Steven writes about the complex nature of our built-in spherical seeing devices (eyes) and the potential harm we can afflict upon them through our daily activities and our tendencies to modernize with the latest innovations in eye care and treatment. I never heard of dry eye syndrome prior to this reading. It was more or less a symptom that might occur on very rare occasions (poor sleep, extreme temperatures, etc…). For others, it has become an unbearable struggle, one often counteracted with laser surgery or one of the other various corrective solutions. Either way, if the word laser did not scare you, maybe the potential longterm deleterious effects will.
Both the population, nearing 10% (USA), and the use of corrective methods are rising systematically. Although I would like to believe that the solutions output and made readily available are curative in nature, I cannot. “…for example, patients who had comfortably worn contact lenses for decades seemed to progressively develop dry eye, even those patients who had changed to the new extended-wear lenses.”
I feel it is important to make an argument about perfection within the industry. For what we have been raised to believe and ponder, perfection is unattainable. In many regards, this is true, but in so many more, it is not. I feel that there are no new openings for perfection, for these spots have already been filled and achieved by something else. That something else is what we can find in the natural of the world. Whether it is our food supply or the air we breathe, it can only be manipulated, but never recreated with that same desired effect.
We as humans have sought and continue to seek the ability to replicate the unattainable perfect-ness of the natural world, but it has all ended in a stockpile of manipulations, all of which require another “natural” fix (manipulation) to cover up and treat the newly created symptoms. It is this cycle that avoids the underlying causes and approaches the delicate health of all, blindly. New treatments will be forthcoming <- That is an equation for infinity, for many of these treatments will never attain their original goal, whether or not that is still their primary objective.
WHAT IS DRY EYE SYNDROME?
According to Steven, it is the “lack of proper tear production and distribution.” There are two types:
Aqueous – when there are not enough tears.
Evaporative – when there is an abnormal tear composition.
Crying is not the only process in which tears are shed, we actually use them at a constant rate as we blink and re-coat our eyes more than periodically.
“Working together with the eyelids, tears protect, cleanse, and nourish the eye.”
“…a lack of watery tears results in an increase in saltiness on the ocular surface,” which leads to damage and inflammation.
“If dry eye syndrome is not treated properly, it can lead to severe eye problems, including blindness.”
CAUSES
CONTACT LENSES
“Longterm contact lens wear can inhibit the sensation on your cornea, leading to various vision problems, including dry eye.” It truly astonishes me how fixed we have become in our reliance on these “foreign objects.” As for those that feel that contact lenses have improved their vision in the long run, they experience only a “brief improvement.” Our corneas become warped and retain the shape of the lenses for a few hours or longer until this artificial improvement dissipates with gradual corneal reshaping.
NEW VERSUS OLD
Did you know that extended wear lenses first appeared in the early 1980s? Still unperfected, they seem to be relabeled, repackaged, and recycled into the market as new and innovative ideas. They are indeed innovative, but they are indeed innovative manipulations.
Although the newer ones are “super-permeable” in that they can let more oxygen trickle through to the cornea, they still offer a conundrum. As in the 1980s, the newer ones, no matter what period of time, are never deemed “too risky,” very much unlike those of the past. Newer always tends to be less risky, with its quick influx into the market and its lack of longterm studies. Conjunctivitis, infections, corneal ulcers, and even blindness become more prevalent, “therefore, if you use extended-wear lenses, exercise extreme caution.”
LONGTERM USE
Steven does endorse the use of these treatments, but with due warning as that mentioned above. “Wearing contacts for several hours each day and especially overnight is actually detrimental to many people, even those using extended-wear lenses, because the eye needs rest and relaxation from the foreign body each and every day.” Longterm use: “…decreased corneal sensation leads to decreased tear production, decreased blinking, and ultimately full-blown dry eye syndrome.”
I constantly write about the implications of being aware of the cumulative effects of what we do each and every day, even those habits or practices which seem too minute to take into consideration. Not only do you have to take the necessary steps to improve your eyes via the manipulative route, you have you take care of the lens itself with a specially formatted solution. Here, the manipulator manipulates the manipulated in order procure their health.
SOLUTIONS
“At the time this book went to press, the safety of multipurpose solutions was being questioned.”
“…make sure that the solution does not contain the preservative thimerosal, which can irritate sensitive eyes.” In general, Steven recommends using solutions and or eye drops which are preservative free to avoid any acute and or longterm effects of mostly under-studied, for the purpose of efficacy, chemicals. Additives such as Benzalkonium Chloride (BAC) are known to be irritating, toxic, and allergy inducing.
“For people with allergies, consider using daily disposable soft lenses, since contact lenses tend to absorb harmful deposits that cause ocular allergies.”
ALLERGIES
With a dual attack, dry eye syndrome and allergies accumulate to fester increased dry eye symptoms and a more potent allergic reaction. A lack of tears, due to dry eye syndrome, prevents the washing out of allergens which then amass and produce the above effect. To touch further on the preservative issue, they have been found to: dissolve the lipid layer of the tear and to build up in the lens itself.
(LASIK) SURGERY
Steven writes that lasik surgery is not that quick and simple procedure we see advertised on tv and on that big billboard we pass on our way to work every day. Instead, “lasik is a complex operation and problems, especially dry eye, may develop or worsen after the procedure.” He notes that 95% report satisfactory results, but he also notes that the other five percent represent enough people, enough to not push them under the table and forget about them.
“…dry eye symptoms are almost certain after all forms of refractive surgery, at least for the first few weeks.” Sixty percent experience dry eye in the first month and much of this is resolved within six months, but that other five percent is left to endure.
This type of surgery involves the ablation or cauterization of the nerve ending during the procedure. It is this nerve that sends the signal to the brain to stimulate the production of tears and promotes an overall healthy environment for each eye.
OTHER CAUSES
Staring at the computer, a book, or the landscape ahead of you while driving.
Reduces your blink rate due to long periods of sustained concentration.
Due to malnutrition or disease of the digestive track and or liver.
Can steer you towards dry eye syndrome.
One more, one that is linked with many of the problems in this world. Studies have found that smoking “disturbs all three layers of the normal tear film,” “tear breakup time,” and that it is an overall “irritating” practice. Steven’s advice: “Stop!”
AGE & GENDER
Dry eye syndrome presents mostly in women, and most of them are menopausal. Steven unhinges the myth that tear glands wear out due to age and resolves to evidence that it is linked to hormonal deficiencies. “…reduction in sex hormones appears to relate directly to dry eye.”
HORMONES & WHY WOMEN
Steven writes that recent research selects androgens, a steroid hormone, as the likely faltering hormone. This hormone is produced both in the testes and in the adrenal glands. So why is it that females are faltering at much greater rates than their male counterparts? Androgens are responsible for the masculine characteristics (body hair, etc…), so it is rather obvious why this hormone depletes more rapidly in the female population.
It is has been found that immediate stoppage occurs when the ovaries shut down with menopause while it is more gradual, often lasting decades, for men. Androgens have also been found to be depleted in those with Sjogren’s Syndrome (90% Women too!), a syndrome of generalized dryness. Androgens are also involved in the production of the lipid layer of the tear.
ESTROGEN
As for estrogen, produced primarily by the ovaries, but also by the placenta and the adrenal glands (men too), the studies are conflicting with some showing high levels as being a causative factor and others showing low levels… More research is obviously needed in this sector.
TREATMENT
QUICK SELF-DIAGNOSIS
First off, if it itches, it is likely an allergy, but if it scratches—feels like there is some illusive material traveling about one of your rounded white surfaces—it is likely dry eye. Another test from Steven, keep your eyes open and focused ahead for seven seconds. If within five seconds it is accompanied by a burning feeling, you are likely suffering from dry eye and it may be in your best interest to seek the aid of an ophthalmologist (eye doctor).
EYE DROPS
As mentioned earlier, eye drops can be effective, mostly at covering up the symptoms and causing others, so do not seek these methods as your end-all cure-call approach. Eye drops “cannot substitute natural tears,” and duplicating the layer arrangement of tears “is not really possible.” Even Visine, “if overused,” can produce more redness, inflammation, irritation, or increased blood pressure. Instead…
“Many small, simple changes can be made in your environment and lifestyle that will help enormously to keep the pain and the irritation of dry eye in check.”
FOOD & LIFESTYLE
“…making sure you are eating a balanced diet, staying well hydrated, practicing appropriate personal hygiene, getting adequate sleep, and exercising regularly, all of which will contribute to keeping dry eye in check.’
ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS
“…increasing these fatty acids in the diet stimulates lipid and aqueous tear production.”
In a study carried out by the ophthalmologist, Carl F. Boerner, flaxseed was found to relieve the symptoms of dry eye in 85% of the patients. In those with borderline dry eyes and contact lens intolerance, flaxseed was later found to increase their contact lens wearing times. This information is both encouraging and slightly misleading.
Sure we can supplement our bodies naturally (flaxseed) to appropriately handle the burden of contact lens use, but is that the reason we eat healthy foods? Do we eat them to lessen the burden and or to counteract exterior manipulations? In some ways, yes, food enables us to fight off illness, infection, and any other bodily infestations, but no body is prepared for the onset of a chronic attack. We can offset our intolerance for only so long, then we become overwhelmed by the accumulative factors, the factors that lead to our eventual demise.
Another study found that five servings of tuna each week reduced the rate of dry eye in women. Your source of these omega-3 fatty acids is crucial because dry eye syndrome can often be overcome, but other ailments may follow.
CAFFEINE
Caffeine, a potent diuretic and stimulant has also been found to be harmful on your eyes. By decreasing caffeine…
Coffee
Tea
Caffeinated Colas
Chocolate
…it has been shown to have “strong positive effects on dry eye symptoms.” As to the diuretic nature, increasing water consumption can help flush the system while hydrating it simultaneously—urine should be clear to pale yellow.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
Steven also recommends:
Using throw rugs
Can be occasionally washed and rid of the dormant infestations often found in wall-to-wall carpeting.
Using fragrance-free soap and shampoo.
Limiting makeup and beauty products.
Hypoallergenic products
Avoid hairspray and nail polish of any kind.
The fragrance and cosmetic industry is a scary and highly unregulated one, even more so than the supplement industry. I urge you to engage in your relationship with these products at a more knowingly level. My article about endometriosis offers enough of a glimpse to make you think twice.
CONCLUSION
Our eyes are not as simple as we often view them, yet the curative powers of the natural world are. Many manipulations account for the eventual eye problems and we cannot justifiably deem old age as a time period of total decline. Okay, maybe we can to some degree, but what is old age? Is old age when you reach your eighties or nineties? Or is old age when your body finally begins succumbing to the overwhelming accumulation of your day to day choices and habitualities?
I side with latter, because I believe we do not have to become “old” and “fragile” at a set age. Be weary of advancements and innovations and keep close to the natural of our world.
Do you have dry eye syndrome or know somebody that does (please share)?
Did you pass the seven second eye test that Steven recommended?
Do you wear contact lenses and have your eyes adjusted perfectly with them?
Dry Eye Syndrome: Eye Do Matter
After Reading: Reversing Dry Eye Syndrome: Practical Ways to Improve Your Comfort, Vision, and Wellness By Steven L. Maskin M.D.
Steven writes about the complex nature of our built-in spherical seeing devices (eyes) and the potential harm we can afflict upon them through our daily activities and our tendencies to modernize with the latest innovations in eye care and treatment. I never heard of dry eye syndrome prior to this reading. It was more or less a symptom that might occur on very rare occasions (poor sleep, extreme temperatures, etc…). For others, it has become an unbearable struggle, one often counteracted with laser surgery or one of the other various corrective solutions. Either way, if the word laser did not scare you, maybe the potential longterm deleterious effects will.
Both the population, nearing 10% (USA), and the use of corrective methods are rising systematically. Although I would like to believe that the solutions output and made readily available are curative in nature, I cannot. “…for example, patients who had comfortably worn contact lenses for decades seemed to progressively develop dry eye, even those patients who had changed to the new extended-wear lenses.”
I feel it is important to make an argument about perfection within the industry. For what we have been raised to believe and ponder, perfection is unattainable. In many regards, this is true, but in so many more, it is not. I feel that there are no new openings for perfection, for these spots have already been filled and achieved by something else. That something else is what we can find in the natural of the world. Whether it is our food supply or the air we breathe, it can only be manipulated, but never recreated with that same desired effect.
We as humans have sought and continue to seek the ability to replicate the unattainable perfect-ness of the natural world, but it has all ended in a stockpile of manipulations, all of which require another “natural” fix (manipulation) to cover up and treat the newly created symptoms. It is this cycle that avoids the underlying causes and approaches the delicate health of all, blindly. New treatments will be forthcoming <- That is an equation for infinity, for many of these treatments will never attain their original goal, whether or not that is still their primary objective.
WHAT IS DRY EYE SYNDROME?
According to Steven, it is the “lack of proper tear production and distribution.” There are two types:
Crying is not the only process in which tears are shed, we actually use them at a constant rate as we blink and re-coat our eyes more than periodically.
“Working together with the eyelids, tears protect, cleanse, and nourish the eye.”
“…a lack of watery tears results in an increase in saltiness on the ocular surface,” which leads to damage and inflammation.
“If dry eye syndrome is not treated properly, it can lead to severe eye problems, including blindness.”
CAUSES
CONTACT LENSES
“Longterm contact lens wear can inhibit the sensation on your cornea, leading to various vision problems, including dry eye.” It truly astonishes me how fixed we have become in our reliance on these “foreign objects.” As for those that feel that contact lenses have improved their vision in the long run, they experience only a “brief improvement.” Our corneas become warped and retain the shape of the lenses for a few hours or longer until this artificial improvement dissipates with gradual corneal reshaping.
NEW VERSUS OLD
Did you know that extended wear lenses first appeared in the early 1980s? Still unperfected, they seem to be relabeled, repackaged, and recycled into the market as new and innovative ideas. They are indeed innovative, but they are indeed innovative manipulations.
Although the newer ones are “super-permeable” in that they can let more oxygen trickle through to the cornea, they still offer a conundrum. As in the 1980s, the newer ones, no matter what period of time, are never deemed “too risky,” very much unlike those of the past. Newer always tends to be less risky, with its quick influx into the market and its lack of longterm studies. Conjunctivitis, infections, corneal ulcers, and even blindness become more prevalent, “therefore, if you use extended-wear lenses, exercise extreme caution.”
LONGTERM USE
Steven does endorse the use of these treatments, but with due warning as that mentioned above. “Wearing contacts for several hours each day and especially overnight is actually detrimental to many people, even those using extended-wear lenses, because the eye needs rest and relaxation from the foreign body each and every day.” Longterm use: “…decreased corneal sensation leads to decreased tear production, decreased blinking, and ultimately full-blown dry eye syndrome.”
I constantly write about the implications of being aware of the cumulative effects of what we do each and every day, even those habits or practices which seem too minute to take into consideration. Not only do you have to take the necessary steps to improve your eyes via the manipulative route, you have you take care of the lens itself with a specially formatted solution. Here, the manipulator manipulates the manipulated in order procure their health.
SOLUTIONS
“At the time this book went to press, the safety of multipurpose solutions was being questioned.”
“…make sure that the solution does not contain the preservative thimerosal, which can irritate sensitive eyes.” In general, Steven recommends using solutions and or eye drops which are preservative free to avoid any acute and or longterm effects of mostly under-studied, for the purpose of efficacy, chemicals. Additives such as Benzalkonium Chloride (BAC) are known to be irritating, toxic, and allergy inducing.
“For people with allergies, consider using daily disposable soft lenses, since contact lenses tend to absorb harmful deposits that cause ocular allergies.”
ALLERGIES
With a dual attack, dry eye syndrome and allergies accumulate to fester increased dry eye symptoms and a more potent allergic reaction. A lack of tears, due to dry eye syndrome, prevents the washing out of allergens which then amass and produce the above effect. To touch further on the preservative issue, they have been found to: dissolve the lipid layer of the tear and to build up in the lens itself.
(LASIK) SURGERY
Steven writes that lasik surgery is not that quick and simple procedure we see advertised on tv and on that big billboard we pass on our way to work every day. Instead, “lasik is a complex operation and problems, especially dry eye, may develop or worsen after the procedure.” He notes that 95% report satisfactory results, but he also notes that the other five percent represent enough people, enough to not push them under the table and forget about them.
“…dry eye symptoms are almost certain after all forms of refractive surgery, at least for the first few weeks.” Sixty percent experience dry eye in the first month and much of this is resolved within six months, but that other five percent is left to endure.
This type of surgery involves the ablation or cauterization of the nerve ending during the procedure. It is this nerve that sends the signal to the brain to stimulate the production of tears and promotes an overall healthy environment for each eye.
OTHER CAUSES
One more, one that is linked with many of the problems in this world. Studies have found that smoking “disturbs all three layers of the normal tear film,” “tear breakup time,” and that it is an overall “irritating” practice. Steven’s advice: “Stop!”
AGE & GENDER
Dry eye syndrome presents mostly in women, and most of them are menopausal. Steven unhinges the myth that tear glands wear out due to age and resolves to evidence that it is linked to hormonal deficiencies. “…reduction in sex hormones appears to relate directly to dry eye.”
HORMONES & WHY WOMEN
Steven writes that recent research selects androgens, a steroid hormone, as the likely faltering hormone. This hormone is produced both in the testes and in the adrenal glands. So why is it that females are faltering at much greater rates than their male counterparts? Androgens are responsible for the masculine characteristics (body hair, etc…), so it is rather obvious why this hormone depletes more rapidly in the female population.
It is has been found that immediate stoppage occurs when the ovaries shut down with menopause while it is more gradual, often lasting decades, for men. Androgens have also been found to be depleted in those with Sjogren’s Syndrome (90% Women too!), a syndrome of generalized dryness. Androgens are also involved in the production of the lipid layer of the tear.
ESTROGEN
As for estrogen, produced primarily by the ovaries, but also by the placenta and the adrenal glands (men too), the studies are conflicting with some showing high levels as being a causative factor and others showing low levels… More research is obviously needed in this sector.
TREATMENT
QUICK SELF-DIAGNOSIS
First off, if it itches, it is likely an allergy, but if it scratches—feels like there is some illusive material traveling about one of your rounded white surfaces—it is likely dry eye. Another test from Steven, keep your eyes open and focused ahead for seven seconds. If within five seconds it is accompanied by a burning feeling, you are likely suffering from dry eye and it may be in your best interest to seek the aid of an ophthalmologist (eye doctor).
EYE DROPS
As mentioned earlier, eye drops can be effective, mostly at covering up the symptoms and causing others, so do not seek these methods as your end-all cure-call approach. Eye drops “cannot substitute natural tears,” and duplicating the layer arrangement of tears “is not really possible.” Even Visine, “if overused,” can produce more redness, inflammation, irritation, or increased blood pressure. Instead…
“Many small, simple changes can be made in your environment and lifestyle that will help enormously to keep the pain and the irritation of dry eye in check.”
FOOD & LIFESTYLE
“…making sure you are eating a balanced diet, staying well hydrated, practicing appropriate personal hygiene, getting adequate sleep, and exercising regularly, all of which will contribute to keeping dry eye in check.’
ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS
“…increasing these fatty acids in the diet stimulates lipid and aqueous tear production.”
In a study carried out by the ophthalmologist, Carl F. Boerner, flaxseed was found to relieve the symptoms of dry eye in 85% of the patients. In those with borderline dry eyes and contact lens intolerance, flaxseed was later found to increase their contact lens wearing times. This information is both encouraging and slightly misleading.
Sure we can supplement our bodies naturally (flaxseed) to appropriately handle the burden of contact lens use, but is that the reason we eat healthy foods? Do we eat them to lessen the burden and or to counteract exterior manipulations? In some ways, yes, food enables us to fight off illness, infection, and any other bodily infestations, but no body is prepared for the onset of a chronic attack. We can offset our intolerance for only so long, then we become overwhelmed by the accumulative factors, the factors that lead to our eventual demise.
Another study found that five servings of tuna each week reduced the rate of dry eye in women. Your source of these omega-3 fatty acids is crucial because dry eye syndrome can often be overcome, but other ailments may follow.
CAFFEINE
Caffeine, a potent diuretic and stimulant has also been found to be harmful on your eyes. By decreasing caffeine…
…it has been shown to have “strong positive effects on dry eye symptoms.” As to the diuretic nature, increasing water consumption can help flush the system while hydrating it simultaneously—urine should be clear to pale yellow.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
Steven also recommends:
The fragrance and cosmetic industry is a scary and highly unregulated one, even more so than the supplement industry. I urge you to engage in your relationship with these products at a more knowingly level. My article about endometriosis offers enough of a glimpse to make you think twice.
CONCLUSION
Our eyes are not as simple as we often view them, yet the curative powers of the natural world are. Many manipulations account for the eventual eye problems and we cannot justifiably deem old age as a time period of total decline. Okay, maybe we can to some degree, but what is old age? Is old age when you reach your eighties or nineties? Or is old age when your body finally begins succumbing to the overwhelming accumulation of your day to day choices and habitualities?
I side with latter, because I believe we do not have to become “old” and “fragile” at a set age. Be weary of advancements and innovations and keep close to the natural of our world.
Do you have dry eye syndrome or know somebody that does (please share)?
Did you pass the seven second eye test that Steven recommended?
Do you wear contact lenses and have your eyes adjusted perfectly with them?
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