Saturday, July 22, 2006


To my regular readers…Hey Gang!…Thanks for stopping by again,
Thanks to you first timers too!
As promised, here is another article regarding Eye Health.

DRY EYE: An Irritating Problem

If your eyes often feel dry and scratchy, you may have a condition called dry eye.
This occurs when the eyes are not kept moist enough by tears.
Dry eye can be uncomfortable. It raises your chances of eye infection. Left untreated, dry eye can cause serious damage to the eye issue. Over time, the cornea (the eyes protective covering) could even become scarred, resulting in vision loss.
Dry eye can also make wearing contact lenses very uncomfortable.

If you have dry eye, you'll be glad to know that this condition can be treated. This article will help you understand how.

Symptoms of Dry Eye

Dry eye can cause one or more of the following symptoms:

1 watery eyes
2 scratchy, dry, irritated or generally uncomfortable eyes
3 redness of the eyes
4 a feeling of the presence of a foreign body in the eye
5 blurred vision
6 and apparent loss of the eyes normal clearness and luster

Two types of tears

Normally, the eye is lubricated by tears. These lubricating tears are made by a gland in the eyelid. (These are different from the more watery reflex tears that are made when you cry.) Every time you blink, lubricating tears spread over the surface of the eye.
They then flow out of the eye and drain into the nose.

The Anatomy of a Tear

Lubricating tears form of film on the eye.
This keeps the I moist. These tears have three layers that work together to lubricate the eyes.

When You have Dry Eye

Dry eye is caused by a problem with the lubricating tears. In some cases, not enough tears are made to moisten the eye. In others, enough tears are made but they don't have the right amounts of each layer to work right. The tears may be to watery or too sticky to properly lubricate the eye.

When the cornea is irritated, the body tries to fix this by making more tears. So, dry eye can actually cause your eye to water. But since these tears aren’t able to properly lubricate the eye, making more of them doesn't solve the problem.

Causes of Dry Eye

Dry eye can be caused by one or more of the following:

1 Age. As a person gets older, the eyes don't make tears as well as before. More than half of the people who have dry eye are over age 50.
2 Blinking problems. When you can't blink normally, your eye doesn't stay as moist.
3 Certain medications, including antihistamines, decongestants, birth-control pills, and tranquilizers.
4 Environmental factors, such as a dry climate or excessive exposure to wind.
5 Allergies or hayfever
6 Chemical or thermal burns to the eyes.
7 Certain health problems, including arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome (an autoimmune condition that affects mostly middle-aged women).

To Diagnose Dry Eye

Early detection of dry eye leads to more effective treatment and helps prevent damage to your eyes. If you have had symptoms of dry eye, make an appointment with your eye doctor. Your eyes will be examined using sophisticated diagnostic tools. You and your doctor will also discuss lifestyle habits, environmental factors, medications, and health conditions that could be causing your symptoms. Your examination and this discussion help your eye doctor determine the best form of treatment.

To Treat Dry Eye

Dry eye cannot be permanently cured, but there are effective treatments. Your eye doctor may recommend one or more of the following:

1 specially formulated eye drops (called lubricating eye drops or visual tears) which replaced your natural lubricating tears.
2 Soothing eye ointments that can be applied at bedtime.
3 The use of a humidifier in your home or office during periods of especially dry weather.
4 The insertion of tiny plugs in the tear drainage canal in the inner corner of each eye for more severe cases of dry eye. Visa slowdown in the drainage of tears from the surface of the eye. This way are tears remain on the eye longer and provide more natural lubrication. The plugs are inserted during a simple, painless procedure.
5 Surgery to permanently close the drainage Canal's in rare cases of dry eye. The surgery is simple and painless.

This article is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Only your health-care professional can diagnose and treat a medical problem.

Well as always….Thanks for stopping by, hope this has been helpful to you,And feel free to leave comments, or ask me questions.

Ben…aka MobileEyeGuy


  1. That's ironic that both allergies and antihistimines can cause dry eye.

  2. Thank you for a timely article. I have dry eyes probably due to an auto-immune disorder.

  3. Hi Ben, these are great articles. Thanks for the advice.


  4. Anonymous3:04 PM


  5. Chronic Dry eyes develop due to the eyes not producing adequate amount of tears. There are many symptoms of chronic dry eyes which includes itchiness, prickliness, sensitiveness to light, blurry eyesight, dryness etc.It develops as your age grows, menopausal phase or medical disorders. Turbulent weather conditions, smoke, air-conditioners and heaters, constant wear of contact lenses can increase the risk of dry eyes.

  6. Thank you so much for bringing up this,I always encounter this kind of problem on my eyes and it feels me irritation. Just remember prevention is better than a cure,so make sure that you have an eye care examination.


  7. I work in computers all day, sometimes my eyes come dry, my doctor told that this also is caused by the dust in the air.