To diagnose dry eyes different tests can be conducted:
* Physical examination
o The eye doctor searches any foreign bodies in your eyes or if eyelid blepharitis is available.
o Fluorescein and Rose Bengal staining of the surface of the eye is necessary for finding out insignificant defects in the cornea that lead to dry eyes or corneal ulceration
o Measure visual acuity
o Central nervous system examination. During such examination cranial nerves are being examined for signs of 7th nerve palsy (it can be a result of brain stem stroke, brain stem tumor or multiple sclerosis). Such disorder can lead to inability of the eyelid to close without any difficulty because of the affected side and the dryness of eyes.
If you suffer from dry eyes, you should consult an eye doctor and provide him with all necessary information about symptoms that are necessary for putting a right diagnosis.
Some of the questions that can be asked are related with:
1) The duration of time a patient observes dry eyes symptoms. - It is asked to find out if it is acute or chronic.
2) A patient may be asked if it is unilateral or bilateral. - Unilateral dry eye can be caused with foreign body, facial nerve (7th nerve) palsy, Bell's palsy or Herpes zoster oticus.
3) The age of the person who suffers from dry eyes. - Elderly people suffer from a chronic gritty sensation more frequently because of lessened tear secretion.
4) The presence of a foreign body in the eye.
The doctor can ask you about symptoms required for a proper analyze of your condition.
* Symptoms of Primary Sjogren's syndrome? - e.g. dry eyes, dryness of the mouth, skin or vagina. You can also observe Raynaud's phenomenon, problems with swallowing (available in systemic sclerosis), painful joints (available with systemic lupus erythematosus), thyroid illness, myasthenia gravis, primary biliary cirrhosis, chronic active hepatitis, renal diabetes insipidus, renal tubular acidosis and vasculitis.
* Symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis? - e.g. joint pain, swelling, deformity and morning stiffness. It may lead to systemic symptoms such as carpal tunnel syndrome, anemia and enlarged spleen. 15% who suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis observe a secondary Sjogren's syndrome when you have dry eyes and dry mouth.
* Menopausal symptoms? - e.g. palpitations, hot flushes, night sweats, lightheadedness, dry skin, dry vagina, mood change. - dry eyes caused with estrogen withdrawal are also possible.
* Symptoms of Bell's palsy? - e.g. weakness on one side of the face, mouth sags, drooling from the affected side of mouth, loss of taste on front of tongue, pain behind the ear. Water and dry eyes are also possible. Eyes do not close completely too.
* Symptoms of Grave's illness e.g. appeared as a result of cold weather, increased appetite, heart palpitations, increased sweating, nervousness, irritability, diarrhea, lack of menstrual periods and proptosis (forward displacement of the eyeball) that lead to dry eyes.
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