Forcing tears; onions, gagging yourself, and biofreeze gel

[DKott27]

First off when I say biofreeze gel...it works. When I rub some around my eyes they tear up. Not on my eyes but around. But also onions, gagging yourself. It produces tears but is it bad to do this or good that I'm producing tears. I know this is crazy but I'm desperate

[DryGuySmb2]

I would stick to artificial tears. From what I understand on what I've read this may not be very good for your eyes as the tears you are producing are reflex tears, not the same ones that are produced for the tear film. I'm not entirely sure on the technical terms, but reflex tears have inflammatory properties and are out of composition for providing adequate relief and lubrication.

[Hokucat]

You might want to try getting an rx for the oral pill Evoxac (generic name Cevimeline). It's mainly to give more moisture to the mouth, but an off-label use is providing moisture to the eyes as well.

For me, it helps a lot. I mainly use it when I'm going to drive, or sometimes when I know I'm going to use my eyes staring for long periods of time at electronic devices or at a movie or sports event. For some people, it causes too much excess saliva and perspiration. In the beginning, it affected me like that too, but I found drinking a lot of water and eating a decent amount when I took the Evoxac seemed to reduce those unwanted side effects. Also it helps to wear more "breathable" clothes, like cotton and layers you can take off, if you start feeling hot!

[DKott27]

I will avoid doing these things than, thank you. And I will talk to my doctor about Evoxac. My eye doctor is very good but he is very short with me and very busy so he's always in a rush.

[Hokucat]

Hey, it's totally understandable you are just trying to find relief. I went through doing some of those same things when my eyes were bone dry for several years. I still am in the habit of yawning a few times in the morning to help get the moisture going in my eyes, cause they still tend to be dry when I first wake up.

FYI, often eye doctors are not familiar with Evoxac. Usually it's your general practitioner or rheumatologist who prescribes it, since it's often given to people that have or are suspected of having Sjogrens or an autoimmune disease, but one does not need to have that to take it. Salagren (generic Pilocarpine) may be prescribed instead, but my rheumatologist says Evoxac works better for most people.

[PRK]

Typically I'll try to yawn if my eyes are a little dry or close my eyes and squeeze my eyes shut a few times to stimulate the lacrimal gland. The way I see it they are both coming from the lacrimal gland which in my opinion is better than drops from a company that is looking to make profits and possibly cut corners. Maybe some reflex tears will help to stimulate more basal tears? Though I'm not sure onion vapors or pepper spray would be good for your eyes in the long term.

Found this on wikipedia and thought it was kind of interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears

There are three very basic types of tears:^[1]

Category	Description
Basal tears	In healthy mammalian eyes, the cornea is continually kept wet and nourished by basal tears. They lubricate the eye, and help to keep it clear of dust. Tear fluid contains water, mucin, lipids, lysozyme, lactoferrin, lipocalin, lacritin, immunoglobulins, glucose, urea, sodium, and potassium. Some of the substances in lacrimal fluid (such as lysozyme) fight against bacterial infection as a part of the immune system. Lysozyme does this by dissolving a layer in the outer coating, called peptidoglycan, of certain bacteria. It is a typical body fluid with a salt content similar to blood plasma. Usually, in a 24-hour period, 0.75 to 1.1 grams (0.03–0.04 ounce avoirdupois) of tears is secreted; this rate slows with age.[3] In addition, the basal tears are composed of antioxidants such as Ascorbate, Urate, Cysteine, Glutathione, and Tyrosine. Ascorbate and Urate constitute half of the tears.
Reflex tears	The second type of tears results from irritation of the eye by foreign particles, or from the presence of irritant substances such as onion vapors, perfumes and other fragrances, tear gas, or pepper spray in the eye's environment, including the cornea, conjunctiva, or nasal mucosa, which trigger TRP channels in the ophthalmic nerve.[5] It can also occur with bright light and hot or peppery stimuli to the tongue and mouth. It is also linked with vomiting, coughing and yawning.[3] These reflex tears attempt to wash out irritants that may have come into contact with the eye.
Crying or weeping (psychic tears)	The third category, in general, referred to as crying or weeping, is increased tearing due to strong emotional stress, pleasure, anger, suffering, mourning, or physical pain. This practice is not restricted to negative emotions; many people cry when extremely happy such as during times of intense humour and laughter. In humans, emotional tears can be accompanied by reddening of the face and sobbing — cough-like, convulsive breathing, sometimes involving spasms of the whole upper body. Tears brought about by emotions have a different chemical make-up than those for lubrication; emotional tears contain more of the protein-based hormones prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and Leu-enkephalin (a natural painkiller) than basal or reflex tears. The limbic system is involved in production of basic emotional drives, such as anger, fear, etc. The limbic system, to be specific, the hypothalamus, also has a degree of control over the autonomic system. The parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system controls the lacrimal glands via the neurotransmitter acetylcholine through both the nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. When these receptors are activated, the lacrimal gland is stimulated to produce tears.[6]

[Hokucat]

Great info, PRK. Thanks for sharing it!

[PRK]

Sure thing Hokucat