Dry Eye

Do your eyes itch? Do you suffer from burning, chronic redness, or a grittiness in your eyes? If you do then the chances are that you are one of the ten million Americans who suffer from some form of dry eye syndrome. Our tears are made up of 3 important layers. When our tears lack one or more of these components, or when too few tears are produced, the tear film can break down causing dry spots to develop. As a result, the condition known as dry eye occurs.

The tears produced by your eyes are necessary for your eye health and clear vision. Dry eye is commonly caused by the natural aging process. At age 65 your eye produces 60% less tears than at age 18. The rapid increase of computer usage has created considerable problems with dry eye. We know that continued computer use causes a decrease in the normal blink rate. Patients who work with computers have a greater occurrence of dry eye. Environmental factors like sun, wind, dust and smoke are other causes of dry eye. Use of medications, like antihistamines, blood pressure medications, diuretics, tranquilizers and sleeping pills can cause dry eye conditions. If untreated, dry eye can damage tissue and possibly scar the cornea, leading to irreversible sight threatening conditions.

Persistent dryness, scratching and burning in your eyes are signs of dry eye syndrome.  Some people may experience the sensation of a “foreign body” in the eye, and even though it may seem odd excessive dryness can work to over stimulate the production of the watery production of your eye’s tears, resulting in constant tearing and watery eyes.  Dry eye syndrome may also be caused by certain systemic diseases such as, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

If you have symptoms of dry eye syndrome, call your eye care specialist for an appointment right away.  Symptoms alone may be enough for your doctor to make a diagnosis, but he or she may want to measure the amount of tears in your eyes.  A thin paper strip of filter paper is placed at the edge of the eye, called a Schirmer test is one way of measuring this. 

Dry eye cannot be cured, but your eye care professional can prescribe treatment such as artificial tears or eye drop to moisturize your yes or silicone plugs may be need to keep your tears from draining away too quickly.

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Dry Eye