Tears

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

You may only think of tears as those salty drops that fall from your eyes when you cry. Actually, your tears clean your eyes every time you blink. Tears also keep your eyes moist, which is important for your vision.

Tear glands produce tears, and tear ducts carry the tears from the glands to the surface of your eye. Problems with the tear system can include too many tears, too few tears, or problems with the tear ducts. Treatment of the problem depends on the cause.

Start Here

• Tear System (American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Eye Problems: Symptom Checker Flowchart (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Choosing Wisely When It Comes to Eye Care: Punctal Plugs for Dry Eye (American Academy of Ophthalmology)
• How to Use Eye Drops Properly (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)

Specifics

• Blocked Tear Duct (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Canaliculitis (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Dacryocystitis (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Dry Eye (National Eye Institute)
• What Is Dry Eye? (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: lacrimo-auriculo-dento-digital syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: NGLY1-congenital disorder of deglycosylation (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Sjögren syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: triple A syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Dry Eye Syndromes (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Acute Dacryocystitis.
• Article: Trends in dacryocystitis in China: A STROBE-compliant article.
• Article: Age-Related Dry Eye Lactoferrin and Lactobionic Acid.
• Tears -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Glossary of Terms (Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology)
• NEI for Kids: Glossary (National Eye Institute)

Find an Expert

• Finding an Eye Care Professional (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
• National Eye Institute

Children

• Tear-Duct Obstruction and Surgery (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Why Do Eyes Water? (Nemours Foundation)

Patient Handouts

• Blocked tear duct (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Dry eye syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Watery eyes (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish