Understanding Dry Eye Syndrome Can Help You Cope Better
Most of us take our body organs for granted and our eyes are no exception.
We want to beautify them, buy expensive eye make-up and try to bring additional sparkle and so on.
Yet, we do not even take any special care for them, unless there is a problem.
Dry eye syndrome is one of the most common eye disorders, which starts with minor irritation of the eyes and can end up with ugly inflammation of the eye tissues.
What are the typical signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome? The first signs are irritation and the tendency to scratch your eyes often.
There is also a burning sensation which accompanies the itchiness.
Some people feel the sensation that something has fallen in the eye - often called the 'foreign body sensation'.
Though it sounds contradictory, watery eyes could be a precursor to developing dry eye syndrome.
When the water component of our tears is over stimulated, we can develop dry eyes.
The risk factors involved in developing this disorder include hormonal imbalance caused during menopause, arthritis and diabetes, conditions like Sjorgen's syndrome, etc.
It could also be a combination of all these risk factors.
Most of us take tears to be a way to vent out our inner feelings.
But tears also have another important role and that is they cleanse our eyes of accumulated dirt, dust and debris.
They keep our eyes moist and lubricated.
Tears are rich in some types of enzymes which have antibacterial properties and prevent our eyes from getting infected.
Therefore without tears, the eye health would deteriorate fast.
During this specific disorder when the eyes go dry, we are incapable of producing tears, or even if we do, the tears evaporate quickly because there has been some alteration in the chemical composition of the contents of the tear drops.
What are the causes behind dry eye syndrome? Over and above the hormonal changes which a menopausal woman goes through which may eventually lead her to have this disorder, there are other causes too.
These include possible side effects of some medications like antihistamines, antidepressants and anti-hypertensive medicines.
This disorder could also be part of side effects of drugs that we take to manage Parkinson's disease.
Adverse living and working conditions also trigger this syndrome.
For example if the climatic conditions are windy, dusty or dry then it is possible to develop dry eyes.
Even working on the computer for long hours or using contact lenses from prolonged periods of time can cause this disorder.
What are the treatment options for dry eye syndrome? Unfortunately the condition may not be cured completely, but you can have treatments that reduce or control symptoms like redness, itchiness of the eyes and the accompanying burning sensation.
Sometimes doctors recommend artificial tears which bring relief to the patient and reduce the scratching tendency.
Artificial tears are actually eye-lubricating medicines which are prescribed to keep the eyes moist and wet.
We want to beautify them, buy expensive eye make-up and try to bring additional sparkle and so on.
Yet, we do not even take any special care for them, unless there is a problem.
Dry eye syndrome is one of the most common eye disorders, which starts with minor irritation of the eyes and can end up with ugly inflammation of the eye tissues.
What are the typical signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome? The first signs are irritation and the tendency to scratch your eyes often.
There is also a burning sensation which accompanies the itchiness.
Some people feel the sensation that something has fallen in the eye - often called the 'foreign body sensation'.
Though it sounds contradictory, watery eyes could be a precursor to developing dry eye syndrome.
When the water component of our tears is over stimulated, we can develop dry eyes.
The risk factors involved in developing this disorder include hormonal imbalance caused during menopause, arthritis and diabetes, conditions like Sjorgen's syndrome, etc.
It could also be a combination of all these risk factors.
Most of us take tears to be a way to vent out our inner feelings.
But tears also have another important role and that is they cleanse our eyes of accumulated dirt, dust and debris.
They keep our eyes moist and lubricated.
Tears are rich in some types of enzymes which have antibacterial properties and prevent our eyes from getting infected.
Therefore without tears, the eye health would deteriorate fast.
During this specific disorder when the eyes go dry, we are incapable of producing tears, or even if we do, the tears evaporate quickly because there has been some alteration in the chemical composition of the contents of the tear drops.
What are the causes behind dry eye syndrome? Over and above the hormonal changes which a menopausal woman goes through which may eventually lead her to have this disorder, there are other causes too.
These include possible side effects of some medications like antihistamines, antidepressants and anti-hypertensive medicines.
This disorder could also be part of side effects of drugs that we take to manage Parkinson's disease.
Adverse living and working conditions also trigger this syndrome.
For example if the climatic conditions are windy, dusty or dry then it is possible to develop dry eyes.
Even working on the computer for long hours or using contact lenses from prolonged periods of time can cause this disorder.
What are the treatment options for dry eye syndrome? Unfortunately the condition may not be cured completely, but you can have treatments that reduce or control symptoms like redness, itchiness of the eyes and the accompanying burning sensation.
Sometimes doctors recommend artificial tears which bring relief to the patient and reduce the scratching tendency.
Artificial tears are actually eye-lubricating medicines which are prescribed to keep the eyes moist and wet.