Dry eye is a very common problem that affects women more than men and becomes more prevalent as people get older.

It can present in many ways, with symptoms that can include a foreign body sensation, burning, stinging, redness, blurred vision, and dryness. Tearing is another symptom and occurs because the eye initially becomes irritated from the lack of moisture and then there is a sudden flood of tears in response to the irritation.

Unfortunately, this flood of tears can wash out other important components of the tear film that are necessary for proper eye lubrication. Signs and symptoms can range from mild to severe.

There are medications that have the potential to worsen the symptoms of dry eye. Here are the broad categories and specific medications that have been known to potentially worsen the symptoms:

• Blood Pressure Medications - Beta blockers such as Atenolol (Tenormin), and diuretics such as Hydrochlorothiazide.
• GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disorder)...

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive degenerative condition of the neurological system.  The majority of Parkinson’s effects are on movement, often starting off very slowly and subtly. One of the earliest symptoms is a slight tremor in one or both hands. Other early symptoms include a lack of facial expression and decreased blinking of the eyes, so it looks like the person is always staring.  

The next stage usually results in difficulty with initiating movement, especially walking.  It frequently looks like it takes a tremendous concentrated effort to initiate walking and the steps often start off very small with a shuffling of the feet.  At the same time, the disease stiffens the muscles of the arms so that when the person is walking there is a noticeable decrease in the swinging of the arms. Speech becomes much softer and writing becomes more of an effort, with handwriting getting smaller and smaller as the disease progresses.

Parkinson’s can also affect your visual...