Dry Eye
What You Need to Know About the Dry Eye Syndrome
Dry eye is some sort of discomfort that people feel. People who suffer from this eye condition experience different symptoms such as redness of the eyes accompanied by blurred vision, stinging sensation, light sensitivity, excess mucous, watering, and gritty sensation of the eye.
What Is Dry Eye Syndrome?
Also called keratitis sicca or keratoconjunctivitis, this condition is due to the underproduction of tears by your body. Much of the tears are produced by the Lacrimal gland
while the oily component of the tears is made in the Meibomian glands. Lastly, the last component–the goblet cells–keep everything mixed up. The tears need to maintain a certain amount of balance of these three components. If the mixture becomes unbalanced, the patient starts to feel the symptoms.
Causes of Ocular Dryness
Aside from insufficient production of tears, this condition is also caused by the inflammation of the lacrimal gland. Adverse reaction to medications can also result in dryness of the eyes. Examples of medications that cause dryness include antihistamines, decongestants, and oral contraceptives. Hormonal changes can also bring about the development of the dry eye syndrome.
Who Is at Risk?
While this condition is very common, it is estimated that between 10% and 30% of the population in the United States suffer from this condition. This is equivalent to around 90 million individuals all over the country. Moreover, this condition is often common among women who are over 40 years old.
How Is It Treated?
Treatment of dry eye is done through various courses of actions. If you suffer from this condition, your eye doctor may need to give you artificial tears that contain polyvinyl alcohol and carboxymethylcellulose. If you suffer from moderate to severe case of dry eyes, you can be given punctual occlusions and medication to improve the quality of your tears.