Dry Eye Diagnosis & Treatment

What is chronic dry eye disease?

Dry eye disease affects the surface of the eye and results in a loss of the normal balance of things that keep your eyes comfortable and clear.

Tears spread across the cornea or the surface of the eye with every blink. The amount and quality of one’s tears are essential for one’s eyes.

At the surface of the eyes, there are many parts that work together in harmony. For example, there are muscles, nerves, glands, tear ducts, and connective tissue, that all play their role in keeping the eyes moist.

Dry eye disease occurs usually when one of these factors is out of balance. This actually causes imbalance to other factors, perpetuating the cycle of dry eye disease.

The risk of developing dry eye disease increases with age. Women are more likely to develop the condition compared with men. However, dry eye disease is becoming increasingly common in younger people with more device use like smartphones, laptops, and tablets than ever before.

Increasing device and smartphone use has made dry eyes more prominent than ever before.

According to research, over 16 million Americans have dry eyes. However, this number may be significantly higher.

Those who develop the disease can experience problems with daily activities like reading, watching television, using the computer and mobile phones, dealing with work, and driving.

Dry eye and light sensitivity photophobia

DRY EYE SYMPTOMS

Dry eye symptoms can vary from person to person. Here is a list of symptoms you may experience if you have dry eyes:

Sore eyes
Blurry eyesight
Sensitivity to wind or smoke
Feels like something in your eye
Irritated or gritty eyes
Stinging or burning sensation
Eye fatigue (i.e. your eyes are more tired than you tend to feel)
Red eyes
Sticky eyes
Pain on waking or opening eye lids in the morning
Difficulty in wearing contact lenses
Light sensitivity or photophobia
Difficulty in keeping your eyes open
Watery eyes or Excessive tearing (If the normal tear quality is reduced, the body creates over-production of watery tears. It sounds odd, but dry eyes can make watery eyes.)

Some of these symptoms happen regularly, and others occur intermittently. Most people’s symptoms are different, and can vary depending on whether they’re indoors or outdoors. Dry eye disease occurs when your eyes are affected at least once per day.

CAUSES & RISK FACTORS

Dry eye symptoms can vary from person to person. Here is a list of symptoms you may experience if you have dry eyes:

Sore eyes
Blurry eyesight
Sensitivity to wind or smoke
Feels like something in your eye
Irritated or gritty eyes
Stinging or burning sensation
Eye fatigue (i.e. your eyes are more tired than you tend to feel)
Red eyes
Sticky eyes
Pain on waking or opening eyelids in the morning
Difficulty in wearing contact lenses
Light sensitivity or photophobia
Difficulty in keeping your eyes open
Watery eyes or Excessive tearing (If the normal tear quality is reduced, the body creates an over-production of watery tears. It sounds odd, but dry eyes can make watery eyes.)

Some of these symptoms happen regularly, and others occur intermittently. Most people’s symptoms are different and can vary depending on whether they’re indoors or outdoors. Dry eye disease occurs when your eyes are affected at least once per day. People with dry eye should let their health care providers know all the medications they are taking, since some of them may intensify dry eye symptoms.

People with connective tissue diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, can also develop dry eye. It is important to note that dry eye is sometimes a symptom of Sjögren’s syndrome, a disease that attacks the body’s lubricating glands such as the tear and salivary glands. A complete physical examination may diagnose any underlying diseases.

THE FUNCTION OF TEARS

The continuous production and drainage of tears are important to the eye’s health. Tears keep the eye moist, help wounds heal, and protect against eye infections. In people with dry eye syndrome, the eye produces fewer or lower-quality tears and is unable to keep its surface lubricated and comfortable.

The tear film consists of three layers:

Outer, oily (lipid) layer that keeps tears from evaporating too quickly and helps tears remain on the eye
Middle (aqueous) layer that nourishes the cornea and conjunctiva
The bottom (mucin) layer helps to spread the aqueous layer across the eye to ensure that the eye remains wet

As we age, the eyes usually produce fewer tears. Also, in some cases, the lipid and mucin layers produced by the eyes are of such poor quality that tears cannot remain in the eye long enough to keep the eye sufficiently lubricated. Eventually, you will want to look into dry eye syndrome treatment.

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