Dry eye syndrome is a widespread problem, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. Your eye doctor can help you learn what is causing your dry eye and develop a plan to get rid of it for good!
Keep reading to learn more about dry eye syndrome and how you can treat it!
What Causes Dry Eye?
Dry eyes can get triggered by many different factors. Some of the leading causes of dry eyes include:
- Environment
- Air quality
- Allergens
- Dehydration
- Excessive screen use
But those are environmental causes of dry eyes. Dry eye syndrome usually has an underlying cause from something going on in your body.
The most common causes of dry eye syndrome are low tear production and poor tear quality. You can have these issues individually or at the same time.
Tear Issues Are The Root Cause of Dry Eye Syndrome
Eyes need tears to remain healthy. Tears deliver necessary nutrients, lubricate the surface, and protect your eyes.
When the eye stops producing enough tears to keep up with the demand, you exhibit dry eye symptoms. Common symptoms of dry eye symptom include:
- Irritation
- Swelling
- Blurry vision
- Light sensitivity
- Stringy mucus discharge, especially in the morning
Problems with low tear production are most often caused by getting older. As your body ages, it stops working as it used to, and tear production becomes a lower priority.
Even if your body produces enough tears, they don’t always work the way they should. Tears need three ingredients to be fully effective, water, mucus, and oil.
Water contains the nutrients and hydration your eye needs to be healthy. Mucus ensures the water spreads evenly across the surface of your eye.
Oil protects the water from evaporating off your eyes, ensuring more time for water and nutrients to absorb into your eye tissues. When an eye doctor says that you have poor tear quality, they usually refer to a lack of oil.
Lacking oil in your tears is relatively common and is a leading cause of dry eye syndrome. That’s because the glands that produce the oil can clog up with debris and naturally create a wax that can block them.
How Can You Get Rid of Dry Eye?
The most effective way to stop dry eye is by targeting it at its source. Once your eye doctor knows the cause of your dry eye, they can prescribe the correct treatment.
If your eyes underproduce tears, you may benefit from:
- Insertable artificial tears that slowly release to give you long-lasting relief
- Tear stimulating drugs that force your body to produce more tears
- Punctal plugs are synthetic plugs that get inserted into your tear ducts to hold tears in your eyes longer
If your tears are low in oil, the doctor may start you on gland expression therapy. This therapy uses a special machine on your eyelids.
The device uses gentle pulsating heat and mild pressure to unblock the glands. The process is relaxing and can be a very effective tool against dry eye.
Whether allergies, lack of tears, or low-quality tears are causing your dry eyes, there is a way to treat them! Schedule an appointment at Stahl Eyecare Experts in Manhattan, NY, to see how you can get rid of yours!
