Dry eye syndrome is a common condition, especially in women over age 40. Persistent dryness, scratchiness, and a burning sensation on your eyes are common symptoms of dry eye syndrome. Patients may also experience a "foreign body sensation" - the feeling that something is in the eye.
Dry eye syndrome can cause watery eyes because the excessive dryness works to overstimulate production of the watery component of your eye's tears.There are two types of dry eye: aqueous deficient and evaporative. Aqueous deficient dry eye is caused by a lack of tear production of the tear glands, which causes your eye to not have enough tears. Evaporative dry eye is caused by low-quality tears. Your eye makes enough tears, but they are very low quality and evaporate from your eye quickly.