Our 20/20 Vision Place Discusses Dry Eyes

It is not uncommon for your eyes to feel dry once in a while. If it is very dry in your home or if you are in a room that is dustier than normal, it can dry out your eyes. If you find that your eyes are dry very often, you could be suffering from dry eye syndrome.

What Is Dry Eye?

Dry eye occurs when there is not enough lubrication and moisture on the surface of your eye. The severity of dry eye syndrome can range from subtle eye irritation to a very significant irritation. In very severe cases, it can cause scarring on the outer surface of the eye.

What Are the Symptoms of Dry Eye?

There are several symptoms of dry eye ad each of them can make you very uncomfortable. The symptoms include:

  • A burning sensation in the eye
  • Itchy eyes
  • Aches in the eyes
  • Eyes that feel heavy
  • Fatigued eyes
  • Sore eyes
  • A dry sensation
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Blurred vision
  • Red eyes
  • A foreign body sensation

The last symptom of dry eye, as strange as it may sound, is watery eyes. When your eyes are very dry, the surface of the eye will overcompensate by producing the watery component found in tears. Unfortunately, these reflex tears won’t stay on your eyes long enough to treat the problem.

Dry Eye Risk Factors

There are a number of factors that can put you at risk of developing dry eye. These factors include:

  • Computer use: When you spend your day working in front of your computer, it often leads to more frequent blinking. Frequent blinking results in the evaporation of tears which can cause dry eye.
  • Contact lenses: Some people’s eyes don’t work well with contacts. The lenses can cause the eye to dry out, resulting in the chronic dry eye.
  • Aging: People over the age of 50 are more at risk of developing dry eye.
  • Menopause: Post-menopausal women are at greater risk of developing this condition.
  • The environment: Pollution in the air such as dust, pollen, and other allergens can cause dry eye. Also, air conditioning, ceiling fans, and forced-air heating systems can put you at risk.
  • Smokers: Smokers have a greater risk of developing this condition than non-smokers.
  • Medications: There are many medications that can cause dry eyes such as antidepressants, blood pressure medications, birth control pills, and antihistamines.
  • Health conditions: Health conditions such as diabetes, lupus rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid disease can cause dry eye.
  • Eyelid issues: If you have an eyelid issue that prevents your eyes from closing completely when you blink, it can result in dry eye.

How Our Optometrists Can Treat Dry Eye

If you are suffering from dry eye, our optometrist at 20/20 Vision Place can help. Our doctors evaluate the health of your lids during any of our eye exams. If they find you suffer from Dry Eye, there are several treatments available for the condition.

  • Rewetting drops
  • Drugs to reduce the inflammation of the eye
  • Eye drops to control the inflammation in the cornea
  • Eye inserts known as punctual plugs to work along with artificial tears or reduce the amount of tears used
  • Tear stimulating drops
  • Lid exfoliation via Blephex a newer method in helping get to the root cause of dry eyes
  • An excellent addition is Lipiflow along with Blephex to truly get all the build up of clogged glands

Treatment Options

BlephEx

is a painless in-office procedure to very precisely and carefully remove scurf and debris and exfoliate eyelids.

Now offering Lipiscan & Lipoflow treatment

We do lipiscans every day, come and find out more.
LipiFlow is FDA approved and is slowly becoming the standard in our office for the treatment of dry eye syndrome caused by meibomian gland dysfunction. LipiFlow directly treats the meibomian glands by using a combination of gentle massage and heat to improve the quality of the meibomian gland secretions.

Contact Us at 20/20 Vision Place in Sunrise, FL Today!

If you are suffering from the symptoms of dry eye, give us a call and make an appointment. The sooner you do, the sooner your eyes will start producing the tears that you need.  Call today at tel:(954) 845-0665.