The faster the progress, the more eye diseases are developing in our time. The influence of the environment, the constant presence near the air conditioner or fan, staying in front of the computer monitor for too long or reading a book non-stop causes disturbances in the work of the lacrimal glands. When you go headlong into work, you need to urgently submit a report, read hundreds of pages a day, analyze a lot of numbers and compare graphs, attention is so focused on not missing or losing anything that sometimes you forget to blink.
How does the lacrimal gland system work and why do we need tears?
Previously, it was believed that dry eye syndrome occurs after 50 years, with age-related changes. Today, this disease has stepped forward, and many young people suffer from this disease. Lacrimal dysfunction is manifested in a decrease in the required amount of fluid secreted by the glands. When we blink, the eyeball is covered with the thinnest film that serves as protection and nourishes the eye with the necessary moisture. The tear film covers the eye and is formed by three balls: mucous ball, water and fat. The mucous layer is necessary for the smooth opening and closing of the eyelid so that the water layer lies flat on the eyeball. The water layer provides the eye with the necessary amount of moisture that nourishes the cornea. The fat ball is necessary to prevent the evaporation of moisture protects from the ingress of dust and the smallest particles, which may damage the eye. Tears are produced by several glands located: behind the upper eyelid (water layer), in the eyelids themselves and in the conjunctiva (for the secretion of the fatty and mucous layer of the tear film). When blinking, the liquid is distributed over the eye, and the excess flows down the tubules to the inner corner of the eye. Tears are simply necessary for us and can sometimes occur reflexively, for example, in case of pain or too violent emotions.
Dry Eye Syndrome: Symptoms and Causes
Provoke excessive dryness in the eye can:
- staying close to the air conditioner or fan, in front of the monitor, especially during the heating season, the air in the room gets too dry;
- blink frequency disorder;
- taking medications that have a detrimental effect on the work of the lacrimal system – vasodilators, antihistamines, contraceptives, antidepressants;
- deformation of the superficial layer of the cornea;
- past conjunctivitis;
- blockage of the lacrimal glands by particles of dust or make-up;
- autoimmune diseases (e.g. Sjögren's syndrome);
- wearing contact lenses;
- hormonal failure, menopause.
When the disease begins to progress, the person feels discomfort in the eye, one has to blink more often, but this action does not save. Itching and burning appear, a veil forms before the eyes, a pronounced dryness appears. It may seem that something has got into the eye and prevents you from seeing the world around you clearly, it hurts to close and open your eyelids. Sharp pains are also felt in bright light.
How to Diagnose and Treatment Methods
The ophthalmologist conducts an examination using a slit lamp – biomicroscopy. Then the patient is assigned a test of Schirmer and Norn. With the Schirmer test, the rate of wetting of the eye with a tear is evaluated; for this, a diagnostic strip of filtered paper is placed under the eyelid. To assess the quality of the tear film, the Norn test is used: drops with a special dye are instilled into the eye, with the help of a slit lamp, the time for the formation of gaps or cracks in the film is noted. Thus, the ability of tears to moisturize the cornea is tested. For treatment, you can use artificial tears in drops. If the disease is in a neglected form, then it is worth resorting to antibiotics. Also, the situation can be saved by surgical intervention in order to carry out a polymer obturation of the pathways to drain tears.
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