Sarah is the author of nine novels. The ninth hard cover, Above the East China Sea, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2014. The soft cover is being released by Penguin on April 28, 2015.
Tear over-secretion is usually caused by irritation or inflammation of the surface of the eye. This can occur for a number of reasons, including eyelash and eyelid problems or allergies. Oddly, a dry eye problem can sometimes cause watery eyes, because the eye produces excess tears to combat the irritation and dryness.
Things that can dry out your eyes, like cold air or wind, will make eyes water, too. To protect the eyes from getting too dry, the tear glands crank out the tears. Imagine skiing down a hill with dry eyes as all that wind rushed at you. That would really hurt! People's eyes also tear when they have allergies; infections like a cold; or pinkeye, known as conjunctivitis (say: con-JUNK-tih-vie-tis).