Dry Eye
What
is dry eye?
Some people do not
produce enough tears to keep the eye
comfortable. This is known as
dry eye.
Tears are produced
by two different methods. One method
produces tears at a slow, steady rate
and is responsible for normal eye lubrication.
The other method produces large
quantities of tears in
response to eye irritation or emotions.
Tears that lubricate
are constantly produced by a healthy
eye. Excessive tears occur when the eye is
irritated by a foreign body or when a person cries.
What are the
symptoms of dry eye?
The usual symptoms
include:
r
stinging or burning eyes;
Excess tearing from
"dry eye" sounds illogical,
but if the tears
responsible for maintenance
lubrication do
not keep the eye wet enough, the eye becomes irritated. When the eye is
irritated,
the lacrimal
gland produces a large volume of tears which overwhelms the tear
drainage system. These excess
tears then overflow from your eye.
What is the tear film?
A film of tears,
spread over the eye by a blink, makes the
surface of the eye smooth and clear.
Without our tear film, good vision would not be possible.