Sjögren’s Syndrome is an illness wherein the immune system launches assault on the body’s moisture-creating glands leading to scarring and damage to the tear and salivary glands and might be the reason for unusual extent of dryness felt in the ocular and oral regions.

Sjögren’s Syndrome prevalently impinges upon women’s health in those above forty years in age.

Signs and Symptoms of Sjögren’s Syndrome:

• The commonly observed signs of Sjögren’s Syndrome are intense dryness felt in the eyes and mouth which endures for no less than three months and are not because of the intake of any medications.
• One might sense scratchy and burning sensation in the eyes and the mouth feeling as if gagged with cotton.
• The dryness in the eyes and mouth also known as sicca syndrome could lead to the following:
• Dryness, grittiness, coarseness or itchiness felt in the eyes.
• Thick Filaments of dry mucus discharge in the eyes on waking up.
• Reddishness and lesser tear.
• A hazy sensation in the eyes which gets in the way of normal viewing.
• Intense sources of light could become bothersome.
• Inflammation in the eyelids – a condition known as blepharitis.
• Eye weariness.
• The mouth would be salivating lesser than normal.
• Difficulty when one swallows liquid or solid forms of food.
• Irregular taste sense.
• Appearance of blisters or cracks on the tongue and lip area.
• Several cavity formations and gum disease due to fast decaying of the teeth.
• Lowered tasting and smelling sense.

Individuals having Sjögren’s Syndrome could additionally detect:

• Dryness in the nose, throat that could cause infections arising in the sinus, bronchial infections and pneumonia.
• Skin conditions like rash formations that could show sensitivity to sources of light, or dryness in the skin with lesser amounts of sweating occurring.
• Oral yeast infections (thrust) or skin yeast infections.
• Dryness felt in the vagina leading to discomforting sensation, scratchiness and pain caused during intercourse.
• Weariness and muscular or joint aches.
• Painful sensations and problem with dentures that could elicit dental reinstallations.
• Coldness, numbness, pain in the fingers and the hands – Raynaud’s phenomenon.

Sjögren’s Syndrome could arise among those having connective tissue disorder like RA (rheumatoid arthritis), lupus or scleroderma. In such situations it is known as secondary Sjögren’s Syndrome with symptoms analogous to primary Sjögren’s Syndrome, though it could be tricky to decipher the variations in the symptoms arising due to Sjögren’s Syndrome and those occurring due to other kind of connective tissue disorder.

In case one is experiencing symptoms that are disparate to or alongside those recognised, it is likely that one might be having other kind of autoimmune disease in addition to Sjögren’s Syndrome.

Sjögren’s Syndrome is observed to progress at a different pace in individuals. Few of the individuals start developing the signs in other areas of the body, whereas nearly twelve percent show spontaneous improvement.

Majority of the individuals having Sjögren’s Syndrome suffer from long-standing oral and ocular dryness.

Though uncommon, grave complications that involve crucial organs of the body could arise as the disease advances. A tiny proportion of individuals having Sjögren’s Syndrome have a somewhat greater likelihood of contracting cancers of the lymphatic system like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

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