Tears

Tears keep the surface of the eye smooth and healthy. Problems fall into two buckets: dry eye (not enough good-quality tears) — increasingly common with screens and AC — and watery eye (blocked drainage or irritation).

Dry eye

• Gritty, burning eyes, stringy mucus, tired vision after reading, blurry vision that clears on blinking.
• Common drivers in India: prolonged screen work, air-conditioning, contact lenses, dusty/polluted air, menopause, diabetes, autoimmune diseases (Sjögren's, thyroid), some medicines.
• What helps: 20-20-20 breaks, blink consciously, good lighting, warm compresses, lid hygiene, preservative-free artificial tears several times a day. Specialist may add prescription drops or plug the tear ducts.

Watery eye / blocked tear duct

• Babies: a blocked tear duct is common — causes constant watery, sometimes sticky eye. Gentle massage and warm compresses; most resolve by 12 months. Persistent beyond a year may need a simple probing procedure.
• Adults: usually from chronic irritation, allergy, or blocked duct; a simple clinic procedure (DCR) can restore drainage.

See a doctor

• Persistent redness, pain, or discharge.
• Marked decrease in vision with dry eye — rule out keratitis, especially in contact-lens wearers.
• Any eye that is constantly watering in a baby beyond 12 months, or becomes red, swollen, with yellow pus.