Testosterone and Dry Eyes

When testosterone production is decreased, the lacrimal gland does not work as it should. The ocular surface of the eye is then exposed to the components causing Dry Eyes.

Menopause can lead to hormonal fluctuations which could contribute to Dry Eyes.

Menopause is sometimes responsible for dry skin problems, especially around the mouth, nose areas, as well as eye dryness. This dryness may be due to hormonal fluctuations.

During menopause, levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone fluctuate and various types of dryness can occur. This includes dry eye. Testosterone contributes, among other things, to the proper functioning of the lacrimal gland which is responsible for producing the tears responsible for eye lubrication.

testosterone and dry eyesRelation between dry eyes and testosterone level

When testosterone production decreases the lacrimal gland does not work as well. The ocular surface of the eye is exposed to the components causing dryness. Essentially, we need the right amount of testosterone to lubricate the eyes. Testosterone is to the eyes as oestrogen is to the mouth, joints, and skin.

Lowered oestrogen levels may cause skin dryness as well as affect other regions of the body including joints and of course vaginal dryness which could make intercourse painful. The less oestrogen your body produces, the drier the skin becomes.

Your eyes can also become sensitive to light, red, burn and you could feel like if a grain of sand is in your eyes. Other illness like arthritis and autoimmune disorders may affect the levels of dryness. Eating nuts and having a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can improve the dryness of your eyes. Wear sunglasses outdoors to reduce the evaporation of moisture in the eyes.

 

 

Here is a very interesting video I have found on Youtube regarding Testosterone and Dry Eyes treatment. You can read below a summary of what is said in the video

Dear Doctors, I have the driest eyes you can imagine. They’re red, irritated and burning and my eyelids even stick to my eyes in the morning. They’ve been this way for years, and I’ve tried every eye drop out there. I’m desperate for a cure !

Having dry eyes like that could be incredibly frustrating, even painful.

What in the world causes dry eyes ? Because there is multiple reasons so you get dry eyes.

Exactly, and the 2 most commons reasons are:

  1. The eye not making enough tear film;
  2. And the second one, which is really common and under diagnosed is Blepharitis

Blepharitis is basically the situation where the oil glands that we all have in the eyelids that are right by the lashes they are getting clogged so it’s like having acne of your eyelids.

When those oil glands in the eyelids gets clogged, it causes inflammation, redness of the eye, irritation and even light sensitivity and blurred vision.

How do you even determine if they have dry eyes ?

There is some traditional tests but there is a new test called “Tear Scope”. We can non invasively look at the eyes like having binoculars for the tear film which we never had before. We can actually see the quality of the tear film as well as the stage or severity of the dry eye.

What are we seeing on the Tear Scope ?

We could see debris that is floating around in the tear film and that’s not normal. Tear film is supposed to be nice and smooth like a coating of the water and oil. This is causing the dry eye symptoms from the blepharitis combined with the dry eye and so that’s the reason why the person in the video is having all these problems.

What to do to cure dry eyes ?

Traditional treatments are using artificial tears eye drops but the problem with that is that it does absolutely nothing for the blepharitis because again it’s that oil gland clogging that is the cause.

Testosterone and Blepharitis

For men and women that have blepharitis, there’s actually not enough testosterone relative to estrogen so there is a new local treatment to adress that. A testosterone cream is applied on the eyelids right above the eyelashes because that’s where the oil glands are.

In about a month, you can start to see the benefits of this.

So if you’re suffering from chronic dry eyes and over the counter drops are not doing the job for you, you really need to get checked out. There are solutions that you can discuss with your doctor.

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