What causes dry eyes? I take ortho tricycline and hydroxycut. I wear contacts?

What Causes Dry Eyes?

Tears bathe the eye, washing out dust and debris and keeping the eye moist. They also contain enzymes that neutralize the microorganisms that colonize the eye. Tears are essential for good eye health.

In dry eye syndrome, the eye doesn't produce enough tears, or the tears have a chemical composition that causes them to evaporate too quickly.

Dry eye syndrome has several causes. It occurs as a part of the natural aging process, especially during menopause; as a side effect of many medications, such as antihistamines, antidepressants, certain blood pressure medicines, Parkinson's medications, and birth control pills; or because you live in a dry, dusty or windy climate. If your home or office has air conditioning or a dry heating system, that too can dry out your eyes. Another cause is insufficient blinking, such as when you're staring at a computer screen all day.

Dry eyes are also a symptom of systemic diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, rosacea or Sjogren's syndrome (a triad of dry eyes, dry mouth, and rheumatoid arthritis or lupus).

Long-term contact lens wear is another cause; in fact, dry eyes are the most common complaint among contact lens wearers. Recent research indicates that contact lens wear and dry eyes can be a vicious cycle. Dry eye syndrome makes contact lenses feel uncomfortable, and the rubbing of the lenses against the conjunctiva seems to be a cause of dry eyes.

Incomplete closure of the eyelids, eyelid disease and a deficiency of the tear-producing glands are other causes. Tears are composed of three layers: the outer, oily, lipid layer; the middle, watery, lacrimal layer; and the inner, mucous or mucin layer. Each layer is produced by a different part of the eye (the lacrimal gland produces the lacrimal layer, for example), so a problem with any of those sources can result in dry eyes.

Dry eye syndrome is more common in women, possibly due to hormone fluctuations. Recent research suggests that smoking, too, can increase your risk of dry eye syndrome.

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Treatment for Dry Eyes

Dry eye syndrome is an ongoing condition that may not be cured (depends on the cause), but the accompanying dryness, scratchiness and burning can be managed. Your eyecare practitioner may prescribe artificial tears, which are lubricating eyedrops that may alleviate the dry, scratching feeling.

Restasis eyedrops (cyclosporine in a castor oil base) go one step further: they help your eyes to increase tear production. Restasis treatment is the first of its kind.

Sometimes people use the eye drops that "get the red out" to treat their dry eyes. This won't work unless the eye drops also contain artificial tears, and the original "get-the-red-out" formulation doesn't. These drops can reduce or eliminate the redness temporarily, but they don't treat the cause of the redness, whether it's dryness, environmental irritation, or some other problem.

If you wear contact lenses, be aware that many eye drops, especially artificial tears, cannot be used while your contacts are in your eyes. You'll need to remove them before using drops, and wait 15 minutes or even longer (check the label) before reinserting the lenses. If your eye dryness is mild, then contact lens rewetting drops may be sufficient to make your eyes feel better, but the effect is usually only temporary. Source(s): http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions...

Alot of times its common old allergies, and sometimes it can be blamed on the aging process. Other causes include dry environment or workplace (wind, air conditioning), Sun exposure, Smoking or second-hand smoke exposure,
Cold or allergy medicines, An eye injury or other problem with your eyes or eyelids (like a drooping eyelid or bulging eyes)
Sjogren's syndrome -- includes dry eyes, mouth, and mucus membranes, and often rheumatoid arthritis or other joint disorder.
I'm not sure what causes dry eyes but I also wear contacts and suffer from bad allergies. I told my eye doctor that and my medicines dry out my eyes terribly. I got tired of using the rewetting drops so she put me in a new type of contacts made for dry eyes. They are Acuvue Advance with HydraClear by Johnson and Johnson.

So far they work really well for me and I have not had any trouble with dry eyes anymore...

Best wishes to you.
Please see the webpages for more details on Dry eyes. Consult an Ophthalmologist.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dry_eyes...