The causes are multi-factorial - hot and dry weather, omnipresent air conditioning (which sucks all the moisture from the air) and near universal use of visual display units especially the computer screens, said Dr Sumeet Sukhi, Specialist Ophthalmologist, Zulekha Hospital, Dubai.
"Almost every second person coming to an eye specialist has some form of dry eyes," he said.
"Most disturbing is the fact that even children as young as 10-15 years are suffering from dry eyes - a finding that is unusual in other parts of the world."
According to Dr Sukhi, most people are unaware that they are suffering from dry eyes and attribute the symptom to some allergy or infection.
"Normally, dry eyes are seen most commonly in persons aged 50 or above, especially women after menopause," he said.
Dry eyes can also result from a variety of factors like prolonged inflammation and allergies of the eyes, vitamin A deficiency, use of contact lens, post LASIK surgery, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, old age, injuries to the eye, prolonged use of some eye drops, drug reactions, and so on.
Most of the times it is an innocuous condition but in the most severe cases it can be dangerous and can cause a permanent loss of vision in the eye.
People suffering from dry eyes complain of itching, burning, pain, grittiness or the eyes having a feeling of "tiredness".
"They can have a frothy discharge from their eyes especially in the mornings and can experience great discomfort at work," he added.
Diagnosis can be done by simple tests involving insertion of a paper strip in patient's eye and measuring the tear secretions. Artificial tear drops are prescribed to the patients. In most cases, the drops are sufficient to relieve the patients of the symptoms. In severe cases the drops can be ineffective and the eye specialist may advise a punctual plug insertion and bandage contact lenses. It is a simple and safe procedure performed in the doctor's outdoor clinic.
In extreme cases surgical grafts may be required to alleviate the problems and complications caused by the dry eye. For those who work long hours on computer screens should blink their eyes more often and avoid prolonged sittings. And if indicated, use eye drops as prescribed by their doctor.
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