Dry Eye Syndrome- Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
If you have dry eye disorder, your eyes either don’t create sufficient tears or a layer of tears is not forming to coat your eyes.
Your eyes may likely suffer from bacterial infections, or the surface of your eyes can get inflamed, causing scarring on your cornea.
Although this condition makes you uncomfortable, dry eye condition never causes permanent vision loss.
Symptoms
The most well-known symptoms of dry eye condition are:
- Burning sensation
- pain
- redness
Other regular indications include:
- watery tearing
- Stringy mucus
- Quicker tiring of eyes
- trouble perusing or sitting at the PC for a long time
- blurry vision
- a sensation of having sand in your eyes
- Numerous people with dry eyes notice heaviness in their eyes, says Dr. Spear Kugler.
Best drops for dry eyes
Some of the options for dry eyes treatment which don’t really need prescription include drops, gels, and ointments. The ingredients of these products help in retaining the moisture of your eyes.
Carboxymethylcellulose is an alleviating ingredient, says Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler. “Various manufacturers have their soothing ingredients, and [brand choice] is more dependent on individual preference.”
Search for items that have lubricants, for example, carboxymethylcellulose, and electrolytes, like potassium.
Treatment of Dry Eyes
- Artificial tears
Eye drops that increase your eye moisture are among the most widely recognized medicines for a dry eye disorder. Artificial tears likewise work well for certain individuals.
2. Lacrimal Plugs
Your eye specialist may use plugs to block the drainage holes toward the edges of your eyes. This is a quite painless and reversible method that slows tear loss.
If your condition is extreme, the plugs might be suggested as a permanent solution.
3. Prescriptions
The most generally recommended medicine for a dry eye disorder is anti-inflammatory cyclosporine (Restasis). The medication builds tears in your eyes and as a result risk of damage to your cornea is lowered.
If your dry eyes are severe, you may have to use corticosteroid eye drops for a brief timeframe while the medicine produces results.
Alternative drugs include cholinergic, like pilocarpine. These drugs will help to restore tears in your eyes.
If that other drug is making your eyes dry, your doctor may change your medicine to find out the one that doesn’t dry out your eyes.
4. Surgery
On the off chance that you have an extreme dry eye condition and it can’t go better with different medicines, your doctor may suggest surgery.
The inner corner of your eyes may be permanently plugged into a drainage hole which will help to maintain a sufficient amount of tears.
5. Home consideration
If your eyes often get dry, use a humidifier in your room to increase moisture and try to stay away from dry environments. Don’t wear contact lenses every time and limit your screen time.
Techniques
Kugler takes note that there are additionally new medicines, like LipiFlow, which makes tears flow easily, and BlephEx, which is performed by an eye care professional to clean the eyelid.
Contact lenses for dry eyes
Soft contacts are better for individuals with dry eyes than hard contact lenses, says Boxer Wachler. The reason behind this is soft lenses are moist and allow eyes to breathe easily.
Causes
Tears have three layers. The external layer is oily, the central layer is watery, and the internal layer is filled with mucus.
If the glands that produce the different components of your tears are inflamed or don’t create sufficient water, oil, or mucus, it can result in dry eye condition.
At the point when oil is absent from your tears, the tears evaporate quickly and your eyes can’t keep a consistent amount of moisture.
The reasons for dry eye disorder include:
- Hormone replacement therapy
- exposure to the breeze or dry air, or consistent Exposure to a heater throughout the winters.
- Allergies
- LASIK surgery
- a few meds, including antihistamines, nasal decongestants, anti-conception medication pills, and antidepressants
- aging
- Wearing contact lenses for a long time
- gazing at a PC for extended periods
- Not blinking enough
Risk factors
The dry eye condition is more normal in individuals aged 50 or older. Most of them are ladies, however, the condition happens in men also.
Ladies who are pregnant, on hormone replacement treatment, or going through menopause are at more risk.
The following conditions also increase risks-
- Long time allergies
- thyroid sickness or different conditions that push the eyes forward
- lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other immune-related disorders
- Exposure keratitis, which happens to sleep with your eyes partially open
- Lack of Vitamin A
According to some people, an excessive amount of openness to the blue light that is emitted from PC screens can add to dry eye condition.
But this theory doesn’t make much sense.
It is however known that gazing at screens for a long time makes us blink less, which results in dry eyes.
It’s a smart thought to take breaks when using a PC or you can also use blue light filters for them.
Is there a Cure?
For the most part, dry eye is viewed as a persistent condition. It can be managed from time to time but could not be cured completely.
- Dry eyes in the morning
Laying down with a ceiling fan or other airflow will intensify dry eye symptoms.
Applying ointments in the eye overnight will keep up moisture until morning.
2. Dry eyes around evening time
Evening dry eye is generally the aftereffect of whatever was finished during the day, says Kugler. So in case you’re gazing at a PC or a book the entire day, with decreased blinking, it will result in the eyes feeling drier around evening time.
By keeping up satisfactory ocular surface hydration for the day, indications might keep your eyes better in the evening.
When to see a specialist
If your eyes feel dry and you’re not able to see just as you used to, visit an eye specialist, ophthalmologist, or optometrist immediately.
Dry eye is best treated early because if it will go untreated for quite a while, it can turn out to be difficult to manage.
