Why Are Tears Essential For The Proper Functioning Of The Eye?

By Author: Heather Protz
Total Articles: 46
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Do you hate it when you're watching a sappy romance or drama movie, and your eyes start watering during a particularly emotional scene? You return from the movie theatre, with puffy eyes, a red nose and a blotchy face. How embarrassing! Do you hate slicing onions for fear of it attacking your eyes? Don't fuss over the tear bug. Research says that tearing up every now and then is good for the eye.
How are tears created? The liquid in the eyes are being produced by the lachrymal glands or tear glands. These glands are present in the upper eyelid region. When are they produced? Tears are produced as a defensive mechanism to prevent any foreign particle from entering the eye. That's why you tear up when you suffer from a high fever or when a cold breeze hits your face. It's not crying without any explanation, your eye simply waters. Tears are an excellent way to help clean the eye. They wash any dirt present in the eye away.
Apart from the glands there are also ducts present that drain the tears back into the eye. These are called lachrymal ducts. They work like tiny sink drains; once the basin (that is the eye) gets ...
... full of liquid they drain them back. Sometimes when, you're crying pretty hard, the tears flow down your face. This is because the eye gets filled up quickly and the tear ducts are unable to drain them out quickly. It happens that sometimes, your nose becomes runny when you weep or sob. The excessive liquid that can't be drained is let out through the nose.
What are tears made of? Not only water, tears are made of mucous and oil. The water is like a saline solution that contains important minerals and vitamins that are essential for the functioning of the cell. The oil prevents the tear from evaporating. Mucous coats the layer of the eye and binds the tear together with the surface of the eye. Mucous is very important to the proper functioning of the eye. Always take care when you're using contact lenses for long hours, because this results in the breakage of the mucous layer.
Okay, so no crying EVER makes you look tough and macho. But tears are most essential because they lubricate the eyeball and lids. Now, lubrication is most essential because it helps the eye see. When you're old and grey and you have poor eyesight, it was probably because you're eyes were not lubricated properly. Cry once in a while if you want to avoid visiting the ophthalmologist.
Tears reduce stress. I remember reading a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson on my ATT Uverse Internet. And I quote: “She must weep or she will die “. The poem was about a young woman who lost her husband in the war and went into a painful shock. Trying to control your tears when under excessive pressure is unhealthy. It helps you heal spiritually and mentally. Your blood pressure in turn gets reduced when you cry to your heart's content.
Tears kill bacteria too. Tears contain the liquid known as lyzosome that can kill tons of bacteria in just minutes. Lysosomes also break down and destroy waste cell material.
When tear glands or ducts don't work properly, you're in deep trouble. There can be two cases where the functioning of the glands and ducts are disrupted. One is when your tear glands stop producing liquid. There is no natural lubrication. No Lysosome to naturally kill the bacteria, you'd have to resort to Chlorox to clean your eyes. It's a bad thing when you can't cry, and it's not always due to a lack of emotions. The other case is when your eyes water up every so often and there are no tear ducts to drain them. If any of these symptoms pursue it's best to see an Ophthalmologist

Heather is a personal blogger. She likes to explore different cultures and traditions and download anthropological books from fast internet like ATT Uverse Internet. Her interests include design, pottery, phonetics, tarot reading.