Watery Eyes Can be a Sign of Dry Eye

How can it be? If my eyes water, how can you tell me they are dry? I hear this question day after day in my clinic and believe it or not, it CAN be true. Your eye produces several types of tears. It produces your basal tear secretion which is facilitated by your blink. Everytime you blink, tear components are released from different types of glands in the eye. You will produce a different type of tear when your eyes are irritated. These are called reflex tears. Reflex tears don’t have the same nutrition as basal tears. They are produced by your body to flush out irritants (like allergans) or as a result of irritation (dryness) or trauma (scratched eye). So, if you have chronic tearing, inflammatory dry eye could be a contributing factor. In addition to dryness, eiphora (the medical term for a excess watering) could be caused by allergies or an inability of your eyes to drain tears properly. Be sure to check with your eye doctor if you have chronic watery eyes because it is not normal. Enjoy the view – EyeDrMurphy
– Mary Anne C. Murphy, O.D.