Chronic Dry Eye Symptoms
The eye is dependant on the flow of tears to provide regular moisture and lubrication to preserve vision and comfort. Tears are a mixture of water, for moisture; oils, for lubrication; mucus, for fine spreading; and antibodies and special proteins, to fight infection. These components are secreted by special glands situated around the eye. When there is an inequity in this tear system, a person may suffer from dry eyes.
When tears do not adequately lubricate the eye, a person may experience symptoms such as pain, light sensitivity, a gritty sensation, sand in the eye, itching, redness or even blurring of vision. From time to time, a person with a dry eye will have excess tears running down the cheeks, which may seem puzzling. This happens when the eye is not getting adequate lubrication.
The eye sends a pain signal through the nervous system for more lubrication. In retort, the eye is flooded with tears to try to recompense for the underlying dryness. Though, these tears are mostly water and do not have the lubricating qualities or the rich composition of normal tears. They wash away the debris, but they will not coat the eye surface.
Because these emergency tears tend to arrive too late, the eye needs to regenerate and treatment becomes essential. In addition to a disparity in the tear-flow system of the eye, dry eye can be caused by the drying out of the tear film. This can be due to dry air created by air conditioners, excess heat, or other environmental reasons.
The natural aging procedure, especially during menopause can also cause dry eye. It occurs as a part of the natural aging process, during menopause; because of side effects of many medications for instance antihistamines, antidepressants, certain blood pressure medicines, Parkinson's medications and birth control pills; or because we live in a dry, dusty or windy climate.
If our home or office has air conditioning or a dry heating system that too can dry out our eyes. Another reason could be insufficient blinking, such as when we are staring at a computer screen all day. Dry eyes could also be caused due to structural problems with the eyes that does not allow them to close properly or a problem with the tear ducts.
Unrelenting dryness, scratching and burning in our eyes are signs of dry eye syndrome. These symptoms alone may be enough for our eye doctor to diagnose dry eye syndrome. But at times he or she may want to measure the amount of tears in our eyes. A thin strip of filter paper placed at the edge of the eye, called a Schirmer test, is one way to measure dry eye problem.
Some individuals may also go through a feeling that something is in their eye, a feeling of a "foreign body sensation." And it may seem odd, but occasionally watery eyes can result from dry eye syndrome, because the excessive dryness works to over stimulate the production of the watery component of our eye's tears.