What is Dry Eyes Syndrome? Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

If you have itchy, burning, and red eyes, you are among those individuals who have dry eye syndrome. It is also renowned as ‘dry eyes,’ the disease disturbs more than 26 million people in America. Almost half of the adults feel the dry eyes at any point in their life, and more severe cases are after 50 years of age. 

Both women and men have dry eyes at different rates. If you are a woman, you have a double chance of getting dry eye syndrome as compared to a man of the same age. It is due to changes in the hormone resulted in menopause or pregnancy. 

If you are among those people who are struggling with this disease, there is no need to suffer more. If you know the signs and reasons for the syndrome, you can get the best treatment, most of which is administered by yourself. 

DRY EYE SYNDROME: COMMON SYMPTOMS

Although the signs differ across multiple individuals, the dry eye syndrome is your diagnosis if you see the below-mentioned symptoms: 

• Itchy eyes
• Sore or burning eyes
• Light sensitivity
• Red eyes
• Blurred vision
• A feeling of dryness in the eyes

The typical sign of dry eyes is watery eyes or increased production of tears. It may be resulted by the drought in your eyes that activates tears as a defensive mechanism. 

Unluckily, these excessive tears do not assist you in relieving the disease as they do not persist for a long time to combat the condition. 

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF DRY EYE SYNDROME?

Although multiple aspects are contributing to the dry eyes, age is almost among the identifiable and common factors. Most of the individuals with age more than 65 face the signs of dry eye syndrome as per the American Optometric Association. 

Another cause of dry eyes is the environment. If you go out and spend your time in the windy weather or dry climates, you can get this dry eye syndrome. Indoor air quality also plays a significant role. The ceiling fans and ACs rotate the air of the house, decrease the humidity and stir up allergens and dust that can result in dry eyes. If you fly often, you may experience that the cause of eye problems is the dry air. 

Nowadays, the use of TVs. Tablets, mobile phones, and PCs are causing dry eye syndrome. An adult usually spends more than 9 hours looking at multiple screens in a day, and for those people who work on PCs or computers all day long, the number is possibly increased. While staring at a screen, people do not blink fully, and it results in rising evaporation of tears and dry eye syndrome. 

Lastly, different health conditions and medicines can lead to dry eyes. The primary disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and lupus, are related to this syndrome. Also, some drugs lead to dry eyes, which include birth control pills, antihistamines, medications of blood pressure, and antidepressants.

HOW IS DRY EYES SYNDROME TREATED?

A diversity of treatments are available for dry eye syndrome, and their usage is dependent on the persistence and severity of the symptoms. For most of the individuals, the eyedrops provide relief to the eyes. If you have severe disease, your physician may ask you to go for other options of treatment. 

If you do not give response well to the artificial tears, your specialist may suggest a medicine called the cholinergic drug. It improves producing natural tears. 

Several ointments or prescription drops are used for decreasing the eyelids inflammation, which can stop the glands form, adding oil in tears. An essential component of tears is oil, which assists in preventing evaporation and increasing lubrication. If your symptoms are severe, that makes you unable to take any treatment; you can go for the blood serum drops. These drops are made through the removal of RBCs from the blood and combining it with the solution of salt to copy the configuration of your tears. 

At times when the medications and eye drops do not do their work, some physical alteration plays a vital role in controlling the hydration of eyes. For instance, in some individuals, the tear ducts drain the tears too fast. In these situations, the specialist can include the tubes with the devices of silicon. On the other hand, the ophthalmologist can close the ducts permanently with a process called thermal cautery. 

Other physical methods of getting rid of dry eye syndrome involve a process called LipiFlow, which gives a smooth massage to the eyes for unblocking the blocked oil glands. Through combining a massage with a pulse light, the organs can be unclogged.

HOW TO PREVENT DRY EYES THROUGH SELF CARE?

There are different steps that you can take to assist you in preventing the dry eye syndrome, and it includes making your routine simple. Some of them are: 

• While you are out, wear sunglasses to protect eyes from the wind and block the UV rays. 
• Start blinking when reading from the tablet or mobile phone or using a PC.
• Take dietary supplements like those consisting of omega-3 fatty acids, or assist you in getting rid of dry eye symptoms. 
• Drink a lot of water to make your body hydrated. 
• Take a baby shampoo and gently wash your eyelids and eyes, and it is one of the commonly suggested routines. You will feel this method as a relaxing and comforting ritual that will assist you in preventing dry eyes and also treating the mild signs of dry eye syndrome. 

At last, an essential part thing in self-care is significant while talking to the doctor. Though the signs of dry eye syndrome are apparent, they affect every individual differently. It is possible for the individual having painful symptoms to experience a mild case of dry eye syndrome while another individual does not realize having a severe problem of dry eyes until the doctor makes a diagnosis. Consulting an ophthalmologist optometrist one time in a year is the best way to get rid of dry eye.