Hello,
And welcome to my blog, today would be talking about the ocular condition Dry Eye Disease or Dry Eye Syndrome and how best we can keep ourselves from this condition either by habit or ophthalmic care and how we may be able to tell if we are suffering from this condition.
Image by Blueberrykings111 - Pixabay
Introduction
Dry Eye Syndrome is one of the most condition i have come across since i started my clinical years, i can say it is almost at the same scale with conjunctivitis especially in students and university populations perhaps due to the life style of the learning environment.
Whiles Dry Eye may not really be an ocular emergency sometimes its acute situations could be so uncomfortable that it may affect vision and productivity at the work place. So just as the name suggest, Dry Eye is a condition characterized by inadequate lubrication of the eye. This mostly occurs as a results of inadequate production of one or more of the tear film components.
The tear film components include aqueous, mucous and lipid and each of these have their particular function in maintaining the integrity of the tear film, the lipid keep the tear from evaporating too quickly from the ocular surface, mucous keeps it one the surface and aqueous allows the spreading across the ocular surface.
When the issue has to do with the lipid we may end up with a severe case of Dry eye due to the particular function of the component in keeping the tear from evaporation however problems with any of the others could also result in dry eye.
Image by Agneslinnea - Pixabay
Symptoms
Most patients would report with burning sensation of varying severity with pain, redness and tearing. Some also report reduction in visual acuity with sandy sensation. Photophobia may also be experienced.
Treatment and Precaution
So your optometrist would have to take you some further test aside the routine test one which would include staining your eye for assessment under the slit lamp. Upon confirmation you would be given the appropriate medication to supplement the inadequate component until the normal production is recovered.
Here is what you need to know though to keep safe, conditions that facilitate Dry eye disease are dry environment because of which it is mostly seen in workers who work in air-conditioned environment. It is also mostly seen among students because of frequent computer usage and their environment. There also seem to be a positive correlation between computer vision syndrome and dry eye disease. Basically avoid habits that expose your eye to lots of dryness and you should be fine.
Conclusion
Dry eye may not be an ocular emergency but it can be very uncomfortable so always seek immediate medical attention if you suspect of having developed the condition. Always seek information from the right source preferably your optometrist and report all cases to your optometrist or physician. Thanks for reading and have a nice time.
Thanks for reading and have a great day, Special thanks to my mentors and supporters @mcsamm, @tj4real, @armandosodano, @delilhavores, @gentleshaid, @agmoore. For further reading;
Rouen, P. A., & White, M. L. (2018). Dry Eye Disease: Prevalence, Assessment, and Management. Home healthcare now, 36(2), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1097/NHH.0000000000000652
https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/dryeye-syndrome.htm
https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/eye-and-vision-problems/glossary-of-eye-and-vision-conditions/dry-eye
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-dry-eye
This is a great piece and i learnt a lot. I personally have slight headaches after long hours exposure behind the computer. Any recommendations? Sir.
You probably have to make more use of computer ergonomics, however for now I would recommend you apply the 15-15-15 rule which says after 15 minutes of working look at a distance 15 feet away for 15 seconds and you should be fine. If symptoms persist please see an optometrist nearby for better assessment and evaluation.
Am glad you could pass through, thanks for reading bro
Wow. This is a great a gem. Will practice and give you a feedback
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It's a good idea to step away from the computer, even if you don't have dry eyes. Probably good for family relations :)
Thanks for another clearly written, sensible blog.
Be well, @nattybongo!
Thanks for taking your time to read once again, stay safe, @agmoore