DRY EYE SYNDROME

One of the most common eye problems encountered particularly by women post menopause is the dry eye syndrome. One of the important signs of the syndrome is constantly having red and painful eyes. Eyes have tear glands and the function of the tear glands is to produce tears. Tear is a lubricating agent that lubricates the eyes particularly the cornea. Cornea is the most transparent part of the body and it does not contain blood vessels. The cornea is nourished mainly via the lymphatic vessels. The cornea requires Oxygen and it obtains the oxygen required from the oxygen that is contained in the tears that lubricate the cornea. In order to keep the cornea constantly nourished by oxygen, the cornea has to be continuously lubricated by the tears. The tear glands continuously produce tears and thus the cornea is continuously being lubricated. The tear glands are located in the upper temporal area and when they secrete tears, the tears will fall straight down to the lower lids to form the tear river. When the eyes lids are closed, the lids will touch the tear river. When the eye lids move upward, the tears will be carried upward by the eye lids. Through this action, the whole cornea surfaces become lubricated by the tears. Blinking acts in the opposite way of the car windscreen wipers. While the wipers make the windscreen dry, blinking lubricates the human eyes particularly the Cornea.
The process of closing and opening of the eyes by the eye lids is known as blinking. A normal person blinks an average about 16 times a minute. People tend to blink less than normal when he or she is concentrating or looking at a close object such as reading from the computer screen or reading small prints from a book or a newspaper. When the blink rate is less than normal, the eyes will not be adequately lubricated and as a result the eyes will become red and painful. In this particular case, the symptoms of pain and redness are only encountered when the person is constantly gazing at an object and the symptoms will disappear once the person begins to blinks normally. Those who regularly sit in front of computer screens for prolonged period often encounter such symptoms. The symptoms will disappear once we blink more often than usual or when we use additional lubricant known as artificial tear or eye drops. The artificial tear will help to lubricate the eyes just like the naturally produced tears. When our eyes are exposed to excessive heat or wind, the tear layer covering the cornea will become dry and the cornea become suffocated. Once the cornea became suffocated, the blood vessels in the conjunctiva will become swollen and the conjunctiva will looks red. Suffocation of the cornea causes blood capillaries in the conjunctiva to swell as the body is trying to supply the cornea with more oxygen. When the cornea fail to receive adequate supply of oxygen, within minutes the cornea will develop dry spots. The presence of dry spots in the cornea causes pain to the eyes. When the cornea continues to be deprived of oxygen, the cornea will develop scars and edema. Once the cornea becomes edematous, the vision will become blurry, and the eyes become red and painful.
Such condition should not be allowed to happen to our eyes. Once you have symptoms of eye pain, you should get your eyes examined either by an Optometrist or an Ophthalmologist. You should not go to the Opticians. There are many causes of eye pain but one of the most frequent causes of eye pain is the dry eyes syndrome. Cornea is the most transparent and the most sensitive part of human body. Any sensation of pain to the eyes often involves the cornea. The symptoms of eye pain must be taken seriously. Allah has made the cornea to be the most sensitive organ and its sensitiveness in itself is a blessing. The most common treatment strategy for dry eyes syndrome is the application of artificial tears to the eyes. Anyone can buy artificial tears over the counter from a pharmacy. It does not need any prescription from a doctor to buy artificial tears. In case you are wearing contact lenses, any slight sensation of pain to the eyes should not be taken lightly and you are advised not to continue wearing your contact lenses. You should immediately consult your optometrists or ophthalmologists. You may have other problems than the dry eyes.

Other than the application of artificial tears to the eyes, there is no other treatment to the dry eye syndrome. Millions of people around the globe are suffering from the dry eye syndrome and the treatment is only asymptomatic. Ophthalmologists around the globe have not found the cure for the dry eye syndrome. Those who are suffering from the dry eye syndrome should never wear contact lenses. What causes the eyes to become dry? An eye becomes dry, when it is not lubricated well by the tears of the eye. The eyes are not lubricated well by the tears, either due to lack of tears being produced by the tear glands or that the tears have poor quality and as a result the tears do not stick well to the cornea. The production of tears could be insufficient due to defective tear glands. It could also be that the tear glands themselves are normal but the nerves leading to and from the glands are abnormal. Dry eye syndrome can be cured. In order to cure dry eye syndrome, we either have to treat the glands producing the tears or the nerves leading to and from the glands. Once we can treat the tear glands or the nerves leading to and from the glands we can treat the dry eye syndrome. Either we want to treat the tear glands or the nerves; we have to start the treatment by treating the bowel first. The health of the bowel determines the quality of blood circulating in the body. Once the bowel is cured then we treat the blood and the nerves and finally the tear glands. We can diagnose the condition of the bowel, blood and the nerves by looking at the iris of the eyes. The irises are the most transparent parts of the eyes and by looking at the iris we can diagnose the condition of the bowel. In order to treat the bowel, blood, nerves and the tear glands, we have to use nutrients and vitamins. Many herbs contain various nutrients and vitamins that are essential to heal damaged tissues and to reduce tissue inflammations in the body. Once the tear gland tissues become normal, they will start to function normally and the dry eye syndrome will be cured.
I have treated many patients in the past that suffer from the dry eye syndrome. Many have been cured from the disease and my most recent patient that has been cured from the disease is my Deputy Vice Chancellor. I was very delighted with the positive result of the treatment as she has been suffering from the disease for many years. She has been depending on artificial tears for so long and now she doesn’t have to use it anymore.
Dr. Nasoha Saabin
November 2010
Dean of Faculty of Optometry
International University College of Technology Twintech
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Source: http://mthago.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/dry-eye-syndrome/#comment-2140