Solutions for Dry Eyes

Tired of gritty, irritated, dry eyes? There’s a solution.

Dry eye is a chronic eye problem that can interrupt daily life. Untreated, dry eye can interfere with vision and harm eye health. With dry eye therapy, your optometrist can recommend a personalized eye care strategy to give you the relief you deserve.

From eye drops to thermal pulsation devices, there’s a range of treatment options for minor or severe symptoms. Dry eye therapy can help you feel better and see better. Contact us today to get started!

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What Causes Dry Eye?

Multiple factors can contribute to dry eye, from health issues to environmental conditions. However, dry eye occurs when your eyes produce too few or inadequate tears. Although tears are mostly water, your tears also contain proteins, electrolytes, oils, and salt—components necessary for nourishing and protecting the eye.

Tear Film & Eye Health

When you blink, a layer of tears (the tear film) spreads across the eye’s surface. The tear film moisturizes, nourishes, and cleans the eye. Tears also support vision and protect your eyes from foreign objects.

The tear film has 3 layers: oil, water, and mucus. Each component is essential for maintaining the tear film.

External Causes

Although dry eye occurs because of tear quality and quantity, external factors may affect tear production. Some common external causes include:

Aging
Environment
Medications
Skin & eyelid disorders
Eye surgery

Dry Eye Disease Symptoms

Your eyes are unique, and so are your symptoms. Knowing your symptoms can help your optometrist recommend appropriate solutions to improve your comfort and eye health.

Some common dry eye symptoms include:

Burning or irritation
Blurry vision
Excessive tearing
Gritty or scratchy eyes
Light sensitivity
Stringy mucus
Redness

Managing Dry Eye

Your optometrist may recommend a combination of dry eye therapies depending on your lifestyle, comfort, and symptoms. Some common treatments include the following:

Over-the-Counter Eye Drops: over-the-counter (OTC) or nonprescription artificial tears can provide relief for patients with mild dry eye.

Punctal Plugs: tiny devices inserted into the eye’s tear ducts (called puncta) to prevent tear drainage. The plugs keep tears in the eye to increase moisture.

Lipiflow: a thermal pulsation system gently warms and massages the eyelids to liquefy oil buildup and remove blockages in the meibomian glands. The treatment takes 12 minutes.

Medicated Eye Drops: prescription eye drops, such as Restasis, can help reduce inflammation and support your ability to produce natural tears.

Lacrisert: a prescription lubricant inserted into the eye. Patients can experience up to 24-hour relief from moderate to severe dry eye symptoms.

Meibomian Gland Expression: using a sterile instrument, such as forceps or cotton swabs, gentle pressure is applied to the eyelids to help unclog the meibomian glands. Promoting oil (meibum) flow can improve tear quality.

BlephEx: a painless in-office procedure using a hand-held device to carefully remove excess bacteria and debris, exfoliating the eyelids and reducing dry eye symptoms associated with blepharitis.

IPL Therapy: intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy uses light pulses to warm the skin around the eyes. The treatment can help reduce eye inflammation and unclog the meibomian glands to stimulate oil (meibum) flow and control excess bacteria.Lid/Gland Debridement: cleaning the lid margin of debris can unclog the meibomian glands to stimulate oil (meibum) flow. Removing excess bacteria can also help reduce eyelid inflammation and control symptoms related to blepharitis.

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Come See What We’re About

Our practice is located in the Old Town La Quinta shopping mall complex. Find our door to the right of the Old Town Tavern. Plenty of parking is available on the south side of the building, facing Avenida La Fonda.