My eyes are dry and I experience burning sensation whenever I go out of the house and it stays for hours. This happens usually in summer months. What could be the reason?

— Rita Gurung

Dry eyes is not so an uncommon condition that occurs when eyes don’t make enough tears, or the tears evaporate too quickly. This leads to the eyes drying out and becoming red, swollen and irritated.

Our eyes are producing tears all the time, healthy eyes are covered with a fluid all the time, known as a tear film, which is designed to remain stable between each blink. A stable tear film prevents the eyes from becoming dry, and keeps the eyes clear, and with comfortable vision.

Dry eyes is an eye disease, in which tear film evaporation is high or tear production is low where the patient’s eyes dry out and become inflamed. It is medically known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), keratitis sicca, sicca syndrome.

Dry eye syndrome is a chronic and typically progressive condition. Depending on its cause and severity, it may not be completely curable. In most cases, dry eyes can be managed successfully. But there are quite a few different eye conditions that cause dry eyes and the treatment/cure part accordingly follows.

Symptoms usually affect both eyes and often include feelings of dryness, grittiness or soreness that get worse throughout the day, burning and red eyes, eyelids that stick together when you wake up, temporarily blurred vision, which usually improves when you blink.

There are many different reasons why this can happen, although a single identifiable cause often can’t be found. Common causes include being in a hot or windy climate, wearing contact lenses, certain underlying medical conditions, such as blepheritis (inflammation of the eyelids), side effects of certain medications — including antihistamines, antidepressants, beta-blockers, and diuretics, hormonal changes in women — during the menopause, pregnancy, or while using the contraceptive pill. In some cases dry eyes are the result of an imbalance in the tear mixture, while in others not enough tears are produced for the requirements of eye health. Other causes of dry eye syndrome include eyelid problems, some drugs, and environmental factors. Although the condition may affect people of any age, your chances of developing dry eye syndrome increase as you grow older. It is estimated that up to one in every three people over the age of 65 experiences problems with dry eyes. Dry eye syndrome happens to be more common in women than men.

Anatomically, the tear film has three layers — oil, water and mucus. If any of these layers are not right, the patient may develop dry eye symptoms.

Because dry eye disease can have a number of causes, a variety of treatment approaches are used. The dry eye treatments — artificial tears, restasis, steroid eye drop, lacrisert, punctal plugs, meibomian gland expression, warm compresses, LipiFlow and Intense Pulsed Light — are commonly used by eye doctors to reduce the signs and symptoms of dry eyes.

Doctors sometimes recommend nutritional supplements as part of a holistic dry eye treatment plan. Studies have found that supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids can decrease dry eye symptoms. Drinking more water can help, too.

If you have mild dry eye symptoms, try these things before going to the eye doctor. Blink more frequently when using computer, smart phone or other digital devices. Also, take frequent breaks during computer use — look away from your screen at least every 20 minutes and look at something that is at least 20 feet from your eyes for at least 20 seconds.

Although dry eye syndrome may be uncomfortable, it doesn’t usually cause any serious problems. The two main complications associated with dry eye syndrome are — conjunctivitis, which is an inflammation of the conjunctiva; and inflammation of the cornea, in rare cases, severe untreated dry eye syndrome can damage the surface of the cornea (keratitis). This damage can make the cornea vulnerable to ulceration and infection, which could potentially threaten your sight itself.

But do consult an ophthalmologist with the above data in mind before embarking upon the appropriate treatment part.