Dry Eye
Work with our team to identify the root cause of dry eye and to create a treatment plan that works for you.
What is dry eye?
Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the eye surface characterized by a loss of homeostasis of the tear film causing eye surface inflammation and damage. Informally, Dry Eye is a disease that causes insufficient lubrication of the eye by your tears.
What is dry eye?
Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the eye surface characterized by a loss of homeostasis of the tear film causing eye surface inflammation and damage. Informally, Dry Eye is a disease that causes insufficient lubrication of the eye by your tears.
Understanding
Dry Eye
What does it feel like?
Some common possible symptoms include: Blurry vision, tired eyes, eyes that are always watering, burning eyes, eyes that feel gritty or dry, and the inability to tolerate contact lenses. Prolonged irritation from these symptoms can lead to inflammation or issues with the ocular surface.
What can cause Dry Eye?
There are a lot of things that can lead to dry eye. Some common factors are:
- Age
- Health
- Medications/ Supplements
- Dry environments and,
- Eye lid conditions
What happens in the office?
In the office the optometrist will determine what is causing the dry eye through a Dry Eye assessment and work with you to find a treatment plan that fits your individual needs.
What is included in a dry eye assessment?
There will be a number of measurements taken in the office that will help inform your treatment plan. We will measure the quality and quantity of your tear film, and check the health and condition of your eye lids and the meibomian glands within them with our imaging device the Oculus Keratograph. Additional testing of inflammatory indicators (Inflammadry) and Slit lamp bio microscopy with fluorescein are also a part of the dry assessment, followed by an analysis of your results and a treatment plan.
What is included in a treatment plan?
A treatment plan can include multiple of the following:
- In office treatments
- Eye drops
- Lid cleansers
- Vitamins
- Omega 3s, and/or
- A heat mask
What treatments do we offer in office?
Below is a brief description of the instruments and services that are used in our dry eye Clinic.
Diagnostics
- Oculus: The imaging device that we use for many of the measurements of your tear film, Lids and Meibomian Glands.
- Inflammadry: Tests for MMP inflammation markers that are often present in dry eye patients and help guide treatment plan.
Therapies
- Zest Kit: Intensive in office lid cleaning.
- IPL: Intense Regulated Pulsed Light. Light therapy that stimulates your Meibomian Glands to improve the production of lipid in your tears & reduce redness and inflammation in the eyelids. This is often used to treat dry eye caused by acne rosacea. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31354233/
- LLLT: is used independently or in combination with IPL to help with Styes and other eyelid disorders, it also amplifies the effects of IPL. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31354233/
- I-Lux: Warms and expresses blocked Meibomian glands to help improve the quality of the lipid secretions.
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