Eye Conditions

Dry eyes often goes undiagnosed and untreated despite being a very common and treatable disease. Currently between 20 to 25 million of Americans suffer from dry eyes. This includes 3.2 million women over the age of 50, and 15% of all Americans over the age of 65.

Dry eye is a condition in which there are insufficient tears, or a poor quality of tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears are necessary for maintaining the health of the front surface of the eye, and for providing clear vision. Dry eye is a common and often chronic problem, particularly in older adults. This can also happen for a number of other reasons including hormonal changes, side effect of medications and disease, and environmental causes.

Tears are important to your visual health. With each blink of the eyelids, tears are spread across the front surface of the eye, known as the cornea. Tears help provide lubrication, reduce the risk of eye infection, wash away foreign matter in the eye, and keep the surface of the eyes smooth and clear. Excess tears in the eyes flow into small drainage ducts, in the inner corners of the eyelids, which drain to the back of the nose.

Dry eyes can result from an improper balance of tear production and drainage.