Dry Eyes - The Facts, the Causes and the Treatments

By Julian Berson

Dry eye, as the name implies, is an unpleasant state of eyes, in which the eyes are restricted to shed tears. There is a special layer possessed by human eyes, known as tear film, which is answerable for generating tears. In the dry eye syndrome, this film is disabled to work suitably to secrete the required quantity of tears. The leading indicators of dry eye include itching and burning sensation, pain in eyes, improper vision, tear emission while watching TV, stringing eye muscles and pain with contact lenses.

What Leads To Dry Eye

Dry eye is caused due to a bunch of elements related to age, place of living, job and activities carried out by the patient and many more. Some of the most serious reasons behind dry eye include:

- Old age, in which less oil is produced by body
- Polluted environment having excess of smoke particles
- Use of contact lenses
- Several sicknesses like Sjogren's Syndrome and arthritis
- Nerve-wrangling working, particularly on PC
- Dry heat and air conditioners that soak away the tears from eye surface

Dry Eye Treatment - The Options Available

In case, you experience dry eye syndrome, you have to consult an optometrist to know about varied dry eye treatment alternatives available. First of all, it is necessary to diagnose the level of dry eye syndrome before starting the dry eye treatment. For this reason, you will follow any one of the following tests:

1. Shimmer Test - In this test, pieces of paper are put on the lower eyelid to examine the amount of tears available in your eyes.

2. Tear Break Up Test - In this test, a solution is pored in the eye to comprehend the process of tear secretion.

The most typical dry eye treatment choices include:

- Drinking lots of water
- Avoid sitting directly in front of fan and air conditioner
- Avoid places having extreme weather conditions
- Blinking the eyes more often
- Wear wrap-around glasses to avoid heat and air
- Avoid smoking
- Scrub the eyelids with warm water and mild shampoo

The products that might provide assistance in dry eye treatment include:

- Punctal Plugs - These are made up of collagen or silicon and block the drainage system of eyes to preserve tears in the eyes.
- Vitamin A medications - As we all know, Vitamin An is required for eyes, therefore most optometrists suggest Vitamin A medications like BioTears for dry eye treatment.
- Synthetic Tears Generators - There are several products around in market that help the eyes to provide artificial drops. For example, Autologous Platelet-rich Plasma eye drops are found to very efficient in this direction.
- Restasis - This is the ophthalmic eye drop that helps in reducing the swelling round the eye channels carrying mucin and lipids.
- Other products include flax seed oil, lubricating gels and antibiotics that are recommended by the optometrist.

With these prescribed medicines, one must focus upon healthy eating by consuming foods rich in Vitamins and Minerals. You can ask your local optometrist to get advised on the food items to be consumed as a part of dry eye treatment.

About the Author:

Julian Berson is a prize winning optician based in Leeds, offering the highest in personal service, eye care, designer glasses at cost-effective prices, together with providing a mobile optician visiting service for the aged and the ones that can't simply get out of the house.For some more info, drop by our site at www.julianberson.co.uk