Dry Eye Treatment

“Dry eyes” is probably the most frequently encountered problem in any eye doctor’s office in the world. Due to multiple medical conditions, age, contact lens use, profession, and weather, people of all ages can (and often do) experience dry, irritated eyes from time to time. Of great importance, this can also severely affect one’s vision: patients with dry eyes usually complain that their vision is “very clear on some days, and horrible on others…”

The reason why people’s eyes feel dry is often due to “aqueous deficiency,” which is basically a decrease in the amount of natural tears produced by the eye’s lacrimal glands. This can usually be easily addressed with the use of supplementary “artificial tears” (e.g., Systane, Optive, & Visine), which can replenish the eye’s moisture, at least, momentarily.

When the use of artificial lubricants is no longer adequate, people start complaining of frequent tearing, which is due to the body’s natural reflex to try to lubricate the eyes more, and even in the face of “teary eyes” people usually find themselves needing these artificial tears very frequently (e.g., every hour).

To treat this problem, one needs to not only decrease the amount of tears that drain out of the eyes, but to also increase the amount of tears being naturally produced by the eyes.

To address the first step, by closing one of the two openings of the tubes that drain our tears into our noses (the canaliculi) with a small plastic/collage plug, we can reduce the amount of tears that leave the eyes, hence increasing the amount of our patients’ “baseline” tears.

Different types of Punctal Plugs

This by itself can tremendously help such patients’ symptoms, as it allows for the natural tears to “linger” around for a longer period, instead of draining out into the nose. This is a very quick and painless procedure and can be done at the comfort of the exam chair.

To address the first step, by closing one of the two openings of the tubes that drain our tears into our noses (the canaliculi) with a small plastic/collage plug, we can reduce the amount of tears that leave the eyes, hence increasing the amount of our patients’ “baseline” tears.

This by itself can tremendously help such patients’ symptoms, as it allows for the natural tears to “linger” around for a longer period, instead of draining out into the nose. This is a very quick and painless procedure and can be done at the comfort of the exam chair.

Now, if this is still not enough, there is now prescription medications and other dietary supplements which have been shown to also increase the amount of natural tear production by our eyes.

Most eye doctors often only concentrate on the amount of “liquid” that’s present in their patients’ eyes and usually send them away with a vial of artificial tears. Unfortunately, it is extremely common to see people using artificial tear drops 5-6 times a day with absolutely no relief of their dry eye symptoms.

Aside from improving one’s actual quantity of tears, there are other components of one’s natural tears that affect people’s quality of tears which ultimately affect the level of their eye comfort: these are the amounts of baseline “mucous” and “lipids” that naturally lubricate the eyes.

It is extremely vital to examine every aspect of the eye’s tear quality and there are different tests for evaluating different aspects of the tear layer as improving this combination of natural lubricants is usually extremely effective in combating even the most severe forms of dry eye disease, and can help you avoid having red, irritated, teary eyes in no time.

We call this aspect of our important service the “Dry Eye Spa,” and Dr. Soroudi will discuss all your findings and options with you during your consultation.