Do you know about these 6 Common Causes for Dry Eyes?
Updated: Mar 7
Dry eyes, also known as dry eye syndrome, is a common condition in which a person doesn't have enough quality tears to lubricate and nourish the eye.
What exactly is Dry Eye?
It occurs when your eyes are unable to produce enough tears or when the tears produced evaporate too quickly. This can cause your eyes to feel dry, itchy, and uncomfortable, and can even lead to vision problems in severe cases.
In this blog, we will discuss dry eyes in detail, including its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options.
Causes of Dry Eyes:
There are several causes of dry eyes, including:
1. Aging:
Aging is a significant risk factor for dry eye. Large epidemiological studies from the Women's Health Study and Physician's Health noted that dry eye prevalence increases in women and men every five years after the age of 50, with greater prevalence in women compared to men. As we age, our eyes naturally produce fewer tears, and the quality of the tears also declines.
In the aging eye, risk factors such as polypharmacy, androgen deficiency, decreased blink rates, and oxidative stress can predispose the patient to developing dry eye that is frequently more severe, has higher economic costs, and leads to worse consequences to the well-being of the patient.
2. Medical Conditions:
Although usually a local disease with a benign course, prevalence of systemic disease association in eyes with dryness, seems to be significant. Certain medical conditions can cause dry eyes, including Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, thyroid disorders, psoriasis, rosacea, pemphigus and diabetes. Other conditions which can cause dryness are facial nerve palsy, chemical and thermal burns, erythema multiforme, congenital alacrimia, scleroderma, Vitamin A deficiency etc.
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