Recognize the Symptoms of Dry Eye as You Age
Stinging and Burning
When your eyes aren’t lubricated well, the surface gets inflamed. It’s common to feel this inflammation as a stinging or burning sensation.
Mucus
You may have stringy mucus in or around your eyes that makes them feel glued shut when you wake in the morning.
Light Sensitivity
Glare, artificial light, daylight — all of it can be hard to stand when you have dry eye syndrome. Lights can feel painful to be around. Doctors call this photophobia.
Blurry Vision
Tears help focus light in your eye so you can see clearly. Without them, your vision can be blurry and out of focus.
Excess Tears
It may seem unlikely, but watery eyes are in fact a symptom of dry eye. Extra tears happen because of an imbalance in the oils of your tears’ outer layer. This makes the middle, watery layer of your eyes’ tear film evaporate too fast. Your eye makes more watery tears to make up for it.
Redness
Dry eye makes the tiny blood vessels on the surface of your eye dilate and swell. This creates a red appearance to your eyes. Typically the redness gets worse throughout the day.
Scratchy Feeling
Without the moisture of tears, your eyes may feel gritty or sandy. This can often feel like you have something in your eye, like a speck of dust or an eyelash.
Trouble Wearing Contacts
Wearing contacts is a risk factor for dry eye and can sometimes be the cause for your condition. But no matter what’s behind your dry eyes, wearing contacts may feel uncomfortable when your eye isn't making enough moisture.
Eye Fatigue
The combination of light sensitivity, pain, and the other symptoms of dry eye can cause eyestrain, or tired eyes.
Trouble Driving at Night
Headlights can cause a glare that’s bothersome to you because of light sensitivity, and the lack of moisture can create blurry vision that makes seeing at night harder.
“Heavy” Eyelids
Many people with dry eye also have swollen eyelids, also called blepharitis. This can make your eyelids feel heavy, like it’s hard to keep them open.
When to See a Doctor
Tell your doctor right away if your eyes are painful and red, especially if you have flaking, discharge, or a sore on your eye or eyelid. It’s also important to note if you have any joint pain, swelling, or stiffness, and a dry mouth along with dry eye symptoms.
