OPTHALMOLOGICAL CONDITIONS
Dry Eye
Dry eye is a condition that affects your tear film, the three layers of tears that cover and protect the surface of your eyes. You need a smooth and stable tear film to help you see clearly and comfortably. Disruptions to your tear film can cause uncomfortable symptoms like burning, itching, watering or blurred vision.
Types of dry eye disease
From its name lone, you might think dry eye disease simply means your eyes don't produce enough tears. That's actually only part of the story. There are several types of dry eye disease,
Aqueous deficient dry eye: This is when your eyes don't produce enough tears. Your lacrimal gland (in the upper, outer comer of each eye) produces your aqueous tears. These tears make up the middle, watery layer of your tear film. Some autoimmune conditions can cause inflammation In your lacrimal gland and prevent it from producing enough aqueous tears.
Evaporative dry eye: This is when your tears evaporate too quickly. The most common cause is meibomian gland dysfunction. This means the glands in your eyelids that produce the outer, oily layer of your tear film don't work properly. As a result, the oily layer is unstable and can't protect the watery layer from drying up.
Mixed dry eye: Some people have aqueous tear deficiency and tear instability. This means your eyes don't produce enough tears, plus your tear film is unstable. Both of these problems lead to dry eye symptoms.
Causes
What can dry eye be a sign of?
Dry eye may occur on its own or along with other medical conditions. In some cases, dry eye is a sign of:
Sjogren's syndrome (about 10% of people with aqueous deficient dry eye have Sjogren's syndrome).
Diabetes (if you have diabetes, there's about a 50/50 chance you'll develop dry eye as a complication)
Thyroid eye disease.
Blepharits.
Risk factors for dry eye disease
Some risks you can't control. For example, the older you get, the more likely you are to develop dry eye. But other risks you may be able to manage through lifestyle changes or adjustments to your medications.
Talk to your provider if you have any of the risk factors listed below. You may be able to make some changes to lower you risk for dry eye or lessen bothersome symptoms.
Environment and lifestyle factors: Things lie the weather, how much time you spend looking at screens, contact lens use, smoking or allergies can increase your isk of diy eye.
Medications: Taking certain medications can increase your risk of dry eye, including some that treat depression, allergies, blood pressure, glaucoma, menopause andpain. Anticholinergics, oral contraceptives and systemic retinoids can increase your risk as well.
Medical conditions: Many different neurological conditions, eye conditions, autoimmune conditions and endocrine conditions can raise your risk of dry eye.
Surgeries: Some eye surgeries increase your risk of dry eye, including LASIK, cataract surgery and surgery on your cornea.
Symptoms
When you have dry eye, you might feel like there's something in your eye that just won't come out. This can feel like a scratchy, gritty or sandy sensation. Symptoms may also include:
Burning or stinging.
Feeling sensitive to light.
Blurred or changed vision.
Mucus that comes out of your eye.
Watery eyes, with excess tears running down your cheeks.
The watery eyes symptom may seem confusing. But its a common aspect of dry eye. It happens when your meibomian glands aren't making enough oils for the outer layer of your tear film. So, the middle, watery layer of your tear film evaporates too quickly. In response, your lacrimal glands try to make more watery tears to compensate. But these tears can't properly coat your eye, as the oily layer would. So, they can't solve the underlying problem.
Treatments
Dry eyes is a symptom whose cause has to be ruled out. Homeopathy which acts on eyes and its every layer helps in curing these conditions and ultila dry eyes as a symptom. Homoeopathic Medications which help in such concerns are sulphur, belladona, euphrasia etc
