How Do Our Eyes Water?

Faith (age 10) asked,

“How do our eyes water?”

Great question!

Ate something spicy? Got dust in your eye? Watched a sad movie? Whenever you shed a tear, lacrimal (LAH-krum-ul) glands in your eyelids produce salty tears that come from these glands and wash over your eyes.

Your tears drain out of your eyes through ducts (tiny tubes that run between your eyes and your nose). You have one tear duct in the inside corner of both your eyes. When tears fill your eyes, they drain out through these ducts. But when your eyes produce too many tears, like when you’re crying, the ducts can’t drain them all, so the tears drip down your face.

God created tears for several purposes. Tears help clean our eyes by removing dust or other particles that get stuck. Tears also protect our eyes. And when we cry, tears help us release emotions. In Psalms, we read that God keeps a record of every tear we cry (Psalm 56:8). If you are a follower of Jesus, you can look forward to the day when God will wipe every tear from your eyes (Revelation 7:17).

Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world that you want us to answer? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. Watch for our answer here on the blog or in Kids Answers magazine. We’d love to hear from you!