Although they may appear to be nothing more than water, our tears are actually quite complex. Your tears contain some salt, as you’ve tasted when you’ve had a good cry. But are there other ingredients in tears? Are some tears different from others?
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Tears are produced in thelacrimal glandsthat are in the outer corners of your eyelids with contributing components coming from the meibomian glands (producing oil) and goblet cells within the underside of the lid (producing mucin). These glands produce tears from your blood plasma, selecting some components but not others.
Basic Components of TearsTears are composed of:WaterElectrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, magnesium, and calcium). These are what give tears theirsalty taste.Proteins (lysozyme,lactoferrin, lipocalin, and IgA). The tears have only about one-tenth of the protein of the blood plasma.Lipids (fats)Mucins (proteins that help with lubrication)
Basic Components of Tears
Tears are composed of:WaterElectrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, magnesium, and calcium). These are what give tears theirsalty taste.Proteins (lysozyme,lactoferrin, lipocalin, and IgA). The tears have only about one-tenth of the protein of the blood plasma.Lipids (fats)Mucins (proteins that help with lubrication)
Tears are composed of:
The Composition of Basal Tears and Role in Eye Health
Tears play an important role in keeping us healthy. Tears keep the surface of oureyeballsclean and moist and help protect our eyes from damage. Tears are made of mucus, water, and oil, and each component plays a role in the eye.
Because the cornea has no blood vessels, the tears also provide a means of bringing nutrients to its cells.
Reflex Tears From Irritants
When your eye is irritated, it produces reflex tears to wash out the irritants. You’ve probably shed a few tears when chopping onions or when you get dust in your eyes.
Emotional Tears
The tears you shed when overcome with emotions have a higher protein content than the tears shed from irritants. Emotional tears have been found to have more hormones, including prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and leucine enkephalin.
Tears When You Sleep
When you sleep, your glands add less water and protein to your tears, and they increase the number of antibodies present, while infection-fighting cells also migrate to the conjunctival sac.
Tears as You Age
9 Ways to Stop Crying
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.Facts about tears.Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.All about emotional tears.Dartt DA, Willcox MD.Complexity of the tear film: importance in homeostasis and dysfunction during disease.Exp Eye Res. 2013;117:1–3. doi:10.1016/j.exer.2013.10.008American Optometric Association.Dry eye.Additional ReadingBartlett JD, Jaanus SD.Clinical Ocular Pharmacology, 5th Edition. St. Louis, MO: Butterworth Heinemann; 2008.
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.Facts about tears.Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.All about emotional tears.Dartt DA, Willcox MD.Complexity of the tear film: importance in homeostasis and dysfunction during disease.Exp Eye Res. 2013;117:1–3. doi:10.1016/j.exer.2013.10.008American Optometric Association.Dry eye.Additional ReadingBartlett JD, Jaanus SD.Clinical Ocular Pharmacology, 5th Edition. St. Louis, MO: Butterworth Heinemann; 2008.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.Facts about tears.Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.All about emotional tears.Dartt DA, Willcox MD.Complexity of the tear film: importance in homeostasis and dysfunction during disease.Exp Eye Res. 2013;117:1–3. doi:10.1016/j.exer.2013.10.008American Optometric Association.Dry eye.
Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.Facts about tears.
Mukamal R. American Academy of Ophthalmology.All about emotional tears.
Dartt DA, Willcox MD.Complexity of the tear film: importance in homeostasis and dysfunction during disease.Exp Eye Res. 2013;117:1–3. doi:10.1016/j.exer.2013.10.008
American Optometric Association.Dry eye.
Bartlett JD, Jaanus SD.Clinical Ocular Pharmacology, 5th Edition. St. Louis, MO: Butterworth Heinemann; 2008.
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