The Eye Care Blog

Identification of the cause of extremely watery eyes (Excessive tearing) is highly preferable before deciding the treatment procedure. Otherwise you will be fade up with ophthalmologists and allergists and with their prescription eye drops.

Excessive tearing can be caused by several factors. There is different treatment approaches depending on which type (constant or episodic) it are.

Constant tearing: This can be a result of a blockage of the tear drainage system. Also, changes because of aging can cause the lower eyelid to turn away from the eye, which can also cause poor drainage and tearing.

If the tear duct is blocked, surgery can be performed to create a new drain. If poor lid positioning is causing the tearing, eyelid surgery can help.

Episodic tearing: This is usually associated with a poor or unstable tear film. Blepharitis, an inflammation of the eyelids, is a common cause. Blepharitis results in inflammation of the oil glands along the eyelid. The oil protects the tear film and prevents tears from evaporating too quickly. When the glands are inflamed and plugged up, the tear film breaks down. Your body’s natural reaction is to create a gush of tears, with episodes of tearing throughout the day.

Your doctor could prescribe a short course of anti-inflammatory eye drops and/or oral medications to treat blepharitis. Often, warm compresses with lid massage and artificial tears can help stabilize this condition, resulting in less frequent and intense flare-ups.

Visual tasks such as driving, reading or watching television make the tearing worse. Taking breaks from eye-straining activities and using artificial tears to replenish tears can help prevent episodic tearing.

Episodic tearing can also be caused by decreased tear production. When the eye is drying out, your reflex tearing mechanism fills the eye with tears – creating watery eyes.

Your eye care provider can diagnose dry eyes by measuring tear production and looking at the eye with special stains. Treatment options include artificial tears and gels, plugs to block the drain to allow more tears to bathe the eye, and anti-inflammatory drops such as cyclosporine.

Link

Filed under Dry Eyes, Eye Treatment

You may also like to read

• Jacquelyn Mitchard joined hands in the dry eye campaign
• Update: Complete MoisturePlus Contact Lens Solution Causing Acanthamoeba Keratitis
• Don’t Take Health Of Your Eyes For Granted
• How to Treat Your Dry Eyes
• Menopausal Women Are More Likely to Have Dry Eye Syndrome
• CDC identified outbreak of a serious eye infection called Acanthamoeba
• Soft contact lens in higher risk to develop eye infection
• 144 Million Chinese-Made Kid Sunglasses Recalled Due To Excessive Lead
• 6 Conditions Which Rule Out LASIK Surgery
• Exposure to UV Rays During Winter Can Damage Your Eyes

This entry was posted on Monday, July 3rd, 2006 at 1:03 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.