I feel like it might be the start of an infection. That would really put a damper on my spirits since, for me, they are really annoying. On top of that I have had my fair share of them since I was a child.

For those of you who have never had the misfortune of getting an infection it feel like your eyes are full of puss because they are. They burn, they can't tear up and they are warm. Your vision is sometimes blurred and you find that looking at light might be bothersome. Eyes get infections for a lot of reasons but I tend to get them when my eyes get dry.

In most cases, the eyes are dry because the tears evaporate too quickly. This is often due to a dysfunction of small glands that we have around the eyelids, close to the eyelashes. These glands secrete an oil that is good for your eyes and prevents water from tears from evaporating quickly.

They are called the Meibomian glands.

In some people it is the amount of tears secreted that is deficient.

Anyway, if you have dry eyes you need to pay attention to certain habits. If you work a lot at the computer, consider taking breaks regularly; in principle every twenty minutes, pause for twenty seconds, look at twenty meters and blink twenty times. That's my little 20-20-20-20 rule that my optometrist gave me.

Another trick is to blink every time you click "enter." If your colleagues ask you if you have a nervous tic, tell them to do the same!

What else can you do when you have dry eyes? The answers is understand what your body needs and make sure that it gets it. Taking a break from the monitor is good for everyone, not just people prone to dry eyes.

For fellow dry eyes, your optometrist will be able to tell you more when assessing what kind of dysfunction you are suffering from.

I hope I don't get an infection.