Dry eye disease is a common condition that happens when your eyes don’t make enough tears, or when the tears you do make don’t work the way they should. Tears are essential for keeping your eyes comfortable, clear, and healthy. When something goes wrong with tear production or quality, it can lead to a wide range of uncomfortable symptoms that affect daily life.
## What Does Dry Eye Feel Like?
People with dry eye disease often describe their symptoms in different ways, but there are several common experiences:
– **Dryness**: A persistent feeling that your eyes are dry, almost like there’s not enough moisture.
– **Burning or stinging**: Your eyes might feel like they’re burning or stinging, especially after long periods of reading, using a computer, or being in windy or air-conditioned environments.
– **Itching**: An urge to rub your eyes because they feel itchy.
– **Redness**: The whites of your eyes may look redder than usual.
– **Grittiness or scratchiness**: It can feel like there’s sand or dirt in your eyes even when nothing is there.
– **Sensitivity to light**: Bright lights might bother you more than usual.
– **Blurry vision**: Your vision might get blurry at times, especially if you haven’t blinked in a while. Sometimes this blurriness comes and goes throughout the day.
– **Watery eyes**: Ironically, dry eye can sometimes cause your eyes to water excessively as they try to compensate for the dryness.
– **Eye fatigue**: Your eyes may feel tired more quickly than normal during activities that require focus, like reading or driving.
– **Heavy eyelids**: It might feel hard to keep your eyelids open because they feel heavy and tired.
Some people also notice other signs:
– A sensation that something is stuck in their eye (foreign body sensation).
– Stringy mucus discharge from the corner of their eye.
