Dry eye syndrome is a very common condition seen in many patients that is often undiagnosed but can cause a number of problems for patients. There are many causes for dry eyes including environmental factors as well as medical conditions. Environmental factors include potentially drying conditions from ceiling fans, air conditioners, air vents in the car, computer use or reading which can result in less frequent blinking. Dry eyes can also result from oral medications like diuretics, antihistamines, hormonal replacement therapy, pain relievers, anti-anxiety medicine and drinking alcohol. It can also be caused by medical diagnoses such as thyroid disease, lupus, diabetes, arthritis and Sjogren\u2019s syndrome.<\/p>\n
There are several tests that can be performed in patients with dry eye syndrome. First of all, it needs to be determined whether the dry eye problem is a tear production problem, a tear evaporation problem or both. To check for tear production, a Schirmer\u2019s test needs to be done. This is done by placing sterile strips of paper along the eyelid to check for tear production in five minutes. One could also do a tear osmolarity test to see if the tears are not diluted enough. In addition, a Lissamine Green or Rose Bengal dye test can be used to see if there is staining pattern consistent with decreased tear production, also called \u201ckeratoconjunctivitis sicca.\u201d The tear breakup time is a test for evaporative dry eyes. This is most commonly associated with posterior blepharitis where the meibomian glands are clogged and the lipid from the lid cannot be excreted. The lipid layer is important in preventing evaporation of tears.<\/p>\n
The treatment for dry eyes varies according to the cause of the problem. When dry eyes result from decreased tear production, the initial therapy would include over the counter artificial tears. In patients that do not respond well to this, prescription eye drops like Restasis or Xiidra can be used. If evaporation is the cause of the dry eye, then the treatment regimen can include punctal plugs which are small silicon plugs inserted into the lower eyelids to prevent tears from draining into the nose. If the eyelid glands are clogged or inflamed, then the patient has blepharitis. Eyelid scrubs with diluted baby shampoo or OTC lid scrubs\u00a0can be performed to clean the eyelids and achieve better eyelid hygiene. Oral omega fatty acids, oral flaxseed oil and oral doxycycline antibiotics\u00a0are also often used. Warm\/hot compresses 2-3 times a day, 15-20 minutes each time have especially been shown to significantly help patients with blepharitis causing dry eyes. A hardboiled egg or baked potato will often hold the heat longer than a moist towel, but a regular towel can be used. Another treatment is to have physical expression of the eyelid glands contents by the ophthalmologist using a small spatula during the eye exam. To treat drying at night, one can also use a room humidifier.<\/p>\n
The eye doctor has the important responsibility to recognize and treat dry eyes in all patients. All the doctors at Laservision Eye Care Center are well trained in caring for patients with dry eyes. Successful treatment results not only in eyes being more comfortable but also patients having greater clarity of vision. If you have any symptoms like burning, redness, sandy sensation, tearing, light sensitivity or blurred vision, but sure to tell your doctor on your next visit to the office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dry eye syndrome is a very common condition seen in many patients that is often undiagnosed but can cause a number of problems for patients. There are many causes for dry eyes including environmental factors as well as medical conditions. Environmental factors include potentially drying conditions from ceiling fans, air conditioners, air vents in the…","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eyedoctorsite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}