dry eye

Dry eye syndrome is a chronic and common condition that can have a significant impact on quality of life. Dry eye is caused by tear damage, the damage can be quantitative or qualitative. Our tears have several components besides water, all of which are necessary for their normality. The role of the water in the tear is clear and it is to provide moisture and protection from pests and foreign bodies, this component is secreted from the tear glands at the outer corners of the eye. In order for the layer of water to be uniformly distributed over the entire area of ​​the eye, there is the mucous layer, this is the innermost layer of the tear secreted from the eyeball, the last layer, the fatty one, is found on the outer part of the tear and its role is to cover and above all to prevent too rapid evaporation of the aqueous layer. With each blink, the eyelids spread a new layer of tears on top of the eye, so it is enough for the tear to stay on top of the eye for the period of time between the blinks in order to prevent a dry eye condition. In cases where there is damage to the production of one of the three components of the tear, a condition of dry eye may occur.

Typical symptoms may be:

1. Itchy feeling in the eyes
2. Sensation of sand or a foreign body
3. redness
4. burning sensation
5. Blurred vision
6. Difficulty driving (especially at night)
7. Excessive tearing (paradoxically, caused by constant stimulation of the eye that causes a tear reflex, but the tears produced in advance are no longer normal, so this does not solve the problem)

The causes of the situation are varied and include:

1. Diseases: also of the eye such as entropion or extropion (improper structure of the eyelids), laser surgeries to correct vision and also general ones such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's
2. Medicines: to treat depression and psychiatric conditions, to treat high blood pressure and heart problems, against allergies and more
3. Habits: insufficient sleep, poor diet (mainly lack of essential fats), prolonged viewing of screens (reduces the frequency of blinking), staying in air-conditioned spaces with low humidity.

A diagnosis of dry eye is determined clinically after a thorough questioning by the doctor.

There are several treatments for dry eye, eye drops for example are the immediate and most common solution to relieve the symptoms and the disturbance in the quality of life. There are different types of eye drops that differ mainly in the percentage of the fatty component, the higher the percentage, the longer the drops will stay on the surface of the eye, but the vision will be blurred (and therefore more suitable for night use), on the other hand, drops with a low percentage of fat will improve vision but will require frequent repeated instillations . While eye drops are a symptomatic treatment, today there are also definitive treatments to cure dry eye syndrome, and are adjusted after diagnosing the specific cause of the problem.