What is dry eye?

Dry eye is a catch-all term for what happens to people when one or more things go wrong with the tear layer (tear film) on your eyes. A healthy tear film nourishes and protects your sensitive surface tissues and is also an important part of providing clear vision. An unhealthy tear film can cause many different kinds and degress of discomfort or pain and can interfere with good vision. Unfortunately we are stuck with this silly term "dry eye", which is both inaccurate and misleading. First, it's...