Our vision is clear when we have the appropriate lens power for reading if needed and if the surface of the cornea is nice and 
uniformly moist. I Like to use the analogy of a windshield as the cornea and windshield wipers as the lids.
So, using that analogy, When it rains at a steady pace our windshield wipers clean off the excess rain water and leaves a uniform film of water that we look through and everything looks clear. But, when first starts to rain lightly, the water is smeared by the wipers on our windshield, there is not a uniform film of water to look thorough and results in things looking sometimes blurry and sometimes clear.
So dry eyes is where there is not enough fluid on our cornea(like the windshield) and our lids(the wipers) smear the fluid which is called the tear film(like the water film on the windshield). Not enough of a tear film causes Eyes with intermittently blurry vision(like the view when there is not enough water on the windshield).
We not only need the right lens power reading glasses to look through, but we need our eyes to have enough moisture to see clearly. There are several treatments including ocular lubricants, prescription medications, lid treatments to retain fluid and vitamin therapy. More on that in the Ask the Eye Doc Message Forum. Feel free to ask any questions here and more to come!
Facts About Dry Eye
This information was developed by the National Eye Institute to help patients and their families search for general information about dry eye. An eye care professional who has examined the patient's eyes and is familiar with his or her medical history is the best person to answer specific questions.
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