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Dry eye syndrome

Dry eye syndrome ('dry eyes') is a common cause of eye irritation. It mainly affects older people. Artificial tears, gels and soothing ointments usually ease symptoms.

Who gets dry eyes and what causes it?

Dry eyes can affect anyone, but it becomes more common with increasing age. Dry eyes affects about 7 in 100 people in their 50s, and about 15 in 100 people in their 70s. Women are affected more often than men.

The causes include:

• Ageing. You tend to make less tears as you get older. In particular, some women notice dry eyes developing after the menopause.
• Medication. Some drugs sometimes have a side-effect of causing dry eyes, or make dry eyes worse. These include: diuretics ('water tablets'); some antidepressants; antihistamines; some treatments for anxiety and other psychological problems; the contraceptive pill; beta-blockers such as propranolol, atenolol, etc; some eye drops used to treat other eye conditions. This is not an exhaustive list. Tell you doctor if you suspect that a drug is causing your dry eyes.
• Illness. Some people develop dry eyes as a symptom of a more general disease. For example, dry eyes may occur with rheumatoid arthritis, SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), and Sjogren's syndrome. In these situations you would normally have other symptoms in other parts of the body. For example, joint pains.
• Increased evaporation of tears. This may be due to:
1. Low humidity. For example, from central heating or air conditioning.
2. Low blink rate, often combined with opening your eyes wider than normal. For example, spending a long time looking at a computer, TV or microscope.
3. Windy conditions when you are outside.
4. Inability to completely cover the eyes when closing the eyelids. For example, due to eye problems that some people have related to thyroid disease. Also, some people sleep with their eyes partly open.
• Damage to the outer part of the eyes, eyelids, etc, from disease, injury or surgery.
• Blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids) is often associated with dry eyes.
• Unknown. Some younger people have no apparent cause.They simply produce less than the normal amount of tears.

Dry Eye Syndrome Symptoms

Persistent dryness, scratching and burning in your eyes are signs of dry eye syndrome. These symptoms alone may prompt your eye doctor to diagnose dry eye syndrome. Another symptom of dry eyes is a 'foreign body sensation' the feeling that something is in the eye. And it may seem odd, but sometimes watery eyes can result from dry eye syndrome, because the excessive dryness works to over stimulate production of the watery component of your eye's tears.

Treatment for Dry Eyes

Dry eye syndrome is an ongoing condition that may not be completely curable (depending on the cause), but the accompanying dryness, scratchiness and burning can be managed. Your eye care practitioner may prescribe artificial tears, which are lubricating eye drops that may alleviate the dry, scratching feeling.

We recommend the use of artificial eye lubricants that are unpreserved such as Hycosan, Hyabak or Moorfields Hydromoor or Lubristil. Sometimes people use the eye drops that "whiten eyes" to treat their dry eyes. This won't work unless the eye drops also contain artificial tears, but most formulations do not. These drops can reduce or eliminate the redness temporarily, but they don't treat the cause of the redness, whether it's dryness, environmental irritation or some other problem.

Not only that, but the vasoconstrictors in those formulas that reduce redness by contracting the eye's blood vessels are addictive, in the sense that over time, more and more is needed to achieve the same effect. With frequent use, the effect diminishes after a while - the blood vessels simply won't constrict as much as they did when you first used the drops. These drops are not a good idea and should not be used for any length of time.

 

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Dry eye syndrome is a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye.

Its consequences range from subtle but constant irritation to ocular inflammation of the anterior (front) tissues of the eye.

Dry eyes also are described by the medical term, keratitis sicca, which generally means decreased quality or quantity of tears. Keratoconjunctivitis sicca refers to eye dryness affecting the cornea and conjunctiva.

Dry Eye Syndrome Symptoms

Persistent dryness, scratching and burning in your eyes are signs of dry eye syndrome. These symptoms alone may prompt your eye doctor to diagnose dry eye syndrome.

Another symptom of dry eyes is a "foreign body sensation," the feeling that something is in the eye.

And it may seem odd, but sometimes watery eyes can result from dry eye syndrome, because the excessive dryness works to over stimulate production of the watery component of your eye's tears.

What Causes Dry Eyes?

Tears bathe the eye, washing out dust and debris and keeping the eye moist. They also contain enzymes that neutralize the micro organisms that colonize the eye. Tears are essential for good eye health.

In dry eye syndrome, the lacrimal gland or associated glands near the eye don't produce enough tears, or the tears have a chemical composition that causes them to evaporate too quickly.

Dry eye syndrome has several causes. It occurs as a part of the natural aging process, especially during menopause; as a side effect of many medications, such as antihistamines, antidepressants, certain blood pressure medicines, Parkinson's medications and birth control pills.
If your home or office has air conditioning or a dry heating system, that too can dry out your eyes. Another cause is insufficient blinking, such as when you're staring at a computer screen all day.

Dry eye syndrome is more common in women, possibly due to hormone fluctuations. A recent study also indicates that that risk of dry eyes among men increases with age.

Recent research suggests that smoking, too, can increase your risk of dry eye syndrome.

Treatment for Dry Eyes

Dry eye syndrome is an ongoing condition that may not be completely curable (depending on the cause), but the accompanying dryness, scratchiness and burning can be managed. Your eye care practitioner may prescribe artificial tears, which are lubricating eye drops that may alleviate the dry, scratching feeling.

We recommend the use of artificial eye lubricants that are unpreserved and are in unit dose vials such as Viscotears Liquid Gel Vials or Moorfields Hydromoor.

Sometimes people use the eye drops that "whiten eyes" to treat their dry eyes. This won't work unless the eye drops also contain artificial tears, but most formulations do not. These drops can reduce or eliminate the redness temporarily, but they don't treat the cause of the redness, whether it's dryness, environmental irritation or some other problem.

Not only that, but the vasoconstrictors in those formulas that reduce redness by contracting the eye's blood vessels are addictive, in the sense that over time, more and more is needed to achieve the same effect. With frequent use, the effect diminishes after a while — the blood vessels simply won't constrict as much as they did when you first used the drops. These drops are not a good idea and should not be used for any length of time.

For more information we can direct you to the NHS information website

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