Dry Eye Syndrome is a chronic progressive disease which is caused by a lack of moisture in eyes. If you have Dry Eye Syndrome you either do not make enough tears (Aqueous Deficient Dry Eye) or your tears are not stable enough on your eyes and evaporate too quickly (Evaporative Dry Eye).
Symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome
- Itching
- Tearing
- Burning
- Light Sensitivity
- Foreign body sensation or Grittiness
- Fluctuating vision
- Redness and Irritation
- Sharp shooting eye pain
Anatomy
Your tears are produced by the lacrimal gland. As new tears are produced, old tears are drained from the upper and lower puncta which are located in the corner of your eyelids. From there, the tears eventually make their way into the tear duct which drains into the back of your nose and throat.
Tear Film
Your tears are made up of 3-layers.
- The bottom layer is the Mucin Layer.
- The middle layer is the watery Aqueous Layer.
- The top layer is the Lipid Layer
Aqueous Deficient Dry Eye
This type of dry eye occurs when not enough aqueous is being produced by the lacrimal gland.
Evaporative Dry Eye
Evaporative dry eye occurs due to a deficiency in the lipid layer of the tear film. This is due to MGD, or Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Evaporative dry eye is the most common type of dry eye and constitutes more than 80% of dry eye disease cases.
Risk Factors
- Female Gender, Women are twice as likely to be affected by Dry Eye Disease.
- Advancing age
- Wearing Contact Lenses
- Blepharitis
- Certain Medications
- Inadequate blinking due to digital devices
- Lagophthalmos (Incomplete lid closure)
- Auto-Immune diseases
- Environment with low humidity
- Diet low in Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Ocular surgeries such as LASIK, Cataract surgery, Glaucoma Surgery