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Dry eye syndrome is a condition involving insufficient production of tears or disturbances in the composition of individual layers of the tear film. Treatment of dry eye syndrome focuses on restoring proper eye lubrication. Find out how to find the cause of dry eye syndrome and how to choose the right treatment.

Dry eye syndrome , or tear film disorders, can be provoked by a small amount of tears or their incorrect composition. Your doctor can decide what is causing it after a thorough eye examination. Then you can also decide whichtreatment for dry eye syndromewill be the best for you.

Dry Eye Syndrome (ZSO): Causes

Dry eye syndrome is favored by:

  • age - after the age of 40 the eyes naturally emit less tears
  • hormonal changes in postmenopausal women
  • hormonal contraception - can reduce the number of tears and modify their composition
  • air pollution
  • air conditioning
  • wearing contact lenses
  • smoking
  • swimming in chlorinated water
  • long-term work at the computer
  • systemic diseases, incl. diabetes, thyroid and rheumatic diseases (especially rheumatoid arthritis), collagen diseases, rosacea, malignant neoplasms
  • conjunctival scars caused e.g. by inflammation, chemical or thermal burns

Dry eye syndrome (ZSO): symptoms

Tearing moisturizes the eyeball, cleans it of bacteria and dust, and makes you see sharply. When there are too few tears in the eye or the wrong composition of tears, it can develop Dry Eye Syndrome (DRS).

The typical symptoms of this ailment are eye irritation, the feeling of "sand under the eyelids". Sometimes, temporarily, foggy vision occurs. Photophobia, itching is less common, and more often - the feeling of tiredness and heaviness of the eyelids.

Ailments worsen overnight as less tears are naturally produced. Lids are hard to open in the morning.

Symptoms may be stronger in situations where you rarely blink, e.g. when working at a computer, or when the air is too dry because the wind blows or you work in an air-conditioned room or you drive for a long timeair-conditioned car.

Symptoms may worsen when you are in rooms with a lot of dust, vaporous chemicals, cigarette smoke.

Dry Eye Syndrome (ZSO): research

When we visit an ophthalmologist, the doctor will conduct 2 tests that will facilitate diagnosis.

Schirmer's testallows you to assess how many tears your eye produces in 5 minutes. The ophthalmologist places standard width and length strips of blotting paper under the lower eyelid of the right and left eyes. There is a graduation on the strips, dividing them into 5-millimeter sections. Wait 5 minutes for the tissue paper to soak with tears. If it is wet for more than 15 mm, the eye is well hydrated. The result from 6 to 14 mm is within the normal range (obliges us to perform more frequent ophthalmic examinations), but below 5 mm - it proves that we are producing too little tears.

The tear quality testallows you to check how long a tear remains on the surface of the eye. You sit down in front of the so-called with a biomicroscope, and the ophthalmologist drops a drop of a special dye into the conjunctival sac. By illuminating the eyeball with a beam of blue light, it asks us to blink. From now on, don't blink. The doctor measures the time between the last blink and the appearance of areas where there is no dye left on the surface of the eyeball. If the dye drips off the eye too quickly, this indicates that the tear film remains on the eye for too short a time to keep it well moisturized. When the measured time exceeds 10 seconds, everything is fine. If it is shorter - you suffer from ZSO.

Important

You can help your eyes by blinking frequently and closing your eyelids, even for a few seconds.

It is worth reducing the temperature in the rooms (because overheated air dries the eyes) and put a humidifier in the room.

You also have to use air conditioning sparingly.

It is good to put drops in the eyes of the so-called artificial tears. You can do it many times a day (even every 1-2 hours) and use moisturizing ointments at night.

If these measures do not help, you must consult an ophthalmologist.

Untreated ZSO can lead to changes that may even lead to loss of vision.

Dry Eye Syndrome (ZSO): Treatment

One of the methods of treating OCD is to close the tear points. The procedure takes a few minutes. After putting anesthetic drops into the eyes, the ophthalmologist places microscopic plugs into the tear ducts.

The opening of the tubule is on the edge of the lower eyelid, so it's easy for a doctor to get there. Each eye has two tear ducts: upper and lower. Usually, it is enough to insert the slip into the bottom one.

Depending on the severity of symptoms and degreethe advancement of the disease, doctors may apply temporary adjustments. They are made of hydrogel, collagen or synthetic material and slowly (over 1-12 weeks) dissolve in the tear ducts.

Permanent plugs are selected in more severe cases of ZSO or when it is caused by systemic diseases, e.g. diabetes, collagenosis, thyroid diseases. A permanent cork can be worn for several years and even for a lifetime.

In the middle of the plugs there are small holes that allow the tear ducts to function normally. However, the tear flow is smaller, thanks to which the eyeball is better moisturized.

We feel the improvement on the day of the procedure. We have to report for the inspection after a week, and then after a month. The ophthalmologist will assess whether the plugs are holding well (they are designed so that they cannot move or fall out) and whether the eyeball is better moisturized.

Often the cause of the breakage of the tear film (its abnormal adhesion to the eye) is the improper work of the Meibomian glands, which are located at the edges of the eyelids.

These glands can become clogged with fat (lipid) they produce or release too little or too much of it. Then there are burning eyes and light pain.

To free yourself from ailments, it is necessary to systematically clean the edges of the eyelids.

It can be done with compresses made of a 3% boric acid solution.

It should be heated to 45 ° C and applied to the eyes for 15 minutes. Then we massage the eyelids until a drop of fat appears on them. We wipe the eyelids with a compress. You can also use sterile disposable wipes for cleaning the eyelids.

Important

Tears protect the eyes

The tear fluid washes the outermost part of the eyeball, i.e. the conjunctiva and the cornea, and then flows through the tear ducts into the lacrimal sac and further into the nasolacrimal canal.

This tube connects the eye with the nasal cavity. This explains why we have to wipe not only our eyes but also our nose when crying.

The tear film consists of three layers. They are:

  1. the mucus part (closest to the eye) is produced by goblet cells. It causes the tear film to stick to the surface of the eyeball;
  2. the watery part is produced by the lacrimal gland. It is where oxygen is dissolved, which is used by the non-vascularized cornea. This layer also contains antibacterial substances that protect the eye against infections;
  3. the fat part (the outermost part) is produced by the thyroid glands. Its task is to limit the evaporation of water from tears. At the same time, it has a lubricating and reducing functionrubbing the eyelid against the cornea.

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Category:

Eye diseases and vision disorders