How dry eye treatment can restore comfort and clarity
Discover how you can get visual freedom in moments
The term “dry eye” covers a number of conditions where the natural lubrication of the eye is disturbed. This can result from a loss of tear production, or other changes that can affect the front surface of the eye. The natural tear film consists of three layers. The middle aqueous layer lubricates the eye, but requires an inner mucinous layer to allow the tears to adhere to the eye. To help prevent the tears from evaporating an outer oily lipid layer stabilises the tear film. The runny oily layer is secreted by the tiny meibomian glands of the eyelids.
Causes
- Ageing, or hormonal changes within the body, can cause or exacerbate dry eye symptoms.
- In younger people it appears that the use of technology at work, or for leisure, can itself set off dry eye symptoms.
- Some people have an auto-immune condition such as Sjogren’s syndrome giving them a dry mouth and eyes, often associated with arthritis.
- Certain medications and surgery on the eye including laser treatment, inability to fully close the eyes, disorders of the eyelids and the oil glands within the lids and injury by chemicals can all also interfere with the natural tear film.
- Recent studies show that up to 86% of patients with dry eyes have meibomian gland dysfunction with blocked glands, and particularly thick secretions, resulting in evaporative dry eye. The presence of abnormal blood vessels, under the eyelid skin, causes the release of inflammatory markers, resulting in meibomian gland dysfunction.
Symptoms
- Gritty, sore, itchy, red, uncomfortable eyes are the commonest symptoms of dryness. It can feel as though there is a foreign body in your eye.
- Long periods of screen work (mobile phones, laptops or PCs) or reading can significantly worsen dryness symptoms.
- Dry and warm atmospheres, especially air-conditioning, and car heaters also make the symptoms worse.
- Additionally, there can be some blurring of vision, glare and sensitivity to light. Tolerance of contact lenses can be significantly reduced.
Strangely, sometimes dryness causes bouts of watering as the eye may react to irritation by brief over production of tears. Changes to the oily layer of tears can also make the tear film unstable. However, most watery eyes have other causes other than dryness.
Good quality, preservative-free artificial tears and ointments are generally the basis of controlling dry eye symptoms. It may be necessary to try a number of different products to find out which specifically works best for you.
Very severe dry eyes may require conservation of tears by blocking the tear drainage ducts. This can be temporary with plugs or permanently with cautery.
Tear quality can specifically be improved by treatment of eyelid inflammation (Blepharitis) and oil gland blockage (Meibomianitis) by means of eyelid cleansing, warm compresses, eyelid massage, BlephEx™ treatment.
OptiLight Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) can effectively treat moderate and severe dry eye disease. This FDA-approved treatment uses four sessions of pulsed light therapy to reduce eyelid meibomian gland inflammation. This significantly improves the tear break-up times and relieves dry eyes. For some people, IPL treatment can even cure their dry eyes permanently.
Advantages:
Our treatments are designed to enhance your eye comfort and improve your vision clarity. By focusing on the health of your eye surface and the quality of your tears, we aim to relieve the discomfort caused by dry eyes.
Disadvantages:
While dry eyes cannot be completely cured, our treatments help manage the symptoms and provide relief. Ongoing care and attention are necessary to maintain comfort and control the condition.
Every medical treatment comes with potential side effects, but for dry eye treatments, they are generally mild.
- Drops and Medications: Some individuals may experience allergic reactions or discomfort from certain ingredients in eye drops or medications.
- Therapies: In rare cases, therapies may cause temporary side effects such as redness, mild burning or stinging, blurred vision, light sensitivity, or additional dryness. However, these symptoms typically resolve on their own shortly after treatment.
- Contact Lenses: The main risks with contact lenses include wearing them for too long without rest and not maintaining proper hygiene, which can lead to eye infections.
- Surgery: As with any surgery, there are inherent risks, but we will discuss these in detail during your consultation. Surgical procedures for dry eyes are usually minor and have very few side effects.
We offer both diagnostic procedures to carefully characterise your condition, and therapeutic procedures to treat and control your symptoms.
Diagnostic procedures.
- Non-invasive tear break up time- The most accurate measure of the stability of the tear film on the eye.
- Tear osmolarity- Measures the chemical concentration of tears using TearLab™. The higher the concentration, the greater the deficiency of water in the tears.
- Meibography- A photographic assessment of the state of health of the oil producing Meibomian glands in the eyelids.
- Tear duct syringing- If watering is a prominent symptom it is necessary to check whether there is blockage of the tear drainage duct system.
Therapeutic procedures.
- Punctal plugging- A very quick painless in-office procedure to insert tiny silicone plugs into the tear ducts to conserve the tears.
- Punctal cautery- Permanent surgical occlusion of the tear duct openings by thermal cautery. This is a surgical procedure which requires local anaesthetic injections.
- BlephEx™ treatment- Blepharitis is a common inflammatory condition of the eyelids associated with skin flakes and blockage of the meibomian (oil gland) openings. This impairs the tear film resulting in dry eyes. BlephEx treatment uses a soft spinning sponge to micro-exfoliate to help settle the blepharitis.
- OptiLight IPL treatment of Dry Eyes and MGD- Eyelid inflammation, specifically leading to meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and dry eyes, can be successfully treated with Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). This improves the tear film, reduces dry eye symptoms and reduces reliance on regular eye drops.
Mr Boyce
Consultant Ophthalmologist (Oculoplastic Surgeon)
Mr Stephen Morgan
Consultant Ophthalmologist (Corneal Specialist)
Gain visual relief in 3 simple steps
Navigating dry eye treatment options can feel overwhelming, but we’ve simplified the process to make it easy for you
Step 1: Get in touch
Not all eye treatments are right for everyone. The first step is to find out if dry eye treatment is the right solution for you and which option fits your needs. Call our friendly team at 0191 917 8887 or book an appointment.
Step 2: We'll meet
At your assessment, our specialists will create a personalised plan to treat your dry eye, using advanced treatments tailored to your specific needs and aimed at providing lasting relief.
Step 3: Enjoy freedom
After your treatment, experience lasting relief and healthier, more comfortable eyes. We’ll provide ongoing support and care to keep your eyes feeling their best for years to come.
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Hi, I’m Rob Boyce
After training as an engineer and research scientist, I pursued medicine at Nottingham University, followed by advanced ophthalmology training. With over 20 years as a Consultant Ophthalmologist specialising in Oculoplastic and Lacrimal Surgery, I’m committed to delivering the highest quality care at MY Eye Clinic, using cutting-edge techniques and patient-centred care.
Mr Rob Boyce
Founder and Owner of MY Eye Clinic
