Causes of Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry Eye Syndrome Causes

The main cause of dry eye syndrome is the imbalance in the normal functioning of the lacrimal system, or a failure or poor operation of the lacrimal gland, but this disorder can also be caused by external causes or conditions which tend to dry out the thin tear film that covers the eyes, such as air conditioning, heating and certain environmental conditions, such as wind and dry climate, favoring the evaporation of tears from the surface of the eye.

The most important conditions that can cause a dry eye condition are:

• the natural aging process, especially for women during menopause
• the side effects of certain medications, such as antihistamines, antidepressants, certain blood pressure medications and birth control pills
• some diseases that have, among many symptoms, dry eye, among which Sjogrem syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and vascular disease
• the structural problems of the eyelids that prevent proper closing and covering of the eye
• exposure to a screen like television and computers for long hours: people who are focused several hours in front of a screen tend not to blink, so the tears do not spread on the surface of the eye
• use of contact lenses: wear, for a long time, the contact lenses can encourage the dry eye condition, in fact the lenses tend to absorb the tear film and at the same time the dryness of the ocular surface makes contact lenses uncomfortable and annoying
• Hormonal changes: dry eye syndrome is more common in women, probably because of the constant hormonal changes
• smoking: Several studies have shown that smoking tends to dry out the natural tearing of the eyes
• plastic surgery: cosmetic surgery has, among the possible side effects, that of dry eye.