The bugs on the eye may have something to do with dry eye

What is it about?

Ever had itchy, dry eyes? That's called dry eye disease, and it's pretty common. Sometimes it just happens, but other times it's linked to other health issues that affect your body's defenses. Now, here's something cool: tiny organisms living in and on our bodies, called microbes, can actually change how our immune system works. Scientists are super interested in how these little guys might affect diseases like dry eye. Get this - the microbes in your gut can influence inflammation in your eyes! And if your eyes get really inflamed, it can even change the microbes in your gut. It's like a two-way street between your eyes and your belly. Researchers can study the microbes on your eyes using special tools, kind of like a microbial detective kit. But it's tricky because there aren't as many microbes on your eyes as there are in your gut. Scientists face some challenges when trying to study eye microbes. It's not easy to collect samples or figure out exactly what's going on up there. But they're working hard to crack the code! Recent studies have shown some pretty interesting stuff. The mix of microbes on your eyes can change based on things like how old you are and whether you have inflammation in your body or eyes.

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Photo by julien Tromeur on Unsplash

Photo by julien Tromeur on Unsplash

Why is it important?

There are ways to modify the conjunctival organisms to treat dry eye.

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