Dry Eye Symptoms and How We Can Help

What do grittiness, redness, blurred vision, watering, contact lens discomfort, and eye fatigue all have in common? They are all symptoms of dry eye – one of the most common eye conditions we see in our clinic. Dry eye is so common that it’s rare for a day to go by without us seeing at least one patient dealing with these symptoms. Some of these patients come into our office truly miserable, with dry eye significantly impacting their daily lives.

Thankfully, the vast majority of the time we’re able to help give these patients significant relief and make their eyes feel better. So if you experience any of the symptoms above, my advice is this: don’t suffer! We have more treatment options available for dry eye than ever before. Over the counter (OTC) artificial tear drops have come a long way in recent years, and often they are the only treatment needed. These drops supplement patients’ natural tears, adding moisture and preventing the tears from evaporating. (As an aside, all OTC drops are not equal – be sure to ask your eye doctor which one they would recommend for you.) When OTC drops aren’t enough, we often add heat masks. These masks stimulate the glands in the eyelids to produce more and better quality natural tears. If patients are consistently using a quality OTC artificial tear and heat masks and are still uncomfortable, we begin to look at prescription options. There are some very good prescription options available, from eye drops to nasal sprays. These can be very effective at providing relief for patients with severe dry eye.

Dry eye can be more than an annoyance. It can cause significant blurred vision and discomfort and can even lead to irreversible scarring in some cases. But with all of the treatments we currently have at our disposal, there is no reason for patients to live with the symptoms of dry eye. Let us help you. We can customize a treatment plan for you to make your eyes feel and see better. Don’t suffer!

Until next time

Clint Taylor, OD