Last October, when Talia Rotenberg traveled to Europe, her eyes became bloodstream, watery and painful – the same feeling she would expect if she had a torn contact lens in her eye. She was stunned, but assumed that the unknown environment could cause a kind of allergy. However, when she got home in Los Angeles, the symptoms remained.
Rotenberg, who is 31, was surprised when her eye doctor told her what was going on: she had dry eyes. “I had never really heard of dry eyes,” she says. Flash one year ahead and her days are digested by managing her condition; She has exchanged her contacts for glasses, and even the least AC -Bries disturbs her eyes. She recently started with new eye drops on prescription and hopes to see improvement within a few months.
Dry eyes influence millions of people every year, and Research suggests The situation is increasing. Yet, like Rotenberg, many people are surprised by their diagnosis – Dry eyes are not focused on their radar. “People know their eyes are bothering, but they don’t know why” Dry eyes investigated. Many people postponed to see an ophthalmologist. “Many of them walk around with dry eyes, and they are not cared for.”
We asked experts exactly what it means to have dry eyes, why it happens and how you can find lighting.
What is dry eyes?
Our eyes must be lubricated all day long to make us comfortable and clearly see. To make that happen, there must be enough tear film (a layer of liquid) on the eye surface, Dr. Daniel Brocks, a Cornea specialist and chief medical officer from Bostonsight, a non -profit that treats people with serious dry eyes. If there is not enough tear film – either because your eyes don’t make enough tears, or because the tears do not work correctly – you end with dry eyes.
People with dry eyes usually experience “irritation, or a sensation such as horror or sand – we call it a strange sensation, as if there are constant eyelashes in the eye,” says Brocks. “You may also have red and inflamed eyes and sensitivity to light, completely to severe pain and inability to open the eyes.” Many people describe stabbing or burning in their eyes and blurred vision; Over time, infections and ulcers can develop.
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Research suggests Those dry eyes makes people less productive at work; The worse the drynessThe lower the productivity of the person. That also extends beyond the workplace. “We get patients who say:” I can’t read as much as I want. It disrupts my driving, “says too.
Dry eyes can be debilitating, tensions of Brocks. “People really suffer and cannot go outside or participate in their daily activities,” he says. “It really leads their lives.”
What causes dry eyes?
Dry eyes are most common in people aged 50 and older – although Even children can be affected- And women run a greater risk than men, says too. Wearing contacts also plays a role: the thin lenses can reduce the amount of oxygen that reaches the cornea, disrupt the production of tears and generally irritate and dry out.
Moreover, dry eyes is often linked to car -immune disorders such as Lupus and Sjögren’s syndrome. One survey Suggers that 95% of people with Sjögren, for example, suffer from dry eyes.
Environmental factors can also contribute. Living in a dry environment is much more difficult than living somewhere that is damp all year round. “A damp environment is much softer for your eyes – there is more moisture in the air,” says Brocks. “We even have patients who literally move [the North] To Florida or whatever more damp location to lead a better life. “
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When patients come to complain about dry eyes, Brocks usually asks how much glasses of water they drink every day, as well as how much coffee. “Caffeine is a diuretic – it removes moisture – so some people just have the wrong balance to offer their bodies with the right moisture,” he says. He says they have to drink more water and cut caffeine, and when they come back for a follow-up, their eyes are dramatically less dry.
Certain medicines, such as it taken to lower blood pressure, can also make dry eyes worse. Allergy medicines, including oral antihistamines, can also cause or worsen the situation. “I always recommend that everyone with dry eyes lets their doctors look at drugs, and sometimes there can be adjustments,” says Brocks.
Lifestyle and environmental adjustments
One of the biggest reasons why dry eyes will increase has to do with Increased screen time. Flashing plays an essential role in tear production, and although our normal cutting speed flashes around 15 to 20 per minute, which drops to 4 to 6 flashing per minute when we look at a screen. “That can absolutely take the dryness into account,” says Dr. Ami Vadada, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and ophthalmologist at Advantagecare Physicians in New York. To prevent the problem, she proposes to follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away from your screen for 20 seconds, which gives your eyes a much needed break.
There are other things you can do at home. Artificial tears and lubricants, which are sold in different brands without a prescription, simulate, simulate your own tears and help back to control the eyes. “They can be used as often as you need,” says Vadada. “You can’t overdose them.” She encourages patients to use money drops before bedtime – they can cause a blurry view, and that is why the use of nocturnal use is best, but they are thicker than liquid drops and stay in the eye for longer. Many people also find it soothing a towel to run under warm water and gently massage their eyes, says Vadada.
Certain environmental disorders can also help. Vadada proposes to use a humidifier at home to keep your environment moist and to avoid direct wind, such as those who shoot out of the AC in your car. “You don’t want to put the air conditioning directly in your face, which can dry out the eyes,” she says.
More aggressive treatment options
In particularly serious cases – especially when someone has an underlying car – immune disease – OTC curses and lifestyle adjustments are likely to fail. Some patients benefit from punctal plugsThose small devices that have been inserted into the tear tubes that help block the drainage of tears, so that the eyes retain more moisture. The procedure is fast and takes place in the ophthalmologist’s office; The eyes of a patient are usually stunned before the plug is inserted. “When the person makes tears, those tears will still go into the drain, but much slower,” says Brocks. “It’s like doing a plug in a sink.”
There are also several prescribed eye drops, and there are more in the pipeline – Brocks describes it as ‘an area of enormous growth’. One of the most effective options is cyclosporine, that Reduces inflammation in the eyes And increases tear production. A nasal spray called Tyrvaya has even been designed to activate the nerves in the nose, which in turn stimulates tear production in the eyes.
Brocks’ patients with severe dry eyes sometimes benefit from Autologous serum eye dropsThey are made of the own blood of a patient. “It has been known for a while that there are many healing properties in our blood, so we send some patients to a laboratory to let them get a blood sample, and the laboratory will split their blood and take the clear liquid part called the serum,” he says. “They will mix that with an artificial tear and serum tears, those drops that you use everywhere from four to 10 times a day.” They help to cure the surface of the eye, in the process that relieves annoying symptoms, and are “pretty effective for some people,” he says. According to A randomized studyPatients who used serum attendants had a significant improvement after two weeks of treatment.
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Another technique called amniotic fluid transplantIncludes the placement of thin layers of tissue from a donated placenta on the eye surface to promote healing. Fertile membranes have anti -inflammatory properties that can benefit the eye surface. “It is sterilized and placed in a contact lens,” says Brocks. “That is placed in mind for a short period, usually five to seven days, and then it solves. It has many healing properties that cannot be found anywhere else.” In One studyThe treatment improved the symptoms for about 88% of the participants who had experienced dry eyes; The researchers also noted that no adverse effects were reported.
Brocks nowadays focuses a lot of his attention scleral lensesThose contact lenses with large diameter that rest on the whites of the eyes, keep the cornea hydrated and protect against irritation. “They are adapted to the eye of every person,” he says. “The lens is filled with saline every morning – it is actually like a bowl, and then that bowl is placed on the eye and you have made this moisture room for the eye.”
Viewing ahead, Brocks is optimistic about how treatment options can improve for people with dry eyes. “Many new mechanisms are found, and there are many new medicines in the pipeline that people are waiting for,” he says. “It is one of these diseases that is a bit more complex than it sounds, and extremely common, especially as age increases. There are such a variety of things that can cause us to try to locate,” and increasingly an effective selection of current and emerging treatments.
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