Tears maintain the lubrication of your eyes and remove any foreign particles and dust. In fact, tears are an element of your immune system that fights infection and have salt and water to keep your eyes moist when blinking. Unfortunately, the glands beneath your eyes may occasionally generate excessive tears. Once these tears fill your tear ducts, they get overwhelmed, causing watery eyes. This condition typically resolves without therapy, but if it persists, you should avoid wearing contact lenses and undergo an eye examination at Suburban Eye Associates. Meanwhile, check out this post to discover the common cause of Huntingdon Valley teary eyes.
1. Being In a Dry Atmosphere
Have you ever noticed how dry your skin becomes in a desert atmosphere? The same occurs with your eyes. As a result, your tear glands create and release tears, a phenomenon called reflex tearing. Using a humidifier and not sitting close to fans blowing cold or hot air are two ways to combat a dry atmosphere.
2. Wearing Contacts for Long
Contact lenses are plastic shields that sit on the tear film to focus light entering the eye. As a result, wearing contacts for long periods could create dryness and a pinching feeling. This sensation triggers your tear glands into a frenzy, resulting in watery eyes.
3. Obstructed Meibomian Glands
Meibomian glands within your eyelids secrete oil along your eye’s watermark, which is the eyelid margin between your eyeball and lashes. Therefore, anything that prevents these glands from secreting oil into the tear film will cause rapid dryness in your eyes, which triggers reflex tearing.
Common reasons for obstructed meibomian glands include rosacea, conjunctivitis, or blepharitis (swelling of the eyelids). Occasionally, this obstruction could also result from eye infections caused by bacteria, cellulitis, or viruses, such as herpes.
4. Developing An Allergy to Any Substance In The Air
Your eyes are constantly exposed to the surrounding environment. Therefore, if your eyes are in contact with an allergen in the air, your body may respond by releasing histamines (chemicals that fight that allergen). Your eyes will start tearing with histamine-rich tears to combat the irritation that has entered your body.
5. Having Constantly Dry Eyes
Despite the apparent contradiction, an issue with dry eyes could be the reason for excessive tear production. Once your eyes become dry and you suffer symptoms like burning, light sensitivity, stinging, eye tiredness, or impaired vision, your body enters a state of protection and increases tear release. This spontaneous tearing is a self-protective function the body employs to prevent corneal ulcers or abrasions caused by excessive dryness.
6. Eyelid Problems
Certain medical illnesses can cause difficulties with your eyelids, whereby they do not close entirely. As per the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), sleep apnea develops once you periodically take weak breaths or stop breathing while sleeping. Besides triggering snoring, extreme sleepiness, and several other medical concerns, sleep apnea could also result in dry eyes due to improper eyelid closure.
Watery eyes could indicate something beyond allergies. It is best to filter out any major causes and obtain an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, if you have excessively watery eyes, arrange a consultation with an ophthalmologist & eye surgeon at Suburban Eye Associates. Call the office near you or book an appointment online to get started.