Introduction
Dry eye is a disorder caused due to either a deficient tear production/spread over the ocular surface or its increased drainage.
Deficient tear production is usually caused due to trauma, chemical injury, hormonal changes or increasing age. Sometimes there is a chemical imbalance of the tear film itself which makes it qualitatively deficient, although it may be quantitatively normal.
Dry eyes make the eyes look tired, red, weary and feels uncomfortable. It can also affect the quality of vision in some cases. Environmental factors include a hot and dry climate which can make the tear film evaporate and cause symptoms. Simple remedies are regular blinking exercises, which help in spreading the tear film evenly on the eye surface.
Also keeping the humidity levels from dipping too low will reduce the evaporation of tear film and give some comfort.
Treatment
To replenish the tear surface. They closely resemble natural tears in their constitution, and help in increasing overall comfort of the patient. A variety of tear substitutes are available in the market, which vary in their ocular retention time.
In cases of severe tear deficiency, these punctual plugs help in reducing the tear drainage, thus increasing the amount of tears available on the ocular surface.