Dry Eye

It is an important public health problem because it changes the daily activities and quality of life of individuals. Clinical signs may be inconsistent and discordant with patients' complaints, becoming a chronic and distressing condition. When the tear is not adequately produced, the symptoms of dry eye appear: burning; photophobia; sandy feeling; tearing; halos around lights and altered vision. In the most severe cases there is pain that worsens with blinking, intense photophobia, recurrent infections and corneal ulcers.

Risk factors for dry eye are female gender, advanced age, postmenopausal therapy, some systemic and ocular medications, vit. A deficiency, hepatitis C, bone marrow transplant, radiotherapy, refractive surgery, rheumatoid arthritis; lupus; sarcoidosis; acne rosacea; allergies, diabetes among others. Professions associated with concentration tasks such as working on the computer, on videos or microscopes lead to dry eye due to decreased blinking, increased eyelid opening and greater tear evaporation.

The treatment includes artificial tears, changing the environment to avoid aggressive agents such as tobacco, smoke, wind or very dry environments, and adopting a correct visual posture at the computer and when reading. In more severe cases, it may be necessary to occlude the lacrimal puncta, use general antibiotics and cyclosporine and/or topical corticosteroids.

By Dr. Maria João Quadrado