How to Choose the Best Dry Eye Supplement (Without Wasting Money)

You're not alone if your eyes often feel gritty, sore, red, or persistently tired — even when your eyes seem to be watery all the time. Many Australians, especially those glued to screens, living in dry climates, or experiencing menopause, grapple daily with dry eye discomfort. Frustrated by ineffective treatments, most spend hundreds of dollars every year on eye drops, gels, or vitamins chasing relief... but still feel stuck.

And here's the reason why: most people are only treating symptoms, and not the root cause. Artificial tears and lubricant eye drops might help for a few minutes. But they don’t fix what’s happening beneath the surface, where the real problem starts. Lasting relief requires a deeper approach. And that begins with understanding what eye drops can’t do.

Why Dry Eyes Keep Coming Back (No Matter How Many Eye Drops You Use)

Yes, your eyes become dry if you don't produce enough tears. But most people don't realise that you can still get dry eyes even though your eyes are watery! This is because dry eyes isn't just about tear quantity — it’s about tear quality and a self-sustaining cycle that keeps making things worse.

This is called the Dry Eye Cycle, and it affects the eye at multiple levels:

• Tears become too salty (hyperosmolarity)
• This irritates the surface, triggering inflammation
• Inflammation damages the cornea and the nerves on the ocular surface
• You lose goblet cells, which make mucin (a key tear component)
• Without mucin, tears break down faster
• The tear film becomes unstable and evaporates too quickly
• That leads to more irritation — and the cycle continues

Most eye drops only hydrate the surface. They don’t rebuild the health of the ocular surface nerves. They don’t reduce ocular surface inflammation. They don’t break the cycle.

If you’re using drops five times a day and still feel uncomfortable, that’s why. If your eyes are producing plenty of tears and still feel 'dry', that's why.

The Dry Eye Cycle and its 7 steps

How to Break the Dry Eye Cycle (From the Inside Out)

To truly achieve lasting dry eye relief, you need to do more than moisturise the surface. You need to support the systems that control tear quality and ocular health.

That means:

• Calming chronic inflammation that damages the surface
• Repairing corneal nerves that trigger healthy tear production
• Supporting the goblet cells that keep your tears stable and protective

Eye drops can’t do that. But certain nutrients can help interrupt the Dry Eye Cycle and help rebuild what’s been damaged over time. These nutrients work systemically to not only soothe dry eyes, but to rebuild the deeper mechanisms that keep them healthy in the first place.

This is how you go beyond symptom management — and finally start seeing real, lasting relief. And this is where nutritional supplements for dry eye come in.

But here’s the thing: not all dry eye supplements are created to do this properly. Many are underdosed, poorly absorbed, or simply not designed to address the Dry Eye Cycle. That’s why so many people try supplements and still feel stuck.

If you want lasting results, you need to avoid the 4 most common mistakes Australians make when it comes to dry eye supplements.

The 4 Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Dry Eye Supplement

1. Just taking a fish oil supplement and calling it a day

Omega-3 fatty acids play a role in reducing ocular surface inflammation, supporting meibomian gland function, and improving the oily layer of the tear film, and are present in many dry eye supplements. However, they do not address other aspects of the Dry Eye Cycle, such as nerve function or mucin stability.

Furthermore, it can be difficult to tell the quality of the fish oil. Here's a scary fact: a 2023 analysis published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition found that over 60% of fish oil supplements tested were already oxidised or rancid at the time of sale — meaning they had degraded in quality and could potentially do more harm than good.

2. Choosing a generic vision support formula or eye supplement

Plenty of vision supplements are designed to support macula health, but not for dry eyes. They usually include lutein and zeaxanthin, which are helpful to filter blue light from electronic screens. But similar to omega-3s, they're not enough on their own as they do not target other key aspects of the Dry Eye Cycle. 

3. Ignoring ingredient quality and dosage

Even the right ingredient doesn’t help if it’s in the wrong form or dose. Bilberry fruit powder won’t deliver what a standardised 36% anthocyanin extract can. And with vitamin B12, it's the methylcobalamin form that is more effective for corneal nerve repair, not the cheaper, synthetic cyanocobalamin. Also watch for brands hiding behind “proprietary blends,” which obscure actual dosages. If a brand won’t tell you how much of each ingredient it uses, that’s a red flag.

4. Expecting a capsule to fix everything

Make no mistake - dry eye is complex. And no supplement will work if your diet is nutrient-poor or you’re constantly dehydrated. Think of supplements as reinforcements, not replacements. They amplify what you’re already doing right, but they can’t overcome what you’re doing wrong. For best results, combine targeted internal support with daily hydration, a balanced diet, and lifestyle adjustments like regular screen breaks and eye hygiene.

Your Foundation Matters: What a Dry Eye-Friendly Diet Looks Like

Before taking any eye supplements, first ask yourself this question: "Have I built a solid nutritional foundation?" Because even the best dry eye supplement can't override a poor diet or unhealthy lifestyle. Supplements work best when you have built a strong foundation that includes:

• Eating fatty fish (sardines, mackerel, salmon) 5–6 times/week for natural omega-3 fatty acids which support the oily layer of the tear film
• Eating daily leafy greens like kale and spinach for lutein and zeaxanthin, as well as natural antioxidants that protect eye tissue from oxidative damage
• Eating eggs, dairy, or liver every day, for vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for the health of the ocular surface and conjunctiva
• Drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day, since dehydration directly reduces tear production and worsens tear film instability
• And reducing inflammatory foods such as refined sugars, seed oils and ultra-processed snacks. These can increase systemic inflammation and negatively impact gut health, which in turn affects the immune balance involved in dry eye disease. A healthy gut supports immune regulation — and that’s essential for calming the chronic inflammation behind dry eye symptoms.

What to Look for in a Dry Eye Supplement (That Actually Works)

If you’re looking for a supplement that delivers real, lasting dry eye support, it must check these two boxes:

✅ Complements a balanced diet that has plenty of fresh omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A and natural antioxidants — doesn’t try to replace it.

✅ Targets the whole Dry Eye Cycle by using a combination of clinically researched ingredients in bioavailable forms. These include:

• Bilberry fruit extract (ideally standardised to 36% anthocyanins) promotes ocular microcirculation and supports healthy tear production
• Methylcobalamin (activated vitamin B12) supports corneal nerve repair and helps with ocular surface healing
• Vitamin D3 supports immune health, reduces ocular surface inflammation, stabilises the tear film, and reduces tear evaporation
• Saffron & grape seed extract help reduce free radical damage and dry eye symptoms, especially when symptoms are stress-related
• Lutein & zeaxanthin help to filter blue light from electronic screens and support the goblet cells that maintain tear film stability

When used together, these nutrients work systemically to help soothe dry eyes, and to rebuild the deeper mechanisms that keep them healthy. And this is how you can go beyond symptom management — and finally start seeing real, lasting relief.

How the Nutravision eye supplement successfully targets all 7 steps of the Dry Eye Cycle

What Makes Nutravision A Different Dry Eye Supplement

Nutravision wasn't built in a boardroom to be just another eye supplement. It started with something far more personal.

It was originally designed to support long-term vision health, especially around eye pressure and optic nerve function, with results that far exceeded our expectations. Nutravision was never intended as a dry eye product.

But then, something unexpected happened.

One by one, customers began reporting improvements in their dry eye symptoms. Redness faded. Screen fatigue lessened. For some, the constant dependence on eye drops finally broke. And they weren’t just first-time supplement users — many had tried everything else.

Unlike most dry eye products focused solely on hydration or omega-3s, Nutravision supports the entire ecosystem of the eye — from front to back — targeting all 7 steps of the Dry Eye Cycle with its unique combination of 10 practitioner-grade ingredients.

Real Australians. Real Dry Eye Relief.

Nutravision wasn’t designed as a dry eye solution. But when the stories started coming in, they all sounded strikingly similar — people who had tried everything else, finally finding comfort they didn’t think was possible. And it became impossible to ignore.

“For years, I've had to deal with frustrating symptoms of strain, burning, dryness, and puffiness. I was repeatedly told there was nothing wrong and that my symptoms were likely due to excessive screen time. But within just a week of using Nutravision, I felt noticeable relief. The dryness in my eyes and strain have significantly improved. This product has truly changed my life” Quach, Real Estate Expert

“I have severe dry eye syndrome. After taking Nutravision, instead of using lubricant drops every few hours, I now only use them once or twice... a week.” Lakpa, University Researcher

“My dry eyes make me feel miserable. I constantly have very red eyes which is not an attractive look, and they interfere with my hobbies.” Pam Howard, Businesswoman

📖 Read Pam’s full story → How Nutravision Transformed My Red, Dry Eyes and My Life

✅ Look for supplement(s) that address the 7 stages of the Dry Eye Cycle

✅ Choose clinically studied ingredients in bioavailable, therapeutic doses

✅ Make sure the supplement(s) complement a healthy lifestyle and diet, not replace them

✅ And most importantly, listen to real stories — not just hype

Nutravision wasn’t designed to be everything to everyone, and it won't work all the time. It was built to support the deeper systems behind long-term vision (optic nerve function, macular health, brain function and circulatory health). But because it also targeted the whole Dry Eye Cycle, that has made all the difference for many Australians looking for a dry eye solution.

Whether or not you choose Nutravision, now you know what to look for — and what to avoid.

Because your vision health and eye comfort are worth more than guesswork.