Dry Eyes

When our eyes do not produce enough tears or our tears contain chemicals that cause them to evaporate too fast, we wind up with DRY EYE, which usually affects both eyes. People with dry eye often complain of eyes that feel sandy or scratchy. This condition is very common, particularly as we age, and is more so in women. A woman's body naturally produces less oil as she ages, especially after menopause because of reduced estrogen production. With less oil, the tear film cannot seal in the watery layer, so tears evaporate too quickly.

Ironically, watery eyes may actually be a sign of dry eye. If tears are not sticky enough to stay in place and moisten your eyes, out they spill. And chronic dry eye, like watery eyes, can be a sign that you are not living in the best environment for you. Indeed, people who live in hot, dry, windy places, at high altitudes, or in overheated or excessively air-conditioned homes are at increased risk of having dry eye.

Dry eye is a common reaction to certain prescription or over-the-counter medicines such as antihistamines, antidepressants, and antihypertensives. It may also be your body's way of telling you that you are reading too much or putting in too many hours at your computer. The more we concentrate and stare, the less we blink and the less often our eyes are lubricated.

While dry eye is usually not a particularly serious sign, it can be a sign of Grave's Disease or other thyroid disease, as can watery eyes. Dry eye can also signal some other serious autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE or Lupus), a very serious, chronic disorder characterized by inflammation of and damage to many parts of the body.

If you have dry eye, dry mouth, and joint inflammation, that combination of sign points directly to another serious autoimmune disorder, Sjogren's Syndrome. In this disorder, the body attacks its moisture-producing glands. Womens are its prime victims. Indeeed, fully 90% of Sjogren's sufferers are women, and the average age of onset is the late 40's. If untreated, Sjogren's can severely damage the cornea and adversely affect other organs, especially the mouth, digestive tract, and female reproductive system.

If you have dry eyes that treatment does not help, blink a lot, have other uncontrollable facial spasms, and have trouble keeping your eyes open even when you are not tired or bored, you may have the telltale signs of a rare neurological disease called Meige's Syndrome.

Meige's syndrome, which tends to strike people in middle age, affects more women than men. People with this treatable syndrome are unfortunately often misdiagnosed as having a psychological disorder. In most cases, Meige's is more annoying and embarrassing than debilitating. But in severe cases, the spasms may cause the mouth to clamp shut, making eating and talking extremely difficult. And in rare cases, it can signal a brain tumor.

On average, a blink lasts one-third of a seconds, and we blink about 15 times a minute. That is about one blink every four seconds.