Dry Eyes is an eye condition that affects millions of people. This condition affects more women than men and more of the older than the younger people. Chronic Dry Eyes ( CDE) is simply referred to as Dry-Eyes (DE ) and has a lot to do with tears production of the eyes. However, It is important for you to know that tears is NOT water. Tears contain, in addition to water, lubricants, nutrients and electrolytes. This content is what gives the tear-film its stability, lubricating, moisturising and cleansing functions that it provides to the surface of the eyes each time we blink.

Symptoms of Dry Eyes 

The symptoms of dry eyes may be temporary and occasional for some patients, but severe and worrisome for others. The common symptoms of dry eyes are dryness of the eyes, itchy-burning sensation, Gritty sensation (your eyes feel like you have sand particles in them ), increase in light sensitivity, off and on blurry vision etc. As surprising as it may sound, some patients with DE may experience ‘excessive tearing’. Yes , ‘Tearing’…..Now you may wonder why a patient with dry eyes would have watery eyes. The answer lies in the CAUSE of the Dry Eye condition. 

Causes Of Dry Eyes

Dry Eyes is most commonly caused by insufficient production of tears. This is a case where the eyes are not able to produce enough tears to lubricate the eyes. In this instance, the eyes produce healthy but very SCANTY tears – “Quality with little QUANTITY. “ 

Dry Eyes can also be caused by deficiency of tear content. In this instance, the tears lack its natural content or composition. The eyes produce sufficient but unhealthy tears – “Quantity with NO QUALITY”. As a result of this deficiency, the tears become UNSTABLE and unable to bond to the surface of the eyes when we blink and therefore washes off like water to the lower portion of the eyes, leaving the eyes with no lubrication and causing dryness. This triggers more ‘watery’ tears production and the cycle repeats. In this case, patients with Dry Eyes will experience ‘watery’ eyes with some sort of discomfort.

Health Conditions That Can Result To Dry eyes  

 – Hormonal changes; This is common with women due to pregnancy, menopause etc

– Poor Health condition; diabetes, high level of cholesterol, thyroid, cancer etc    

 – Ageing process of the body; This leads to degeneration of most parts of our body including the eyes.         

– Side effects and prolonged use of certain medications.

-Eye imflammation; This may have affected the tear gland ( the gland responsible for tears production )     

-Certain medical procedures;  For example Chemotherapy radiation treatment for cancer patients.   

–Environmental condition; prolonged, constant and unprotected exposure to harsh environmental condition such as heat, direct sunlight, toxic chemicals or fumes.

Some medical  authorities have claimed that the use of computer causes Dry Eyes. This is not true. The fact is that even though prolonged use and constant focus on the computer or any electronic device without frequent blinking could temporarily make the eyes dry. This effect does not cause or trigger Chronic Dry Eyes ( kerato-Conjunctivities Sica ) . However, it could worsen the symptoms of Dry Eyes if it is not managed with an eye drop.

Treatment

Chronic dry eye is untreatable. But as frustrating as this may seem, the good news is that it is manageable. There are a number of OTC eye drops for dry eyes. Your eye doctor should recommend one for you if you have DE. However the OTC drops that I recommend for most of my patients are quite effective and you can get them in your local pharmacy stores.

Written By;     

Austin Madu,  OD   

(Optometrist )