Tears:- Nature's Lotion For Eyes

Humans are the only mammals that cry tears of sadness.

Lacrimal glands present in the eyes are responsible for production of tears. These glanda are present in the upper, outer corner of each orbit, behind the eyelid.

When we are emotional, either very sad or very happy and even when any dust particle gets stuck in our eyes, it starts producing tears. Psychologists believe that crying because of emotions and is something only humans do. People cry when they can't control their emotions whether happy or sad.

Our body being an incredible feat of engineering, it is, doesn't just make a single type of tears, but there are 3 different types- (a) basal tears, (b) reflex tears, (c) psychic tears

Basal tears also known as ‘worker tears’ keep our cornea (the transparent front of your eye) nourished and lubricated so that our eyes don’t dry out.

Reflex tears help us to wash out any irritations from eyes when any foreign particles or vapours comes in contact with eyes (onion, being the classic example).

The Psychic, or ‘crying’ tears are the tears produced in response to that strong emotion we experience from stress, pleasure, anger, sadness and suffering to indeed, physical pain. Psychic tears even contain a natural painkiller, called leucine enkephalin – perhaps, the reason why we might feel better after a good cry!

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a condition which is characterized by sudden uncontrollable crying or laughing.

What actually are tears made of??

Tear film consist of main 3 layers:-

• Outer lipid layer

• Middle aqueous layer

• Inner mucous layer

There are numerous glands that surrounds our eyes and they all contribute in production of tears. These glands include meibomian glands, the glands of Zeis and Moll, lacrimal glands, the glands of Kraus and Wolfring.

So before ending this article, let me share some fun facts about tears!

• When a person cries, if the first drop of tear comes from the right eye, it's happiness but when it rolls down from the left eye, it's of pain. Quite interesting know😀!

• Children do not produce tears until they are 6-8 weeks old.

• Tears help us to have a better vision and also keeps our eyes healthy.