Dry Eye Disease
Tear-film instability that leaves the surface of the eye irritated and tired.
A tear film three layers thick coats the front of every healthy eye — water, oil, and a sticky base that helps it cling. Dry eye disease is what happens when any one of those layers gets out of balance. The eye is rarely actually dry; it's irritated, inflamed, and tired by lunchtime.
Why screens make it worse.
We blink about half as often when we read a screen. Half the blinks means half the tear film gets refreshed — and the oil glands in the eyelids slowly stop secreting because they're not being squeezed. Most modern dry eye is, mechanically, a consequence of how we spend our days.
How we treat it.
Lubricating drops are the easy part. The real work is rehabilitating the oil-producing glands with warm compresses, lid-margin care, and — when needed — in-clinic procedures that physically express the glands. For severe cases, anti-inflammatory drops and tear-duct plugs make a meaningful difference within weeks.
