Where Do Tears Come From

Your eyes are being washed constantly. They are bathed by a salty fluid we call tears.

The tears come from tiny sacs, or tear glands, that are located in the outer corner of each eye. Every time you blink, the eyelids bring down drops of tears from the tear glands.

The tears help to wash away dust and other foreign matter and to keep the eyes healthy.

The tears do another thing; too they help keep the eyes from drying out. The amount of tears is so small they collect in the corners of the eyes and the flow out through special openings into your nose.

But when you cry, muscles in your eyelids tighten and squeeze the tear fluid out of the tear glands.

Then the tears flow too fast to be drained away. So they spill over your eyelids and run down your cheeks. The same thing may happen if you laugh too heartily.