QUESTION: I have a condition that I find both embarrassing and puzzling.
I am always tearing, with little tears constantly running down my cheek requiring the constant use of a tissue.
I don't have any idea what causes it, as it happens at any time, and without any emotional causes.
Though I am 79, I am in good health otherwise and just wish there was a way of dealing with this.
Can you help me?
ANSWER: I suspect that your condition is one called "ectropion" where the eyelid falls away from contact with the eyeball and leads to a poor drainage situation for the normal passage of tears, which are constantly flowing across your eyeball.
Tears are produced by the lacrimal gland which sits in the same bony orbit that protects the eye itself, close to the outer portion of the upper lid.
The tears pass through thin tubes into the conjunctival sac, and then flow out across the eyeball.
Normally they are then collected through two lacrimal ducts at the inner portion of the lids, then down to the inner part of the nose.
As a result of the aging process there is a relaxation of the tissue in the lids which allows the lids and the ducts to lose touch with the eyeball, and so the tears can not follow their normal route, well up and spill over.
You call it tearing, doctors have a term for it too, they call it "epiphora", but it means the same thing.
When there are other symptoms, such as redness and irritation, it's worth consulting an ophthalmologist about. Using surgical techniques, the eyelid can be repaired so that the margin of the lid once again is back in place against the eyeball, which allows the tears to resume their normal path, thus preventing this type of tearing.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
