Dry Eyes

by : Ricards Romando (www.e-healtharticles.com)

The eye is a vital organ that converts the reflected light form an object into neuron signals and feed them to the brain for processing and identification of the object.

The eyes can suffer various conditions such as myopia, hyperopia, conjungtivitis, cataract, astigmatism, glaucoma, sty, infection, and tumors. The eyelids blink several times a minute to clean the eyes and keep them moist, using the secretion tears from the lacrimal gland. The lids also have a fast reflex action to protect the eyes.

Tears serve an important function in the health of eyes. They wash dust, chemicals, germs and other foreign bodies. They control the microorganism in the eyes with their enzymes. In a condition called "Dry Eyes", the tear gland does not secrete enough tears, or the quality of the liquid is poor and evaporates very fast. Normally the tears from three layers over the eye. The lacrimal glands produce water, and the small glands produce oil and mucus. The bottom mucus layer covers the cornea, and over it is the water layer with some nutrients. The outer oil layer prevents the water from evaporating.

Dry eyes are one of the old age problems, where not enough oil is produced. Some medications cause this problem. Hot, dry and windy weather can also lead this problem. Menopause, thyroid conditions and vitamin A deficiency can also cause it. The person with dry eyes has itching, burning, irritation, blurred vision, discomfort and redness af the eyes. Surprisingly, there may be more tears secreted.

Treatment for dry eyes is planned only after finding the root cause of the poblem. For old people with no spesific problem, artificial tears two to three times a day and an ointment during the night can take care of the problem. The passage from the eyes to the nose, wich normally drains the tears, can be plugged to keep enough tears in the eyes.

Dry eyes, if left unterated, can cause more problems for the eys. Drinking plenty of water, taking teh eyes off of paperwork or computer periodically, and blinking, the eyelids deliberately are some of the ways we can assist our eyes.