Dry eye

Tears help your eyes to stay moist, healthy and comfortable. Dry eye syndrome causes your eyes to feel dry and irritated.

Dry eye can affect anyone, but it is more common as we get older

Symptoms of dry eye

The most common symptoms are burning, irritation, grittiness, foreign body sensation and stinging.
Less commonly, one can experience itching, photophobia ( light sensitivity) and a tired, heavy feeling in the eyelids

Causes of dry eye

There are many reasons for dry eye:

• Work habits e.g. spending too much time on a computer
• Environment e.g. wind, air-conditioning
• Systemic diseases e.g. rheumatoid arthritis

Treatment of dry eye

Treatment is multi-faceted.  The main aims of treatment are to:

• Relieve discomfort
• Prevent corneal damage
• Provide a smooth optical surface
• Treat the cause