, and mucus, is not working as well as it should. “The tear film is there to protect the eye, but when the production of oils changes, it evaporates too quickly, sometimes as soon as the wind hits it,” Allen says. “Your body responds by making new ‘reflex tears’ to help protect the ocular surface.”

Once I understood what was happening, I wanted to know how to improve it. One approach helped right away, and another began to make a difference as well.

How to Manage Dry Eyes

“Quality” Blinking

Allen offered an unexpectedly simple suggestion: take the time to blink well.

Wait, what? Blink on purpose, as if I’m Barbara Eden on I Dream of Jeannie? “Just tell yourself, ‘I'm going to blink intentionally several times, completely closing the eye, and that helps recoat the surface,’” says Allen, who notes that the more time we spend staring at screens, the less fully we tend to blink.

There isn’t a huge body of evidence on intentional blinking, but a study published last year by British researchers found that among people with dry eyes, a routine of closing the eye for two seconds, squeezing for two seconds, and then opening the eyes, repeated 15 times in a row, three times a day, reduced dry eye symptoms.

So the next day, I paused outside my building for a few minutes to close and squeeze my eyes several times before starting my morning walk. It felt awkward at first—how hard was I supposed to squeeze? But I quickly found the right balance, somewhere between too gentle and too forceful. After a few good blinks, I could feel a light, warm layer of moisture on my eyes.

It really did help. Not instantly, but after a few days of intentional blinking, I noticed my eyes were watering less when the breeze hit my face.

Treating Dry Eye From the Inside

Around the same time, I received a sample package of Bausch & Lomb Blink NutriTears soft gel supplements. They contain lutein, zeaxanthin isomers, and curcuminoids—plant-based antioxidants derived mainly from ingredients such as turmeric extract, linseed oil, marigold extract, and olive oil.

One clinical trial published in Ophthalmology and Therapy and another similar trial published in Frontiers in Ophthalmology showed that this blend, taken once daily as a supplement, improved tear production, stability, and quality, reduced damage and inflammation on the eye’s surface, and eased dry eye symptoms.

Allen says it can take about two months to notice results from supplements, but I do feel that the eye-friendly ingredients and the blink exercises are working together to make me less teary every time I step outside. As with any supplement, it’s still important to check with your doctor before starting one.

The Bottom Line

For me, intentional blinking plus eye-health supplements seems to be doing the trick, but the best approach is to talk with your optometrist or ophthalmologist about what makes sense for you.

“If home remedies and over-the-counter artificial tears aren’t enough, there are other options for dry eyes,” says Robins. “Immunomodulator drops can reduce inflammation on the front surface, and punctal plugs block our tear ducts and increase the time that our tears are on the surface,” she explains. “There is even a nasal spray that activates our lacrimal gland to produce more of our natural tears.”

You do not have to simply put up with dry eyes or tears rolling down your face every time you go outside.