The normal lubrication of the front of the eyes comes from each blink spreading the tear film across the surface. We should be blinking every few seconds, and I’ve written more about blinking here. People can complain about Dry Eye, which may be from insufficient blinking, which often happens when they’re looking at a screen for a long time. You can read more about Dry Eye here.
It’s below freezing here and fiercely windy, so when I went for a walk outdoors my eyes started tearing after a few minutes. My visual system naturally wanted to keep my eyes warm and moist in the cold wind. I remembered an incident when I was 7 or 8 years old, just inside the elementary school from getting off the bus, when a classmate came in with her eyes tearing. It was a cold winter day, and since she lived near the school, she had walked from home. I was shocked by her tears, since I had already shut down my own tears, seeing them as shameful, a sign of weakness. Her eyes were behaving correctly, while mine, behind glasses, were not.
Today I feel sorry about my judgement of this classmate, based on my limited understanding of how the eyes are designed to work. On that cold windy walk I also thought of the hard thick contact lenses I wore for so many years, since this kind of weather drove specks of dust into my eyes like daggers, which I couldn’t then remove until I took my lenses out. Now a simple blink or two easily washes away any bit of irritation.
The next time I cry, whether from emotional causes or from eye sensitivity, I’ll remember this, and be even more grateful for my well-functioning eyes. Now I’m recalling a few days ago when I cut up a big red onion, and my eyes teared profusely. My nose even started to get stuffed up, the fumes were so strong. I love that my body knows how to clear this unwanted input. I may never see tears as shameful again.
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I wore strong glasses, then contact lenses, from age 5 into my 40s. While making many mistakes, eventually l learned how to improve the way I use my eyes and to see in a more relaxed, healthy manner. It is my pleasure to coach others to do the same. Visit me at https://NancyLNeff.com.