Dry eye syndrome
10/07/2024
Dry eye is a disease involving a scarcity of tears and/or deterioration of the quality thereof, causing inflammation of the eye's surface. It usually affects both eyes and is more common in women than men, particularly during menopause and post menopause.
The symptoms of patients with dry eye include irritation, itching, burning, stinging, a feeling of dryness and grit in the eye, and even blurred vision and fluctuating visual acuity.
These symptoms are usually aggravated in dry environments with little humidity and in environments where there is a lot of wind. They are also aggravated when the patient is staring at something and does not blink much.
Dry eye is a multifactorial disease, i.e a variety of factors cause it. The most common cause is hormonal changes which lead to poor functioning of the tear glands and reduced secreation of tears. Dry eye may be a side effect of systemic diseases, especially autoimmune diseases such as rhematoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
The risk factors are:
The tear film has 3 layers: the lipid layer produced by the Meibomian glands located in eyelids; the aqueous layer produced by the main tear glands; and the mucin layer produced by the cells in the eye's surface. There are 3 main types of dry eye:
Some risk factors of dry eye are preventible such as overuse of the computer and electronic reading devices as well as overuse of contact lenses.
In the former case, if using the computer for hours on end cannot be avoided, you should blink frequently when using it and you should rest your eyes for 5 minutes every hour to prevent dry eye also known as computer vision syndrome.
Dry eye is a chronic disease that does not have a permanent cure. However, treatment has 2 objectives: prevent and cure possible lesions on the eye's surface caused by dryness and alleviate the symptoms of a patient with dry eye.
Treatment involves: