Eyes Dry And Itchy? Cyclosporine Eye Drops Might Be For You

Do you have dry eyes? The generic drug Cyclosporine (brand name Restasis) was approved by the FDA back in 2002 as a treatment for chronic dry eye. Ever since then many people have found relief from dry itchy eyes by using Cyclosporine Eye Drops on a regular basis.

How Do You Know if You Have Dry Eye?

Your eyes will tell you if you have the problem. You might find tears running down the sides of your cheeks and your eyes burning or stinging. While it doesn't seem to make sense that dry eyes can cause tears, it's just the body's reaction to the dryness. Tears are more than just saline water. The oil that they contain works as a lubricant and helps to maintain the moisture. The tears also contain antibodies, special proteins and mucus. The mucus allows the tears to spread evenly across the eye. If any part of the system is out of balance, you might experience dry eyes.

At first, you might think you have a foreign object in your eye such a piece of sand or dirt. When you close your eye lid it feels like your scratching your eye. Your eyes might be sensitive to light or feel bulging with pain. You'll normally experience a lot of eye redness. Sometimes, it is so bad that your vision blurs. Even though you have tears flowing freely, the tears fail to adequately coat the eyeball because there's an element missing or an imbalance in the tear's composition.

What Causes Dry Eye?

Tears that lack water, mucous and oil in the right mixture are not the only cause of chronic dry eye. Dry eye comes from the body's ability to produce enough tears, too. Sometimes, that condition comes from simply growing old. It tends to occur in women past menopause or people over 50. Medical conditions such as lupus, thyroid disorders or rheumatoid arthritis also cause lack of tears. Laser surgery, tear gland damage and eyelid problems that don't allow you to blink as often, which spread the tears, also cause dry eye.

You might develop dry eye if you're taking certain medications such as antihistamines or decongestants. If you take birth control pills, diuretics as well as blood pressure medications you need to be aware that these also cause dry eye. Pain relievers such as ibuprofen, antidepressants and isotretinoin, an acne treatment also cause dry eye. Don't be concerned if you have a single attack, you could be experiencing a windy day or just that you are at a higher altitude or something as simple as forgetting to blink.

Cures for Dry Eye

Complications seldom occur from dry eye but when they do they include frequent eye infections and scarring on the eye surface. If you have experienced the pain and discomfort that goes along with the dry eye you will want to do something to relieve the discomfort.

You have a choice of using artificial tears, plugging the tear ducts that drain the tears either permanently or temporarily, topical steroids, ointments, Cyclosporine or surgery. In many cases, the use of Cyclosporine eye drops for dry eyes helps your eyes make their own tears so other treatments are often unnecessary.