Dry Eye Management

What is Dry Eye?

Understanding dry eye will help you determine the best treatment option. Dry eye occurs when a person doesn't have enough quality tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears reduce eye infections, wash away foreign matter, and keep the eye’s surface smooth and clear. People with dry eyes either do not produce enough tears or their tears are of poor quality. It’s a common and often chronic problem, especially in older adults and contact lens wearers.

Preventive Self-Care

Before we delve into more serious dry eye treatment options, here are a few simple self-care options that can manage minor cases of dry eye.

• Blink regularly when reading or staring at a computer screen for a long time.

• Make sure there’s adequate humidity in the air at work and at home.

• Wear sunglasses outside to reduce sun and wind exposure.

• Take supplements with essential fatty acids.

• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water each day to avoid dehydration.

• Find out if any of your prescriptions have dry eye as a side effect and if so, see if you can take an alternative.

For mild cases of dry eye, symptoms can sometimes be managed adequately with over-the-counter artificial tears. More advanced cases of dry eye are typically multifactorial. If you are a contact lens wearer or your eyelids are inflamed, you may require prescription eye drops or in-office treatments. You don’t have to suffer from the symptoms of dry eye. Talk to your optometrist about dry eye treatment options designed to address the underlying cause of your condition. Dr. Blew will individualize your treatment plan based on your specific needs and work with you to determine what the most effective approach will be.

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)

Dry eye syndrome can happen for many different reasons, including:
• Aging
• Hormonal changes
• Contact lens wear
• Medications
• Underlying medical conditions (rosacea, autoimmune disease, etc)

The most common cause of dry eye is meibomian gland dysfunction, which occurs when the meibomian glands within your eyelids become clogged. The eyelid glands secrete an oil that helps our tears stay stuck to our eyes. When your meibomian glands can’t function like they should, your tears evaporate too quickly, resulting in dryness. By using pulses of light energy to target the glands and underlying inflammation, IPL therapy can improve their function and alleviate dry eye symptoms. Additionally, IPL treatment for dry eye can also have aesthetic benefits in reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, along with improving skin tone by lightening areas of pigmentation or redness.