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Dry Eyes:  Our eyes require a consistent and constant covering of tears in order for us to see well and feel comfortable.  Many of us think of tears as the moisture that we experience when we cry.  The reality is that our tears are much more complex and when our tear film is performing properly we won't feel them or notice them.  There are 3 layers to a normal healthy tear film.  The outermost layer is an oil layer that is produced by oil glands in our eyelids.  This oil is critical to keeping our tears from evaporating.  If you hold your eyes open between blinks and you began to feel extra tears, you likely have a poor oil layer and your tears are evaporating quickly.  Watery eyes is often an indication that the oil layer of the tears is not performing well.  The middle layer of our tears is the runny watery moisture part that we are used to.  The layer closest to our eyes is a sticky layer that helps keep the tears distributed on the surface of the eye so that gravity doesn't just pull the tears to the lower eyelid.  There are many effective treatments for dry eyes and the first step is to find a good eye doctor that is experienced with the multiple treatment options.  Some in-office treatments include IPL, LLLT, Tear Care, Lipiflow, amniotic membranes and others.  Some of the effective at-home treatments for maintenance include a good triglyceride fish oil, a hyaluronic eye drop or an amniotic membrane derived eye drop, and a heat mask.  There are also prescription eye drops for eye dryness that can be prescribed by your eye doctor.  You will find highly qualified eye doctors on TheEyeDoctorShop.com as well as the products that we recommend to our patients for at-home maintenance care.  

-Ryan H. Powell, O.D. - Vision Source Eyecare