Dry Eye is a condition in which there are not enough tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears are needed to maintain the health of the front surface of the eye and to provide clear vision. People with dry eyes either do not produce enough tears or produce a poor quality of tears. Dry Eye is a chronic and unfortunately, common problem. Your optometrist can prescribe treatments to keep your eyes more comfortable, healthy and prevent your vision from being compromised. The ways to treat dry eye include adding tears, conserving tears, increasing tear production and treating the inflammation of the eyelids and cornea that contributes to dry eyes.
Mild cases of dry eye can often be effectively managed by using over the counter artificial tears. Often a drop three to four times a day will provide enough relief to keeps the eyes comfortable and vision clear. If tears alone are not enough, other steps can be taken. Keeping in the eyes longer will reduce dry eye symptoms. This can be done by blocking the tears ducts through which the tears normally drain with permanent punctual plugs. Another step that can be taken is prescribing specific eye drops to increase the production of tears. This medication is call Restasis and is often very effective in treating dry eye. Finally, inflammation of the eyelids and ocular surface can be treated with antibiotic drops or ointments, warm compresses and lid massage and lid cleansers. Dry eye treatment can go along way to keeping your eyes comfortable and healthy.Leave a reply →