3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF DRY EYES (DRY EYE DISEASE)

Alex Ionides is an Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London and co-founder at MTHK.

1. Evaporative Dry Eyes
Evaporative dry eyes. This occurs when the tears on the eyes’ surface evaporate too quickly. This is typically caused by dysfunction in the meibomian glands, which produce the tear film's outer oily (lipid) layer. When these glands do not function properly, the oily layer becomes unstable - exposing the middle watery (aqueous) layer - leading to dry eyes. This accounts for the majority of dry eye cases.

2. Aqueous Deficient Dry Eyes
Aqueous deficient dry eye is when your eyes don’t produce enough tears. Your lacrimal gland (in the upper, outer corner of each eye) produces the aqueous (middle) layer of your tears. Some autoimmune conditions can cause inflammation in your lacrimal gland and prevent it from making enough of the aqueous layer.

3. Mixed Dry Eyes
Lastly, mixed dry eye is characterised by a combination of aqueous tear deficiency and tear film instability, causing dry eye symptoms.

Read the blog: Everything You Need To Know About Dry Eyes
https://mthk.com/blog/what-is-dry-eye