Dry Eye Overview and Causes
Dry Eye is a common, chronic condition that affects millions of Americans. For those suffering with dry eyes, symptoms can last for extended periods of time, and may even improve, but never disappear completely. If left unmanaged, dry eyes can affect your comfort, vision, and overall eye health. Age, gender, medications, and environmental conditions can cause symptoms to worsen. Symptoms of dry eye include:
- Grittiness or scratchy eyes
- Eye fatigue
- Blurry vision
- The feeling that something is stuck in your eye
- Watery eyes
- Red Eyes
- Excessively tearing eyes
- Eye pain and discomfort
- Mucus buildup around the eye
- Stinging and burning in the eye
- Eyes feeling heavy
- Issues driving at night
Causes of Dry Eye
There are a variety of reasons that people suffer from Dry Eye, but it ultimately has to do with the way your eyes produce tears. Patients who suffer from dry eyes have eyes that do not produce enough tears, the tears produced are not good quality, or the tears are evaporating too quickly. Our doctors will determine the causes of your dry eyes during an exam and then plan a course of treatment, depending on the severity of the symptoms.