Lack of tears or low quality tears?

[Arcaeon]

Hey all,


This really shows my lack of knowledge about all things dry-eye related, but I really want to learn more about this condition that I have. It seems that sometimes when I have bad dry eye pain, stinging, burning etc, I pull down my eyelid to inspect my eye and it doesn't appear dry - a film of liquid does seem to exist, and even though my eye is red I can see liquid and moisture around it. With no drops having been used that day of course. So, I guess my question is, are there two different kinds of dry eye?

Those who just cannot produce sufficient tears, and those who do produce tears but they are of very low quality and hence not nourishing/lubricating enough? It seems I have the latter, but it seems strange that my tear film would for some reason be damaged.

Is there a difference in severity/treatment between the two conditions? Which one is more common? Which one do you have?

[brd888]

Depends what you read really. You need to get off dry eye talk and read the front page of DEZ.
If you seem to have wetness then you probably have poor quality tears rather than too few tears. This is what I have and is apparently most common.

I imagine aqueous deficient is more serious. You need to see an Optometrist who will do some basic tests to identify your problem. The treatments are different.

Regards,
Bruce