The most common symptoms through which dry eyes appear are
- Dryness feeling
- Foreign body sensation
- Sand grain feeling
- Tiredness of the eyes
- Burning eyes
- Redness of the eyes
- Photosensitivity
- Limited wearing comfort of contact lenses
- Tearing eyes
- Eye Pain
About every fifth patient treated by an ophthalmologist in Germany, Austria and Switzerland complains of symptoms such as a feeling of sand/dryness in the eye, eye fatigue, burning or watery eyes. The diagnosis of “dry eyes” can then be made quickly by the ophthalmologist and the symptoms are now also known in pharmacies, as dry eyes can now be counted among the common ailments due to their many causes. A distinction is made between dry, irritated and allergic eyes.
The symptoms are very similar, but the cause is different. In the irritated eye, however, the symptoms occur only acutely and for a short time in comparison to the dry eye. In the case of the allergic eye, seasonal or year-round symptoms occur depending on the allergens, such as pollen or animal hair.
The nose is usually also affected and the eyes (and nose) are treated with anti-allergic medication (called antihistamines). The irritated eye, on the other hand, is treated with vasoconstrictive eye drops (“whitening agents”), which would lead to an aggravation of the symptoms in classic dry eyes. It is therefore important that the exact reasons for dry eyes and complaints are clarified by the ophthalmologist so that a targeted therapy can be carried out.
The tear film – Benefits
Apart from the pleasant relaxing sensation and the easier gliding of the eyelids over the eye, the tear film has many additional tasks, which explain why it is so important that a dry eye is detected and treated as soon as possible before chronic damage to the cornea can occur.
