If you are like many people, you may think that dry eyes are not that serious, but that is a huge mistake. If left untreated, dry eye syndrome can cause bouts of blurry vision and discomfort. It can interfere with your activities because it can make it difficult to use a computer for long periods or it could be difficult to travel comfortably in the dry cabin of a plane.
What most people do not know is that untreated, dry eyes can also damage your cornea. The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped outer layer covering the front of the eye. In severe cases, this damage can lead to permanent vision loss, and it can also result in blindness. Fortunately, these problems can be averted by getting proper treatment for dry eyes.
The importance of tears
Unlike the other parts of your body, the cornea does not have any blood vessels. Instead of getting oxygen and nutrients from blood, it receives them from tears. These tears also help cleanse your eyes and wash away dust and germs. The healthy tear film is needed for the optics of clear vision. Dry eyes are blurry eyes.
When you have dry eye syndrome, the quality or quantity of tears is not sufficient, so the health of your cornea may suffer. In some cases, the cornea also becomes inflamed. If it is left untreated, this inflammation may lead to painful open sores and scarring of the cornea. If corneal sores are not treated, vision loss can be permanent.
A film of tears over the cornea also helps keep it smooth and clear. This is needed for good vision because it is the point where light is first focused as it enters the eye. When the tear film is inadequate, vision is not as sharp as it otherwise would be.
Two important cornea conditions
Two cornea conditions are the result of ignoring eye dryness:
Corneal ulcer
This is an open sore on the cornea. It can result from eye infection or eye inflammation, and the risk of infection is increased in people with insufficient tear production. The possible symptoms of a corneal ulcer include eye redness, gritty feeling in the eye, severe eye pain or soreness, pus or other discharge, excessive watering, blurry vision, swollen eyelids, sensitivity to light and white spot on the cornea.
If you have such symptoms, call your ophthalmologist immediately. Without prompt treatment, a corneal ulcer may lead to scarring and severe vision loss that can be chronic. Antifungal, antibiotic or antiviral eye drops may be prescribed for an infection depending on the causative organism. Steroid or anti-inflammatory eye drops can help prevent scarring, and oral pain medicine helps relieve pain.
Corneal abrasion
This is an injury to the outermost layer of cells on the corneal surface. Dry eyes can make these exposed cells highly vulnerable to trauma. Among other things, it can also result from vigorous rubbing of your eyes. It can also be caused by a foreign object in the eye, and a lack of tears means that you are missing the eye's natural defense for washing away debris and dust. Possible symptoms include eye pain, gritty feeling in the eye, eye redness, excessive watering, sensitivity to light, headache, blurry vision.
Contact your eye doctor immediately if you think that you may have a corneal abrasion. Depending on the situation, antibiotic eye drops or ointment, steroid eye drops or a pain reliever may be prescribed. Your eye might also be patched to make you more comfortable while the abrasion heals.
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