What is Dry Eye?
Up to 30% of Canadians experience dry eye symptoms at any given time. Dry eye occurs when your eyes do not receive sufficient lubrication; your body does not produce enough tears, or the quality of the tears it does produce is low.
Dry eye may be intermittent, seasonal, or ongoing.
Dry eye can be hard to pin down at first because some of its symptoms mimic other eye conditions.
Symptoms of dry eye include:
- Dry eyes
- A burning sensation, especially when you close your eyes
- Inability to produce tears when crying
- Poor vision quality
- Red eyes and eyelids
- Eye fatigue, heavy eyelids
- Slimy mucus around the eye
Dry is caused by one of two things: lack of tears, or tears of poor quality that evaporate too quickly.
Insufficient Tear Production
- Ageing
- Medical conditions (notably, diabetes)
- Medications
- Surgical eye procedures, including laser refractive surgery
- Restricted tear glands (inflammation, physical damage)
Tear Evaporation
- Environmental conditions, such as haze, smoke, poor air quality, lack of humidity, or wind
- Staring intensely at an object for long periods of time (working at a computer, reading a book, etc.)