What is Dry Eye?

Dry Eye Symptoms may present as:

Dryness of the eyes
A gritty sensation or the feeling of a particle being stuck in the eye (also known as a foreign body sensation)
Red eyes, either on the whites of the eye or the rims of the eyelids, or both
Blurry, variable vision that often fluctuates with blinking
Sore eyes
Tired eyes
Watery eyes; a dry ocular surface may trigger the tearing reflex resulting in the overproduction of tears
Stinging eyes

Dry Eye Disease

Depends on what type of dry eye you have. Two broad categories underlying dry eyes are aqueous deficiency causes and evaporative causes– Meibomian gland dysfunction. Often, dry eyes arise from a combination of these two classifications.

Dry eye is due to several causes. We only used to see it in older people or as a result of eye surgery or trauma to the eye. Now it is appearing in younger patients.

Causes of Dry Eye can be:

Use of devices – as we increase device usage, the amount of blinking reduces by 50%. Blinking is responsible for providing nutrients to the front surface of the eye and for keeping our eyes moist and hydrated. One of the gland areas that provide tears to our eyes is from the meibomian glands. Over a period of time these glands (meibomian glands) may atrophy and die due to certain circumstances and if so, cannot provide the lubrication that the eye needs.
Age – as we get older through use of makeup , lack of water, and allergies, the meibomian glands will start to atrophy and result in dry eye.
Autoimmune diseases such as Diabetes, Lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, Rheumatoid arthritis and Rosacea etc.
Poor visual hygeine.

Eye care products and Treatments

Blephasteam

Heats up the lipid secretions up to 42 degree Celsius without harming the lid area.

It is a proven way to help soften the blocked secretions.

Keratin debridement

A gentle scrape of a part of the eyelid helps to open blocked glands and allow the lipid layer to flow more effectively. Treatment is once weekly.

Blephex

Blephex is a new in-office procedure which helps remove excess bacteria, Biofilm and Bacterial toxins from the eyelids. Blephex cleans eyelids to maintain eyelid hygiene. With regular treatments the eyelids stay clean and symptom free.

Home Use therapies

Opti Soothe compresses

Use of home treatments can be very effective toward assisting the meibomian glands to secret more effectively.

This treatment is beneficial when used in conjunction with in-clinic therapies.

Omega 3 tablets for the eyes

Provides an anti-inflammatory action on the eye. These are taken over a 3-month period time frame. When the eye is dry it allows for more inflammatory cytokines to make the eye more irritable and red. These omega 3 tablets used in conjunction with other treatments help to clear the inflammation and redness of the eye.

Dry Eye Lubricants

Everyone’s needs are different when it comes to dry eye and what is comfortable. To cater for these needs we have a range of lubricants available. These are just a few below.