With the increasing standard of living of the people
There is a growing focus on health issues
Yangpu District Financial Media Center United
Yangpu District Health Commission
Launched the "People's Health" column
We invite experts from the major hospitals in the jurisdiction
Interpret the introduction for everyone
Common diseases and health problems in daily life
This issue is invited
Shanghai Yangpu District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Attending physician of the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Shu Wen
Let's talk about dry eyes
Shanghai Yangpu District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Attending physician of the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Shu Wen
Nowadays, people are more and more closely connected to mobile phones, and they are immersed in watching videos and communicating on the Internet for a long time, but their eyes bear a burden that they should not bear. As electronic screens permeate all aspects of life, dry eyes are becoming an increasingly common symptom.
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1. What kind of disease is dry eye?
Dry eye is a chronic ocular surface disease caused by multiple factors, which is caused by the instability of the tear film or the imbalance of the ocular surface microenvironment caused by the abnormal quality, quantity and kinetics of tears, which can be accompanied by ocular surface inflammation, tissue damage and nerve abnormalities, resulting in a variety of ocular discomfort symptoms and visual dysfunction.
There are many causes of dry eye, such as:
- With age, the elderly will have reduced tear secretion, loose eye muscles, and decreased tear function, thus aggravating dry eye symptoms;
- Long-term use of electronic screens will lead to a decrease in the number of blinks, an increase in the exposed area of the ocular surface, and a doubling of tear evaporation, resulting in dryness, itching, and fatigue of the eyes;
- Low humidity due to air-conditioned heating or cooling environments can also accelerate tear evaporation;
- Irregular sleep and reduced sleep duration can cause sympathetic nerve excitation and insufficient hormone secretion, resulting in reduced tear secretion and aggravating eye discomfort;
- People who wear contact lenses for a long time and are accustomed to eye makeup: Prolonged wearing contact lenses and other contact lenses will lead to a decrease in eye moisture, cause corneal hypoxia, and increase the occurrence of dry eye;
- If you have bad eye makeup habits, often apply makeup to the base of the eyelashes and the edge of the eyelids, which will cause the blockage of the meibomian glands, unable to secrete tears, and dry eye symptoms;
- Undergoing eye surgeries such as cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, corneal refractive surgery, etc., may damage the cornea and induce dry eye;
- Long-term use of eye drops with preservatives can destroy the tear film structure and aggravate the symptoms of dry eye;
- Some other systemic diseases such as diabetes-related dry eye, Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases can also cause gland secretion dysfunction.
2. Why are women more likely to have dry eyes than men? Does it have anything to do with wearing contact lenses and contact lenses?
Yes, studies have found that women have a much higher prevalence than men, usually about 1.5 times that of men. Decreased androgen levels may be the main reason why women are more likely to have a higher prevalence than men.
Androgens play an important role in the pathogenesis of dry eye, influencing the body's endocrine environment through the interconversion with a variety of sex hormones. At the same time, women wear contact lenses more frequently, have poor pain tolerance, and are more concerned about the occurrence of disease and active medical visits, which affect the prevalence of dry eye in both sexes.
3. What are the long-term effects of dry eye on the eyes?
Because the lacrimal gland secretes less tears and the ocular surface is excessively evaporated, the hypertonic tears formed directly damage the ocular surface and promote the formation of inflammation, so the pathogenesis of dry eye is always in a vicious circle. Patients with mild dry eye may have only intermittent symptoms, while severe cases may have persistent eye pain and visual dysfunction.
Dry eye is difficult to cure, so it is necessary to diagnose and treat mild to moderate cases at an early stage, and at the same time adjust your lifestyle to prevent it from progressing to more serious complications such as dry eye, corneal ulcers, and corneal perforation, and to relieve psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression caused by it.
4. What are the early symptoms of dry eye syndrome?
The main symptom of dry eyes is a feeling of dryness in the eyes, followed by a feeling of a foreign body. If you feel that your eyes are dry, as if there are sand-like foreign bodies, your eyes are prone to swelling, pain, redness, swelling and fatigue, fear of light, wind and heat, blurred vision, and the above symptoms appear repeatedly, and cannot be relieved after reducing the time of eye use and correcting eye habits, it is recommended to go to the ophthalmologist for early detection and early treatment to avoid the development of corneal lesions caused by severe dry eye.
5. What are the current treatments for dry eye?
The goal of dry eye treatment is to alleviate symptoms and protect vision, and as a chronic disease, long-term and individualized treatment is required. The treatment methods of modern medicine can be divided into non-drug treatment, medical treatment and surgical treatment.
Non-pharmacological treatments include physical therapy, hot compress fumigation, meibomian gland massage, etc., drug treatment can be artificial tears, ocular surface lubrication and repair preparations, anti-inflammatory drugs if necessary, and severe dry eye can consider the use of lacrimal embolism or punctal occlusion.
6. Traditional Chinese medicine also has unique advantages in the treatment of dry eye, what are the current treatment methods of Chinese medicine for dry eye?
Dry eye in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine belongs to "white astringency" or called "dry and faint", "divine water will wither", corresponding to modern medicine mild, moderate and severe dry eye, respectively, the Ming Dynasty physician Fu Renyu wrote the ophthalmology work "Examination of Yao Han" recorded "not swollen, not red, refreshing, sand astringent and hazy". The onset of dry eye is mostly caused by long-term vision strain, liver stagnation, and deficiency of yin and jin, so it is necessary to distinguish between deficiency and reality in treatment, and take the principle of nourishing yin and moisturizing dryness and nourishing the liver and kidney.
The Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion of Yangpu District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has set up a dry eye outpatient clinic, inheriting the use of Professor Zhang Ren, a famous Chinese medicine doctor in Shanghai and the representative inheritor of "Fang's Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy" on the list of intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai, to treat dry eyes. Acupuncture on these acupuncture points can promote the production and secretion of tears, improve blood circulation in the eyes, and improve dry eyes. The application of acupuncture and moxibustion in the early stage of treatment does not conflict with other therapies of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and can complement each other and synergistically improve the efficacy. In addition, it can also be combined with traditional Chinese medicine decoction, Chinese patent medicine, fumigation and external treatment to reconcile qi and blood, and warm the meridians.
7. Do you have any good eye care suggestions if you often look at electronic screens, wear contact lenses for a long time, and do not clean thoroughly after applying eye makeup, and are easy to be "targeted" by dry eyes?
It is very important to "prevent diseases before they occur, and prevent them from becoming sick". Before the disease occurs, the body's own potential can be fully mobilized to improve the body's ability to resist disease.
First of all, let's introduce the method of nourishing the liver and brightening the eyes. Located at the inner end of the eyebrows, that is, at the depression of the eyebrows, the pupil at the end of the outer corner of the eye, and the Taichong point located in the anterior depression of the first and second metatarsal bones on the dorsum of the foot, you can press and rub at the acupuncture point for 1-2 minutes, and it is advisable to feel soreness, 1-2 times a day.
You can also use the external treatment method of traditional Chinese medicine fumigation, boil chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, peppermint, mulberry leaves, bupleurum and other traditional Chinese medicines, place them in a cup, and fumigate the eyes with the medicinal gas of the medicinal liquid, which has a variety of effects such as medicinal therapy, heat therapy, moisturizing, etc., which can loosen the intestines and improve blood circulation.
There are also some lifestyles that are closely related to the occurrence of dry eye, so developing good lifestyle habits and eye habits is the best prevention and treatment of dry eye. For example:
- In between work, study or life, you can blink more, close your eyes normally twice for 2 seconds each time, and then close your eyelids tightly once for 2 seconds;
- After 20 minutes of using the electronic display, take your eyes off the screen and turn to an object or scenery 6 meters away to watch for 20 seconds;
- Ensure adequate sleep and develop regular sleep habits;
- Visitors who wear contact lenses for a long time can choose to dispose of them daily, clean their hands before and after wearing, and have regular eye examinations;
- People who are accustomed to makeup should pay attention to cosmetics, try not to touch the edge of the eyelids, and remove makeup in a timely and effective manner; and smoking cessation, appropriate outdoor activities, and exercise can also help improve eye comfort;
- In terms of diet, a certain amount of micronutrients such as vitamins, carotenoids, trace metal elements and omega-3 fatty acids are consumed every day, and natural foods are mainly vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains, legumes and olive oil. Avoid long-term consumption of foods with high fat content, such as nuts, fatty meats, organ meats, cream products, chocolate, ice cream, etc.
Text: Lu Danfeng
Video: Song Xiaoxiao, Yin Yiran, Gong Yile
Editor: Xi Yuxuan
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