Acupuncture for Dry Eyes

Have you ever had an uncomfortable feeling in your eyes? More specifically, do your eyes feel scratchy or gritty – as if something is stuck on your eyeball? If so, then you might be suffering from dry eyes. While these symptoms might sound mild, they can lead to severe vision problems if left unchecked.

This guide is designed to help you protect your eyes and remedy dry eyes. But how? Optimal eye health starts with understanding the causes of the health condition, diagnosis, and available treatments.

Acupuncture to treat Eyes

What Causes Dry Eyes?

Healthy eyes produce a steady stream of tears to lubricate the tissues. This mechanism protects the eyes from elements such as dust, small particles, wind, and cold. So when there is an imbalance in tear composition or tear production decreases, dry eyes occur. Below are some of the risk factors that might lead to chronic dry eyes:

  • Screen Time: Believe it or not, your smartphone, laptop, or television might be responsible for your dry eyes. While consciously staring at your screen, you’ll notice that you blink less than usual. This decreases the frequency of eye moisturization, increasing the risk of dry eyes.
  • Environmental Factors: Are you exposed to smoke, wind, or dry environments? Or do you experience seasonal allergies? These environmental conditions contribute to dry eyes.
  • Infections and Diseases: Some health problems either increase your risk of dry eyes or they are accompanied by the eye problem. Common diseases such as thyroid disorders, arthritis, diabetes, and autoimmune conditions are associated with dry eyes.
  • Medication: Birth control pills, antidepressants, decongestants, and antihistamines could increase your susceptibility to dry eyes.
  • Age: Unfortunately, our tear glands deteriorate with age. People above the age of 50 often experience a decrease in tear production.
  • Gender: Women are at a higher risk of suffering from chronic dry eyes, especially after menopause.

Conventional Treatment

  • Preventative Measures: What is the cause of the eye problem? If your dry eyes are associated with an underlying disease, an eye care professional may refer you to a specialist.
  • Pharmaceutical medication: Common pharmaceutical treatments include tear -stimulating drugs, anti-inflammatories, or artificial tears to help lubricate the eyes.
  • Lifestyle Changes: Avoiding exposure to smoky, windy, and dry environments might reduce the severity of dry eyes. It is also important to minimize stress on the eyes by taking some time off your screen to rest.
  • Surgery: If the condition is severe or the symptoms persist, an optometrist may recommend surgery.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) – Alternative Treatment for Dry Eyes

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is necessary to focus on both the visible and underlying symptoms of a health problem. An imbalance of energy (Qi) in one body part might translate into a symptom in another body part. In particular, dry eyes is a sign that there is an imbalance in an internal organ such as the large intestine.

Although the principles of TCM are passed on through generations, recent scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of the treatment. Consider these two studies summarized below:

  1. A multicenter randomized study by a group of Korean scientists concluded that “Acupuncture may have benefits on the mid-term outcomes related to dry eye syndrome compared with artificial tears.” Acupuncture was shown to have long-term benefits in comparison to conventional treatments.
  2. Another study published in the journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine analyzed the findings of seven scientific articles. Similarly to the first study, the authors concluded that “Acupuncture therapy is more effective than qrtificial tears for dry eye syndrome“.

You can read more on how to improve your eye health here.

Centre of Balance – How Can an Acupuncturist Help?

So how do TCM and acupuncture treat dry eyes? When you visit credible acupuncture clinics like Centre of Balance in Hamilton and Remuera, Auckland, a qualified acupuncturist will conduct tests to determine the underlying cause (internal organ imbalances) of your dry eyes. They may also collect historical information on your physical, mental, and even emotional health. This helps facilitate holistic healing.

Acupuncture acupressure

The next step involves carefully inserting needles on specific points (acupoints) that coincide with the imbalance. An acupuncturist will focus on both the internal imbalance and the external symptoms of the dry eyes. Acupuncture treatment helps stimulate tear glands, increasing oil production safely and effectively.

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Kim, T. H., Kang, J. W., Kim, K. H., Kang, K. W., Shin, M. S., Jung, S. Y., … & Lee, S. D. (2012). Acupuncture for the treatment of dry eye: a multicenter randomised controlled trial with active comparison intervention (artificial teardrops). PLoS One, 7(5), e36638.

Yang, L., Yang, Z., Yu, H., & Song, H. (2015). Acupuncture therapy is more effective than artificial tears for dry eye syndrome: evidence based on a meta-analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015.

https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-021-00401-3

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Monica

I am originally from Hebei province in China. I hold a NZ bachelor’s degree of health and science with a major in acupuncture. I am honoured to be an acupuncturist at Centre of Balance. Helping patients to alleviate their pain brings me the greatest joy. Chinese medicine emphasises the unity of human beings and nature. During the treatment, I hope to not only relieve your pain but also help you to understand the principles behind acupuncture’s effectiveness, as well as the significant impact of diet, emotions, lifestyle habits, and living environments on disease recovery. Self-healing is an ability that our bodies are naturally endowed with.

I studied acupuncture in New Zealand and completed one and a half years of supervised clinical internship before graduating. In the early stage of my training, I mainly worked with patients experiencing neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Under the guidance of senior clinical tutors, I gradually developed hands-on experience and confidence in treating musculoskeletal pain conditions.
As my clinical exposure expanded, I began treating a wider range of internal conditions. Alongside traditional acupuncture, I was introduced to Umbilical Acupuncture and Tungs-acupuncture Points. What interested me most about these approaches is that they often do not require needling directly at the painful area, yet can still achieve very effective results.
I was especially inspired by observing my supervisor use Umbilical Acupuncture to treat common conditions such as insomnia, menstrual irregularities, and even rheumatoid arthritis, with very positive outcomes. Another supervisor was highly skilled in Tungs-acupuncture Points and achieved excellent results in treating pain, infertility, menstrual disorders, and a variety of women’s health conditions. After completing my studies and entering clinical practice, once I observed Dr. Szenan Phua using Tungs-acupuncture points to help cancer patients relieve pain, which further strengthened my trust in this treatment method.
I later completed training in Dr. Tan Balance Acupuncture, which had a strong influence on the way I approach treatment. One of the most noticeable features of this method is how quickly patients often feel improvement, especially with pain conditions. Dr. Szenan Phua’s New Balance Acupuncture combines meridian regulation with structural adjustment and internal organ balancing, including techniques such as pulse balancing and spinal adjustment.
From my clinical experience, pain is rarely just a local issue. It often involves underlying organ weakness or structural imbalance. When these aspects are addressed together, treatment can be more thorough and longer-lasting. I also apply this approach to internal conditions, particularly in fertility and women’s health. This includes supporting natural conception, IVF preparation and embryo transfer, pregnancy support, early-pregnancy nausea, and late-pregnancy labour induction. I combine these treatments with concepts learned from a few additional fertility training, which has given me a broader and more flexible clinical perspective. This has reinforced my belief that acupuncture should be adapted to each individual rather than applied through fixed formulas.
Two other areas of study that have been very helpful in my clinical work are Tongue Diagnosis and Dr. Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture. Although tongue diagnosis is taught in my standard Chinese medicine training, further study allowed me to deepen and refine my diagnostic skills.
My first formal training was in Li’s Tongue Diagnosis, which looks not only at organ patterns, but also at how different areas of the tongue reflect the body’s structure. This system also explores personality traits and changes during pregnancy, making it both clinically useful and engaging. I later attended online lectures on Yin’s Tongue Diagnosis and studied the related materials independently. this learning has helped me make clearer and more accurate pattern differentiation, allowing my acupuncture treatments to be more targeted. It covers a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, oncology-related presentations, mental health patterns, and joint or limb problems. In practice, tongue observation often provides valuable insight even before a patient begins describing their symptoms.
In addition to the methods above, I regularly use local bloodletting techniques, which can be very effective for improving circulation, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. I also incorporate auricular (ear) acupressure and stimulation, which I commonly use for allergies, insomnia, headaches, stress management, and various internal conditions.
In my clinical work, I value taking the time to listen carefully to each patient and to understand their overall health, lifestyle, and concerns. Based on each individual’s condition, I also provide personalised dietary guidance and lifestyle or wellness advice to support overall health and long-term wellbeing. I commonly support patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, knee, and back pain, as well as stress-related conditions, sleep issues, migraines, digestive concerns, and women’s health and fertility-related conditions.