Dry eyes
Dry eye syndrome
is a common cause of eye irritation.
Tears
reduce the risk of eye infection and, with each
blink of the eyelids, help clear your eyes of any
debris.
Complications
Production of tears occurs in two ways. Basic tearing produces tears at
a slow, steady rate and keeps your eyes lubricated. What's called reflex
tearing produces large quantities of tears in response to eye irritation
or emotions. Reflex tears contain much more water than do basic tears,
and they're low in mucus and oils.
When your eyes become irritated from dryness, the lacrimal glands flood
your eyes with reflex tears. Fluid overwhelms the tear ducts and
overflows your eyelids. What's more, because these tears are of poor
quality, they don't help the dryness. That may make you produce even
more tears.
