Chronic Dry Eye Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms & Solutions

Dry eye syndrome is common among people; however, some of them suffer from chronic dry eye. The syndrome may begin at an early age but remains undiagnosed for a long time. The problem with office workers is that dry eye syndrome can affect their performance at work. No one would be able to work peacefully with a burning sensation in the eyes. But this is something common for people with dry eye syndrome. Therefore, knowing everything about this syndrome is important to treat it in time.

As an office worker who spends most of his time staring at their monitor screen, chronic dry eye syndrome is something that you may encounter if you ignore the chronic dry eye symptoms. Doing that will lead you to poor performance at work by impacting your eyesight. This is where our blog can play a critical role in your life.

You will find the chronic dry eye causes, types, and symptoms as you go through this article. We have also shared the chronic dry eye remedies ahead to help you best. So, reading the complete article will give you a holistic idea about this syndrome and help you treat it accordingly to maintain better performance at work. Now, let’s begin with the types of this syndrome. 

Causes of Dry Eye Syndrome

There are two types of dry eye syndromes, evaporative dry eye, and Aqueous dry eye syndrome. Our eyes consist of three fluids, tears, lipids, and water, to stay nourished and protected. The lipids help protect the moisture while water and tears keep it moisturized. There are two glands, MGD, and lacrimal glands, which are responsible for producing the lipid layer (oil) and tears.

Usually, the rapid evaporation of tears makes chronic dry eye symptoms prominent in the long run. If the function of these three fluids gets disturbed due to a gland’s dysfunctionality, you may suffer from any of the two types of dry eye syndrome, which may get chronic in some cases.  

Evaporative Dry Eye

65% of dry eye patients have an evaporative dry eye condition. A gland dysfunction, specifically Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), can cause this condition. People with MGD experience a deficiency lipid (oil) layer of the tear film. The oil layer protects against tears' evaporation, so once this layer is deficient, your tears are no longer stable. You may suffer from a chronic dry eye condition if this is not treated in time. People have had sight-related issues and a damaged cornea in extreme cases. 

Aqueous Dry Eye

The Aqueous Dry Eye is caused by tear deficiency, so patients whose lacrimal gland is not working properly often suffer from this type of dry eye condition. People with aqueous dry eye experience a deficiency in the watery tear content of their eye as their lacrimal gland fails to produce enough tears. A quick way to understand if you have any of these two conditions is to look for chronic dry eye symptoms. 

Symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome

The dry eye symptoms are multiple, but it is not necessary that you experience all of them. You may experience a few from the list of symptoms that we have shared below.

• Redness
• Scratchiness
• Dryness
• Gritty/sandy sensation
• Burning sensation
• Blurred Vision
• Foreign body sensation 

Diagnosis of Dry Eye Syndrome

If you have encountered any of the symptoms mentioned above, you must need an effective solution to treat the dry eye condition before it's too late. Since it may affect you in worse ways before you even recognize the symptoms at times, you should get tested if you have felt the slightest change from normal. The common tests include:

• Lipid layer Testing
• Inflammation Testing
• Blinking Pattern Evaluation
• Osmolarity testing

If any of these test reports confirm the diagnosis of chronic dry eye syndrome, you will need an effective treatment solution. 

Remedies for the Chronic Dry Eye Syndrome

Here are a few remedies that you can use for treating or preventing the chronic dry eye condition. 

Wear Protective Glasses

The first thing that you can do to protect your eyes is you use protective glasses while at work. People usually encounter optical disorders like dry eyes when they stare at their monitor screens for extended hours without any protection. Using protective glasses will prevent the monitor rays from damaging your optical glands like MGD and lacrimal gland. 

Use Low Blue Light Lamp

Using a computer desk lamp is a great way to avoid the excessive optical strain your monitor might impart. But lamps often have a blue light that causes optical damage as well. Therefore, you should only go for a low blue light lamp that is optical friendly. 

Keep Your Computer at a Distance

It is essential to be mindful of the monitoring distance that is safe for you—keeping your monitor screen too close can dysfunctional your glands and cause optical damage. Therefore, maintain a good distance between you and your monitor. 

Stay Well Hydrated

You might not know but staying hydrated is vital for your eyes' health. So, ensure that you drink enough water while working. It will have several other benefits too. 

Use a Humidifier

Maintaining the moisture content in your office room is vital to avoid dry eyes. So, you may think of placing a humidifier in your office room. 

Use Eye Lubricants

If someone suffers from a chronic dry eye condition, the remedies won’t be enough, and they may need certain lubricants for treatment. So, you may consult a doctor for the right eye drops and lubricants to treat this condition. 

Bottom Line

We hope you have a holistic idea of this chronic dry eye syndrome and how you can treat or prevent it the best. You may remember that we mentioned desk lamps that you could use for avoiding dry eye and wonder where you could buy the best office accessories like that. You would be glad to know that we have an employee purchase program to facilitate you. The purchasing program is there to offer you discounts on your favorite office accessories and furniture. All you are required to do is sign up for this program to avail the best discounts.