Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Surprising Causes of Chronic Dry Eye

Have your eyes started to suffer from scratchy or burning sensations? Have you started experiencing trouble with your vision due to these symptoms? Is redness, inflammation or excessive watering accompanying these symptoms? If you agree with any of these questions, it is highly likely that you are suffering from dry eye. While dry eyes can easily be cured by visiting your optometrist for prescription medication, it is critical to get to the bottom of the problem so that you can know how to avoid developing this ailment once and for all. Read on for a list of surprising causes of chronic dry eye.

Hormonal changes

One of the common reasons why you could develop sudden-onset dry eye is your body experiencing hormonal changes. While hormonal changes are typically associated with women, even men can be affected by this. Once your hormones are in flux, it can lead to a decrease in meibum. Meibum is an oil secreted by the glands in your eye to regulate the evaporation of tears. Thus, when the levels of meibum drop, you might find that your eyes cannot stay moist, and this leads to the chronic dry eye. This condition is particularly common in women that are undergoing menopause and in men who may be taking anti-androgens in an attempt to regulate their testosterone.

Pharmaceutical medication

Pharmaceutical medication is unavoidable if you are experiencing issues with your health. However, while some of these drugs will improve your health, you could develop adverse side effects, one of which is dry eye. Medications such as muscle relaxants, antihistamines, pain relievers and even some sleeping pills can contribute to decreased lubrication in your eye and subsequent dry eye. It should also be noted that some birth control pills could lead to this ailment too. The main reason why some medications can lead to a dry eye is that they cause adverse reactions in your body, such as reducing your blood flow, decreasing your heart rate and even blocking some nerve impulses. With time, these side effects can impact the proper function of your eye's glands, causing you to develop dry eye.

Poor quality indoor air

The environment that you spend a lot of your time in will also have a considerable influence on the health of your eyes. Humidity is one of the climatic conditions that most parts of Australia have to endure. Since a good number of people find humidity suffocating, they end up drying out the air in their home excessively. When you spend too much time in air-conditioned spaces, you become vulnerable to dry eye, since your eyes are not receiving adequate moisture. Furthermore, the presence of dust or cigarette smoke in the home could also exacerbate dry eye.  


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