Blinking and tears are your eyes two main protective mechanisms. Tears are one of the body’s natural defense mechanisms. Each time you blink, a protective coating of tears is spread like a film over the front of the eye. This tear film carries essential nourishment to the eye. Tears also act as a shield to protect eyes against foreign objects, dust, wind, heat or smog.
If your eye burns or feels like grains of sand are in it, you may have a condition known as dry eye. Dry and irritated eyes are common in individuals of all ages, but particularly in senior citizens. There are many things that can cause dry eyes. Spending hours in front of a computer screen, frequent airplane travel or living in a hot, dry climate can all cause dry eye syndrome.
Glaucoma patients may be especially impacted by dry eye, since glaucoma eye drops can cause dry eye as a side effect of the medication. If you had dry eye syndrome before being diagnosed with glaucoma, you may notice that your dry eye problems get worse once you start taking the drops.
If you’re experiencing dry eye syndrome, please contact our office. The doctors at Eyecare MPLS in Minneapolis will perform a thorough eye examination and help you get to the bottom of your dry eye syndrome.