There are many diseases that affect people's connective tissue. Occasionally, these symptoms mean that the person has a disease called Sjogren's syndrome. Sjogren's syndrome is a disease that includes inflammation of the saliva and tear forming glands. It is often associated with rheumatoid arthritis. With this disease, people usually have the following symptoms:
* an already diagnosed connective tissue disease involving the skin, joints, and muscles, like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or scleroderma,
* dry eyes and mouth,
* pain in the eyes or a feeling like there is a piece of sand in the eyes.

People who get this disease are usually women between the ages of 40 and 65.

Your healthcare providers may suspect this disease if you have these symptoms and are in the right age group. Your provider may do the following tests to see if you have this disease and to check you for other connective tissue diseases:
* careful history and physical,
* complete blood count,
* ESR, a blood test that looks for inflammation,
* chemistry profiles on your blood, and
* full eye examination.

If you are diagnosed with this disease, there are certain treatments that are available. These include:
* artificial tears during the day and artificial tears ointment at night,
* occasionally, taping the eyes shut at night to prevent cuts in the cornea of the eye,
* artificial saliva, and
* increased fluid intake.

People usually do well with this disease, and can be easily treated for their symptoms. Your healthcare provider can work with you to decide how the disease should be managed. Occasionally, a rheumatologist is consulted to help manage this disease. Working together, this disease can be controlled.

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