What No One Tells You About Dry Eye, and Why It Feels So Intense

If dry eye has ever made it hard to think about anything else, this two-minute video is for you.

When your eyes feel normal, you don't think about them at all. That's how it's supposed to be. When they're dry, burning or blurry, they can take over your entire day, and the people around you often don't understand why.

The reason is anatomy. The surface of the eye, especially the cornea, has one of the highest concentrations of nerve endings anywhere in the body. Your cornea is essentially an alarm system, so even mild dryness can register as burning, stinging, pressure, grittiness or light sensitivity.

The blurry vision that comes and goes, clearing when you blink and then fading again, comes from an unstable tear film. Tears aren't just water. Like a vinaigrette dressing, they need mucin to help them stick, water for volume and nourishment, and oil on top to slow evaporation. When the oil layer is weak, tears evaporate too quickly, and you can feel dry even while you're making plenty of tears.

Research has suggested that the suffering from dry eye can be comparable to chest pain from heart disease. That doesn't make dry eye dangerous in the same way, but it does mean you're not being dramatic. This is real physiology, and it's worth describing to your eye doctor in detail, including when in the day your symptoms are worst.

Read the full post: Why Dry Eye Feels So Much Worse Than It "Should"

Next video: Your Dry Eye Might Not Be a Tear Problem