The causes of dry eyes can be very diverse. A distinction is made between exogenous and endogenous causes. One of the exogenous causes:
- Increased screen work or television shows
- Climatic influences such as air conditioning, draughts or dry air, unbalanced diet, insufficient fluid intake, taking certain medications (e.g.
birth control pill, beta-blockers), frequent wearing of contact lenses or the chronic use of vasoconstrictive eye drops (so-called “whiteners”).
- Air conditioning
- Draught or
- Dry air
- Unilateral diet
- Too little liquid absorption
- Taking certain medications (e.g. birth control pill, beta-blockers)
- The frequent wearing of contact lenses or
- The chronic use of vasoconstrictive eye drops (so-called “whitening agents”).
- Air conditioning
- Draught or
- Dry air
- Unilateral diet
- Too little liquid absorption
- Taking certain medications (e.g. birth control pill, beta-blockers)
- The frequent wearing of contact lenses or
- The chronic use of vasoconstrictive eye drops (so-called “whitening agents”).
In the column of endogenous causes of dry eyes, on the other hand, there are the declining tear production in old age, hormonal changes during menopause and pregnancy, nerve paralysis (for example after a stroke) and certain diseases such as If the symptoms occur in the morning, it can be assumed that the underlying cause is not so much an irritation as an internal influence. It is also possible that there is a chronic wetting disorder of the eye, which is called “sicca syndrome” or “keratoconjunctivitis sicca” (KCS).
- Diabetes
- Neurodermatitis
- Rheumatism
- Thyroid gland diseases or
- Autoimmune diseases
Normally, every 4-6 seconds, the blinking of the eyelid distributes the tear fluid evenly on the surface of the eye. However, if too little tear fluid is produced in dry eyes, the eye surface can no longer be sufficiently moistened. Since the eye does not blink during the night, unlike during the day, it is often additionally dry in the morning.
Because of this dryness, the eyelid rubs against the conjunctiva and cornea without the protective film of tear fluid in between with every blink. This causes an unpleasant scratching sensation or the feeling of a foreign body or a “grain of sand” in the eye. Also noticeable is an increased sensitivity to light and sometimes even watery eyes, since the constant irritation stimulates a temporary increased flow of tears.
The eyes are tired and the eyelids of the eye feel heavy already in the morning, so that opening the eyes after sleeping is especially difficult. In addition to dry eyes, chronic inflammation of the eyelid margins can also be added to the dry eyes, which further intensifies the symptoms. It is important that dry eyes need to be treated urgently!
At first it seems banal to go to the doctor for dry eyes. However, it is important, especially if it is noticeable that the dryness is not only temporary, to start a therapy to protect the cornea from damage caused by the constantly scratching eyelid. If this is not done, the corneal surface will crack, which can cause inflammatory processes due to penetrating dirt or bacteria, which will have an additional negative effect on tear production.
This leads to a self-sustaining cycle of dry eyes, which must be broken in order to prevent serious corneal damage. In the worst case, untreated chronically dry eyes can otherwise lead to corneal clouding and thus to a loss of vision.
