How are dry eyes treated?

Inability of the attention to supply tears adequately or facing the matter during which the tears produced aren't of the right consistency and quickly evaporates, leads to dry eyes.

Inflammation of the attention surface along side dry eye can also occur.

 Without treatment, it can cause ulcers, pain, or scars on the cornea, and even loss of some vision.

 However, a permanent loss of vision thanks to dry eye isn't commonly observed.

It may be difficult to try to to certain activities like reading for an extended period of your time or employing a computer thanks to this condition. 

Dry eyes can reduce the tolerance for dry environments, like the air inside an airplane.

Dry condition is understood by many names like dry eye syndrome, keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), lacrimal keratoconjunctivitis, dysfunctional tear syndrome, aqueous tear deficiency, evaporative tear deficiency and LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy (LNE).

What are the kinds of dry eye?

1) Failure of the lacrimal glands to supply adequate amount of the watery component of tears required to take care of a healthy eye surface leads to aqueous tear-deficient dry eye.

2) Inflammation of the meibomian glands, located within the eyelids results in evaporative dry eye.

 Meibomian glands structure the lipid or oily a part of tears and helps hamper the evaporation rate and maintains stability of tears.

Dry eye are often related to the subsequent conditions:

inflammation of eye surface, the conjunctiva, or the lacrimal gland;

any disease process that leads to alteration of the components of the tears;

an increase within the surface of the attention , as in thyroid disease when the attention protrudes forward;

cosmetic surgery to correct the wide eyelids.

Dry eyes causes:

Aging largely contributes to the event of dry eyes. Majority of individuals above the age of 65 develop dry eye symptoms.

Hormonal changes thanks to pregnancy, menopause and therefore the use of oral contraceptives cause a greater number of girls developing dry eyes as compared to men.

Medications like antihistamines, vital sign medications, decongestants, and antidepressants, can cause a discount in tear production. 

Having atrophic arthritis , thyroid problems diabetes, problems with eyelid inflammation (blepharitis), inflammation of eye surface or the inward or outward turning of eyelids can cause development of dry eyes.

 Wind and dry climates or exposure to smoke may result in an increased evaporation of tear causing dry eye symptoms

 Not blinking regularly while performing on display screen for an extended time also can end in drying of the eyes.

 Long-term use of contact lenses and refractive eye surgeries, like LASIK, can reduce tear production and contribute to dry eyes. 

Symptoms of dry eyes

burning of the eye a feeling as if something is within the eye;

Experiencing excess tears formation followed by dry eye periods;

experiencing eye discharge;

pain and redness of the eye;

experiencing blurred vision;

heavy eyelids;

inability to cry accompanied with emotional stress;

experience discomfort with contact lenses;

reduced tolerance to activities that need sustained visual attention;

eye fatigue 

How are dry eyes diagnosed?

A comprehensive eye examination can help diagnose dry eyes. Tests and evaluation of the dry eye disorder, may include:

Taking down patient history to work out the symptoms and note the other factors like general health problems, environmental factors or medications that would possibly contribute to the dry eye problem.

External examination of the attention .

Use of bright light and magnification to guage the eyelids and cornea.

Measurement of the number and quality of tears for any abnormalities using special dyes that help during a better observation of tear flow and indicate any changes within the outer surface of the attention as a results of insufficient tears.

How are dry eyes treated?

Addition of tears with over-the-counter artificial tear solutions, heightened tear production, conserving tears and treating the inflammation of the eyelids or eye surface that contributes to the dry eyes are the first approaches within the management and treatment of dry eyes.

Addition of tears- Mild cases of dry eyes can often be managed using over-the-counter artificial tear solutions. 

These are often used as often as required to supplement natural tear production. 

Artificial tear solutions that are freed from preservatives are recommended as they are doing not end in eye irritation as they contain fewer additives. 

Conserving tears by keeping natural tears within the eyes for a extended duration by blocking the tear ducts through which the tears normally drain can reduce the dry eye symptoms. 

The tear ducts are often blocked with tiny removable silicone or gel-like plugs.

For increasing tear production, use of eye drops may result in an increased tear production. Also, nutritional intake of omega-3 carboxylic acid might be helpful in reducing the dry eye symptom.

For the treatment of ocular surface inflammation which may contribute to dry eyes, clinician might prescribe eye drops or ointments, lid massage and warm compresses, or eyelid cleaners.

Self-Care

You can take the subsequent steps to scale back symptoms of dry eyes:

Remember to blink regularly while reading or doing computer work for long duration.

Increase the humidity within the air at work and reception .

Wear sunglasses outdoors to decrease exposure to drying winds and therefore the sun.

Nutritional supplements with essential fatty acids may help in reduction of dry eye symptoms.

Avoid dehydration by drinking many water (8 to 10 glasses) every day .

OPTOMETRY-SHARP VISION

Optometrist