Dry eye or dry eye syndrome is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, irritation, foreign body sensation, redness, and fluctuating vision.
There are two types of dry eyes - evaporative and aqueous deficient. In an evaporative dry eye, the tears on the eyes are evaporating too quickly and thus are not there to lubricate the surface of your eyes. In aqueous deficient dry eye, not enough tears are being made by the body to maintain the health of your eyes. Most dry eye syndrome is a combination of both types.
Tears are made up of three components, a disruption in any of the components can lead to signs and symptoms of dry eyes. The aqueous layer is our water layer, this keeps our eyes hydrated. The oil layer is produced by our oil glands that are underneath the skin on both our top and bottom lid. The oil layer...
WHAT CAUSES DRY EYES?
Environmental factors can also exacerbate dry eyes. These include:
Not blinking enough - blinking activates our oil and tear glands. If blinking is inconsistent, our oil glands can become clogged. Did you know that studies show that blink rate reduces when you are on the computer?
Low humidity - unfortunately California is has a very dry climate which increases the likelihood of dry eyes
Windy environments
Contact lenses - soft contact lenses use tears from our eyes to keep the lens moist
Excessive computer work
Medications - some medications such as antihistamines for allergy and acne medications have dry eye as a known side effect.
One treatment of severe dry eye is punctal plug occlustion.
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