WATERY EYES

It’s not “Just Dry Eyes”! Watery Eyes (Tearing) is a treatable condition!

Naturally, the tears produced by the lacrimal gland drain from the eyes into the nose through the tear ducts. When these ducts become blocked or when there is an overproduction of tears, the eyes water.

The majority of the patients with watery eyes are initially mis-diagnosed as having either Dry Eyes or Conjunctivitis and it takes sometimes years before the true cause is identified. Although many patients with watery eyes do have Dry Eyes as one of the findings on the exam, the Dry Eye is a syndrome, not a disease and is also the consequence of the same underlying pathology.

The treatment of watery eyes is always done on an individualized approach because, in the majority of cases, multiple mechanisms are involved.

Dacryology is the science that deals with the lacrimal (tearing) system of the human body and is over 4270 years old. The first description of the lacrimal system dates back to 2250 BC (the Code of Hammurabi). Today, the diagnosis and treatment of the lacrimal pathology (excessive tearing) has evolved to the level where virtually all cases of tearing are curable but a highly subspecialized training in ophthalmology and oculoplastic surgery is required.