What is it?

This condition is the degradation of the amount or quality of tears being produced in the eye. The patient suffers from an irritation or rough feeling in the eye often causing discomfort. It can even lead to damage of the cornea. It is an extremely common condition affecting approximately 10 million people across America.

What causes it?

Dry eyes occur when the glands in the eye are producing tears incorrectly. To further demonstrate the importance of tears, take a look at their 3 primary functions:

First, the outer layer is responsible for keeping loss of the watery-like surface to a minimum. The middle layer's main task is to balance levels of acidity in the eye. Finally, the innermost layer aids in keeping the cornea in tact with the tear coating.

Symptoms

Treatment

Most commonly, manufactured tears are used to keep the eyes moist. These tears are simply used to help treat this condition, not actually treat it.

Index of Diseases