Watering eyes - EMBARRASSING!

Shelby T

New member
Hi Peeps'

I'm 16, go to College now and I'm having a bit of a nightmare with my eyes!!

They just seem to be streaming all the time, for no reason. I don't get many colds or anything, I don't have one right now that's for sure. But all that I ever seem to get is that around this time of year... from the end of Summer pretty much my eyes are always streaming in the cold.

It's really horrible and I sometimes look like I'm crying so my friends keep asking me about it! The other problem is my eyesight isn't that great. I have fairly strong prescription glasses and if I take them off cos I can't see cos my vision's just been blurred by the tears so I have no choice! Only problem is I then end up walking into things, cos it happens quite often when I'm walking to the train station. Then without my glasses my distance judgement just goes out teh window and I can't tell what's where and walk into someone or something or trip over.

As you can imagine, both at College - and anywhere else, this is blimmin' annoying AND really quite embarrassing!!

Does anybody know:
a) what causes this?
b) is there any treatment I can get for it, because it's been happening for a long time and I really don't want to carry on this way because it gets worse as the Autumn progresses and Winter kicks in!!

Thanks,
A very :confused: and :mad: Luke!!
 
Humidity is usually lower in fall and winter, because the air is drier it can make dry eyes worse. One of the symptoms of dry eye is actually watering eyes. Your tear glands produce two types of tears, one is a tear film to protect your eyes and the other is to wash out irritants. The type that you have when your eyes water is the second type, too much of this can also make the tear film break up which isn't good for your eyes.

Try some OTC eye drops made for dry eyes. Use them regularly for a few days, not just when your eyes start to bother you, and see if it helps any. Alternatively, it could also be allergies.

Do start looking for a optometrist and doctor soon as you want to make sure nothing worse is going on.
 
Blocked tear ducts can cause that problem. You really need to see an ophthalmologist (medical eye doctor, not an optometrist or optician) to evaluate the situation.
 
In the UK they need referrals to see specialists - an ophthalmologist is a specialist. It's quite possible one would need to go through the GP or a regular optometrist there first before they could be allowed to see an ophthalmologist.
 
Dry eyes can cause eye watering. Yes, this sounds strange but is true.

Try using eyedrops for dry eyes and see if that helps.

In the USA I use Systane eyedrops, over the counter, not a prescription.
 
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