It’s all the fault of rheumatism. Be alert to drug-induced dry eye.

  With the modernization of office means in modern society, more and more people use computers at work, many people have to stare at the computer all day, and after work also take the cell phone, eye never leave the machine, which over time leads to dry eye. But there are many people who are not engaged in similar work or do not have similar bad habits, but also suffer from dry eye disease, what is the cause of this?  As the saying goes, “medicine is poisonous”, drugs themselves have certain side effects, and long-term, large amounts of medication and eye medication errors can lead to dry eye. Generally speaking, the following drugs have the risk of causing dry eye.  Common drugs that cause pharmacogenic dry eye such as: a. Antibiotic drugs. Such as penicillin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and sulfonamides, may damage the optic nerve and cause vision loss and dry eye. Antibiotics cause vision damage, generally related to allergies, so allergic people should be more cautious when using drugs.  Second, anti-tuberculosis drugs. For example, long-term treatment of tuberculosis with streptomycin, isoniazid, ethambutol patients can also damage the optic nerve. In patients with drug allergy, periorbital edema and conjunctivitis may occur. The use of ethambutol can result in retinal hemorrhage, reduced visual field, decreased red-green discrimination, and green color blindness. In severe cases, vision can be lost, especially in high doses and in patients with poor renal function.  It can be seen that wrong medication is also one of the causes of dry eye disease. Therefore, for patients with dry eye disease, we must pay attention to distinguish the cause of the disease in the treatment, and then do targeted treatment, in order to achieve the purpose of treating the disease.  I. Local treatment (1) Eliminate triggers You should avoid prolonged use of computers, less exposure to air conditioning and smoke environment and other dry eye triggers; lid gland dysfunction should pay attention to clean eyelids, application of antibiotics, etc.  (2) Replacement treatment of tear components Apply autologous serum or artificial tears; severe patients should try to use artificial tears without preservatives.  (3) Prolong the residence time of tears on the eye surface Wet room lenses, silicone eye shields, therapeutic corneal contact lenses, etc. can be prescribed.  (4) Others Avoid taking drugs that can reduce tear secretion, such as hypotensive drugs, antidepressants, atropine analogues, etc.; types with immune factors involved can be added with immunosuppressants or short-term topical hormones; surgical treatment, etc.  Second, systemic treatment is mainly to improve the nutritional status of patients and prevent secondary infections. Eat foods rich in vitamin A, such as milk, eggs, vegetables containing carotene; oral cod liver oil, etc.  There is no effective treatment. To reduce pain frequent drops of saline, artificial tears or antibiotic eye ointment can be administered; or small tear dots can be closed with electrocautery to reduce tear outflow. For dry eyes due to incomplete eyelid closure, blepharoplasty is feasible.