If you are facing an itchy, scratchy, and burning sensation in your eye often then you might be facing a condition called dry eye.
What is dry eye?
It is a condition in which your tear film is not able to give an adequate amount of lubrication for the eyes.
At first, it may not seem like a troublesome situation. The more you delay the solution, the more complicated your case becomes.
The main cause is the tear film instability which can lead to damage to the surface of the eye.
What is tear film?
Our eyes tear film is made of three layers -
- An oily layer - Lipid layer. It makes the tear layer smooth and protects the tear layer from evaporation.
- A watery layer - Aqueous layer. It is the middle layer of foreign particles and waste products.
- A mucus layer - Mucin layer. Is the most inner layer of the tear film it helps the layer to adhere to the cornea.
Normally our eyes continuously make tear from layers to keep our eyes moist any disruption in three layers can cause dry eye conditions.
Symptoms: -
- A stinging and burning sensation in your eyes.
- Sensitivity to light.
- Redness
- Foreign body sensation.
- Itchiness and grittiness in the eyes are quite common.
What can be the causes of dry eyes?
- More screen time spent on digital screens leads to a reduced blinking rate which can lead to this condition. Nowadays this is the most prominent cause of dry eye.
- Direct contact with air conditioners can also lead to this condition.
- Some systemic illnesses like thyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus are of contributing factors.
- Ocular conditions such as blepharitis, sjörgen syndrome, entropion, or ectropion, also cause dry eyes.
- Using contact lenses for a longer period of time
- Certain medications such as - allergic medications (antihistamines), anxiety and antidepressant medications, diuretics for high blood pressure, etc. also cause dry eyes.
What would happen if I ignored them?
If left untreated for a long time it can create complications for your eyes which can also lead to visual loss.
Some of the following complications could be:
- Eye infections - as tear film contains lysozymes, an enzyme that acts as an antimicrobial agent for eyes found in your tear film. Without adequate tears, it increases the chances of eye risked infections.
- Damages in eye surface - like corneal aberration, corneal inflammations, corneal ulcer, and vision loss.
I have a watering problem. Can I still have a dry eye condition?
Yes, sometimes dry eyes create watering problems.
This condition is called reflex tearing. It happens because lack of moisture produces an irritating sensation in the eye, to counter this a distress signal is sent to the nervous system to produce more tears which make up the dry eye problem.
But these tears are mostly water which just washes off any debris or foreign particles, it doesn't cure your condition.
Treatment
- Artificial tear drops and ointment - this is the most common and conventional treatment available.
- Lubricant eye drops like - Fresh eye, Lubistar, and Refresh tears are available in the market.
- Lipiflow - this is a new method of treatment. It treats meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) by massaging and warming the inside of eyelids, which results in the restoration of healthy oil production and improved tear quality.