Sjogren’s Disease and Chronic Dry Eyes and Dry Mouth - Few minor discomforts feel as disruptive to daily life as dry eye or mouth. Acute dryness is irritating and uncomfortable, but chronic dryness can be disruptive to your life.
Dry eyes and mouth are common, and most of us experience them from time to time, but sometimes they’re a signal of something deeper, like Sjogren’s Disease, that's behind the scenes. Whatever the cause of dry eyes and mouth, sea buckthorn can help.
Dry Eyes: Causes & Symptoms
When your eyes are dry and scratchy, it’s because you’re not producing enough tears, or those tears aren’t providing adequate lubrication.
While tears are made up of mostly water, they also contain a mix of oils, mucus, electrolytes, proteins, and a few more things tossed into the mix.
Each component in tears has a purpose, from protecting the delicate mucus membranes of the eye to fighting infection and keeping vision clear.
When something is amiss, tears don’t perform their function, and the result is a case of dry eyes.
Common causes of dry eyes include:
- Reduced tear production due to hormonal changes, aging, or certain autoimmune conditions.
- Poor tear quality, where the balance of tear “ingredients” is disrupted.
- Medications, like antihistamines, antidepressants, and blood pressure management medications, can all cause dry eyes.
- Environmental factors, like smoke, indoor/outdoor air pollution, wind, and eye strain from prolonged screen time, can also be dry eye culprits.
Dry eyes can manifest with symptoms like:
- Stinging or burning
- Scratchy sensations, almost like there’s a bit of grit rubbing against the eye
- A feeling of something being in the eye
- Sensitivity to light
- Redness
- Blurred vision
- Inability to wear contact lenses comfortably
- Impaired vision that improves temporarily with blinking
- Increasing difficulty with nighttime driving
Dry eyes are irritating – no doubt about it. Caring for your dry eyes is important for protecting your eyes and vision health. Chronically dry eyes can lead to cornea damage, vision changes, and an increased risk of infection.
Seeing an ophthalmologist is important for keeping eyes healthy, but so is nourishing your body and proactively supporting mucosal health.
Sibu sea buckthorn is one of Mother Nature’s most effective natural solutions to providing soothing, restorative relief to chronically dry eyes.
Dry Mouth: Causes & Symptoms
Dry mouth, referred to as xerostomia by the medical community, affects as much as 30% of the general population, and the incidence increases with age.
In essence, dry mouth happens when the salivary glands don’t produce enough saliva.
Like dry eyes, living with a chronically dry mouth is uncomfortable. Dry mouth also increases your risk of oral health problems, like tooth decay and gum disease.
Saliva is essential for keeping oral bacteria in check, and it’s also important for other functions, such as healthy digestion.
There are many potential causes of dry mouth, with some of the most common including:
- Dehydration
- Nasal congestion that results in mouth breathing
- Medications, including antihistamines, decongestants, and some antidepressants
- Aging, which naturally reduces saliva production
- Radiation therapy in the head and neck area
- Autoimmune conditions, like Sjogren's disease
Symptoms of dry mouth include:
- Increased thirst
- Dry mouth
- Difficulty chewing or swallowing
- Difficulty speaking
- Bad breath
- Altered taste perception
- Mouth discomfort or sores
- Dry, scratchy, or sore throat
Oral health is critically important to overall health. Sea buckthorn can help restore oral moisture and keep teeth and gums healthy.
Sjogren’s Disease: An Autoimmune Root Cause
Often, dry eyes and mouth occur on their own, as an isolated symptom with an easily identifiable cause. Other times, chronic mucosal dryness is a symptom of an underlying health condition, like Sjogren’s disease.
Sjogren’s disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder that affects the entire body, but one of its defining symptoms is dryness of the eyes and mouth.
When someone has an autoimmune disease, their immune system is on hyperdrive.
A healthy immune system will gang up on pathogens, whether they’re of the illness-causing variety or entering the body through a wound.
With autoimmune disease, the body’s immune system doesn’t wait for pathogens to appear. It begins to attack the body’s healthy tissues. This can include skin, joints, and organs, and the result is pain and chronic inflammation.
Most autoimmune conditions tend to manifest in primary ways, but almost always have a broader impact on the person’s overall health.
For example, a person with Crohn’s disease lives with symptoms that primarily affect the colon and digestive system, but it’s also common to experience skin, eye, and joint inflammation with this condition.
Sjogren’s disease is no different.
Sjogren’s disease affects the glands that produce moisture, such as the tear ducts and salivary glands. This is why mouth and eye dryness are one of the defining symptoms of Sjogren's, but nasal dryness, vaginal dryness, and dry skin are also common.
Beyond dryness, other symptoms of Sjogren’s can include:
- Fatigue
- Skin rashes
- Muscle pain/weakness
- Joint pain
- General systemic inflammation
- Headaches
- Brainfog
- Numbness or tingling in hands and feet
- Sleep disturbances
- Increased incidence of urinary tract infections
- Hair loss, thinning, and dryness
- Acid reflux
- Digestive disorders
- Organ involvement, especially the pancreas and liver
Sjögren’s disease can affect anyone at any age. However, it is most commonly diagnosed in women and in people in midlife, especially between the ages of 40 and 60.
Sjogren’s disease is a progressive autoimmune disease, and there is currently no cure.
Still, symptom management is possible, and the most effective approaches can stall progression and provide relief from symptoms – including both mucosal dryness and inflammation.
Sea Buckthorn: An Ancient Remedy for Dry Eyes and Dry Mouth That Modern Science Agrees With
Sea buckthorn is a botanical powerhouse that has been respected in traditional medicine for its therapeutic properties for centuries. Sea buckthorn berries grow on a hardy shrub that is native to harsh regional climates throughout Asia and Europe.
It’s a bright orange berry that doesn’t shy away from temperamental growing environments because this is how it becomes one of Mother Nature’s greatest, natural treasures.
Sea buckthorn is prized for its ability to replenish and maintain moisture, heal wounds, reduce inflammation, and relieve dry eyes and mouth – whatever the cause.
Anecdotal evidence and the time-honored wisdom of natural healing have shown us that the power of sea buckthorn is nothing new.
However, we’re at a point today where modern science has caught up with the ancient wisdom surrounding sea buckthorn, confirming what we already knew – that sea buckthorn is one of our strongest allies for healthy mucus membranes.
The Omega-7 Link
What is it about sea buckthorn that makes it so good for people suffering from dry eyes and dry mouth?
At the core is its amazing nutrient profile.
Sea buckthorn is one of the richest sources of omega-7 fatty acids, which play an essential role in maintaining and supporting healthy mucous membranes.
Along with rare omega-7, sea buckthorn also contains a wide range of vitamins and nutrients. A serving of sea buckthorn contains more vitamin C than an orange, and it also contains B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin E, and potent antioxidants.
These nutrients help to repair and restore the body, while protecting it from the effects of oxidative stress. Sea buckthorn goes in and nourishes each cell from the inside out, which is why it is so effective at restoring hydration to mouths and eyes, where it’s needed the most.
Sea Buckthorn for Dry Eyes and Mouth
For those struggling with the discomfort and irritation of dry eyes or a dry mouth, sea buckthorn is a lifesaver.
There is a protective layer called the “tear film” over our eyes. In healthy eyes, the tear film is replenished each time we blink.
This film contains three layers: an inner mucous layer closest to the eye, a watery layer in the middle, and an outer layer made of lipids or oils.
When this film is disrupted, it can lead to dry eyes that are more susceptible to irritation and infection.
Sea buckthorn has been shown to be beneficial in restoring balance and quality of the tear film by improving the function of the glands that secrete oils that help to prevent tears from evaporating too quickly.
This helps to quickly relieve the redness, irritation, and that uncomfortable gritty sensation that comes with dry eyes.
Similarly, when it comes to dry mouth, sea berry contains bioactive compounds that work to support salivary gland function and load up mucous membranes with hydration.
Daily supplementation with a quality sea buckthorn supplement, like Sibu Omega-7 Plus, can significantly improve the symptoms of dryness in just a few weeks.
Sea berry works at a cellular level, meaning the relief is truly restorative and not temporary – like the type of relief that comes with artificial tears and oral moisturizers.
Sibu Sea Buckthorn: Where Quality, Purity, and Ethics Meet
Here’s the thing about sea buckthorn – it has exploded in popularity in recent years.
The word is out, and everyone is flocking to this miracle worker, which means the supplement market is flooded with it, and not all of it is of the best quality.
Sibu sea buckthorn stands out for our quality, purity, and effectiveness, but also for our commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing.
Our berries are sourced from high in the Himalayan mountains, where the plants grow in mineral-rich soil and harsh conditions that create berries with the highest nutrient density in the world.
We use our proprietary supercritical CO2 extraction method to preserve the high amounts of omega-7 fatty acids, nutrients, and antioxidants.
Growing conditions, ethical sourcing, and supercritical CO2 extraction are how we ensure maximum potency in every drop.
At Sibu, we are committed to ensuring our sea buckthorn products are non-GMO, vegan, and free of artificial additives. Sea buckthorn is amazing, and we’re not about to tarnish its pure beauty with substandard practices or filler ingredients.
This is how we’ve earned trust and become the choice for those seeking an all-nature, pure, and potent source of sea buckthorn.
Summary - Sjogren’s Disease and Chronic Dry Eyes and Dry Mouth
Here’s a recap on how Sibu sea buckthorn can help provide short-term and long-term relief from dry eyes and mouth.
- Rich in omega fatty acids: Sea buckthorn is the most potent source of omega-7 fatty acid, which is a super-performer for restoring the health and hydration of mucous membranes. It’s also rich in other omega-fatty acids that nourish and heal the body from the inside out.
- Anti-inflammatory properties: Whatever the root cause of dry eyes and dry mouth, inflammation is somewhere in the background. Sibu sea buckthorn is loaded with antioxidants that work to soothe inflammation and the discomfort it brings.
- Sea buckthorn supports tear film integrity: For dry eyes, restoring the health of the tear film is essential. Sea buckthorn helps improve tear film quality to moisturize and protect the eyes.
- Improves mucous gland function: There are glands in both the eyes and mouth that need extra support if dryness is a persistent problem. Sea buckthorn can help these glands function more effectively and produce the moisturization necessary for comfort and health.
- Our Sibu ethical sourcing commitment: We believe that the community where our sea berries are grown is at the heart of the quality and integrity of our products. We use wild-grown and sustainably harvested berries to reduce the environmental impact, and are committed to uplifting local community members.
- Supercritical CO2 extraction for quality and purity: It isn’t just where and how the berries are grown; it’s also about how the bounty of nutrients is extracted from each sea buckthorn berry. At Sibu, we use a process called supercritical CO2 extraction that preserves the purity and potency of the oils.
- We’re clean: Sibu is committed to offering only the highest quality vegan, non-GMO sea buckthorn products on the market.
Gentle Remedies to Complement Sea Buckthorn for Relieving Dryness
In addition to adding sea buckthorn to your daily routine, there are several things you can do that work alongside sea buckthorn to provide gentle, natural relief.
For Dry Eyes
- Wash your lashes and eyelids with a gentle cleanser designed for eye cleansing. This will help to remove any irritating buildup.
- Give your eyes a break from eye strain. Whether you’re scrolling on the phone, looking at a computer, television, or book, give your eyes a break every 20 minutes.
- Blink more frequently. This will help distribute the tear film across the eye.
- If you smoke, stop or at least try to cut down. Smoke causes irritation and can dry out your eyes.
- Hydrate. Make sure you’re drinking adequate water every day. For the average person, this is at least eight 8-ounce glasses, but some people need more.
- Replenish moisture with artificial tears. Ideally, you want to increase the amount and quality of tears your eyes produce, but in the meantime, artificial tears can provide much-needed comfort.
- Place a soft, warm compress over your eyes for a few minutes to unclog oil glands – plus, it just feels nice.
- See an eye doctor regularly. An eye doctor can determine if there is an underlying health issue related to your dry eyes and provide suggestions for relief.
For Dry Mouth
- Sip water throughout the day to help keep your mouth moisturized.
- Use a humidifier to ease dryness, and also to help relieve nasal congestion that could be causing you to breathe through your mouth.
- Sugar-free gum or lozenges can help to stimulate saliva.
- If you use a mouthwash, make sure that it is alcohol-free to prevent further dryness.
- Sip on water during meal time to make chewing and swallowing more comfortable.
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can both make dryness worse.
- Consider over-the-counter washes and sprays to help restore moisture. Your doctor or pharmacist should be able to offer some suggestions.
- Use a natural moisturizer on your lips for added comfort.
Bringing Comfort Back with Sibu Sea Buckthorn
Almost everyone experiences dry eyes or dry mouth at some point in their lives, but chronic dryness is more than a nuisance. It can lead to more serious complications and can be a signal of deeper autoimmune conditions, like Sjogren’s disease.
Understanding the causes and symptoms of dry eyes and mouth is the first empowering step to finding relief.
While there are conventional treatments that provide relief, these can sometimes come with side effects, and they may not even address the root cause. Gentle, natural approaches are available to offer comfort and healing.
Among the world of nature’s natural remedies is sea buckthorn, which stands out for bridging the gap between ancient wisdom and today’s modern science. Sea buckthorn has a proven ability to restore moisture, heal mucous membranes, and make dry tissues more resilient.
If you’re struggling with chronically dry eyes or mouth, we invite you to explore Sibu sea buckthorn. Natural, pure, effective, and great for your entire body – what’s not to love?