By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Many people think showing tears is showing weakness. To men, showing tears is considered unmanly. There's a Korean saying a man should cry only three times ― when he is born, when his parents die and when his country is lost.
JoonAng Ilbo newspaper once reported that the frequency that men cry is one-fifth that of women. It also said the fact that women in general live longer than men is because they cry more often.
Being able to cry means you are healthy. Professors at University of Pittsburgh said its is healthy to really turn on the waterworks when crying.
American doctor George Guthrie said among those suffering from arteriosclerosis, people who cry have less chances of getting a heart attack than those who don't.
Tears dilute antigens and manage the moisture in the eyes. Also, one of the main functions of tears is providing oxygen to the eye. Tears protect, humidify, and lubricate the eye surface so that it stays healthy and shiny.
About 99 percent of tears is simple moisture, but the other one percent contains albumin, sodium, and manganese among other minerals.
Some experts recommend people let the tears roll regularly regardless of whether they feel sad. The tears of people who are stressed out contain some hormones that are harmful to humans. Releasing them has a beneficial effect.
So, cry when you feel stressed and sad. Some doctors that say after crying brain waves, eyeball movement and electrocardiogram readings, show stable readings. Crying also appears to ease tension and lower the blood pressure, which affects the heart, too.
However, using fake tears sold in pharmacies without prescriptions can be dangerous. Most of them contain antiseptics that can stimulate the cornea and add to dryness.
Those who shed tears too often may have epiphora, which is an overflow of tears, usually caused by insufficient drainage of the tear film from the eye. The symptom is often found among middle-aged men whose muscle around the eye area is getting loose. "If found in early stage, it could be healed easily," said Dr Kim, an ophthalmologist.