Tear Jerker: Let’s Talk Tears
- Posted on: Dec 15 2017
Let’s face it: those commercials about homeless pets on TV are enough to make anyone cry a river of tears. And although tears are one of the best ways to show off your emotions, they are there for more than that— they are there to lubricate and protect your eyes. There are two main types of tears (other than emotional ones, of course) that your eyes make to protect themselves: basal tears and reflex tears. Let’s take a closer look at what these types of tears do for your vision.
Basal Tears
These types of tears spread across the surface of your eyes to help keep them lubricated and comfortable. Every time you blink, basal tears are dispersed to help you see better and more comfortably. Typically when patients suffer from a condition called dry eye, their tear ducts become clogged which prevents them from producing basal tears which results in dry, itchy, red, and otherwise irritated eyes.
Reflex Tears
We’ve all been in one of those situations where you’re trying to look someone in the eye and have some deep, intellectual conversation with them only to get something stuck in your eye– making eye contact impossible and the whole situation uncomfortable. As your eyes natural defense against dirt, dust, eyelashes, or anything else, they kick into overdrive and start producing reflex tears to push the foreign substance out of your eyes and protect them.
Dry eye is one of the most common ophthalmic issues that interfere with a patient’s ability to produce enough sufficient tears to shield and protect their eyes. Luckily, with the proper diagnosis and the proper treatment from Dr. T. Jeff Russell at Infinity Vision, we can combat your dry eye together and help you live a more comfortable day-to-day life.
Want to learn more about dry eye? Schedule an eye examination at our Dallas office today!
Posted in: Dry Eyes
