Dry Eyes and Their Treatment

         1. What would you feel if you have dry eyes?

              -Patients with dry eyes usually have one or more of the following complaints:
                 a. Foreign body sensation, or the feeling of grittiness, that there are "sands" in you eyes
                 b. Eye heaviness, especially later during the day
                 c. Eye itching and/or burning
                 e. Tearing
                 f. fluctuation of vision
                 h. Eye redness
                 e. Patients with recent LASIK or with uncontrolled diabetes or other ocular
                     or systemic problems might not feel
                     anything or might have a milder
                     version of the above complaints.

           2. What could exacerbate the eye dryness?      
                a. Dry conditions
                b. Windy weather or blowing air conditioner
                c. Smoking or smoky places
                d. Acts that require visual concentration, such as computer work, watching TV, reading and studying.
                e. Some medications (e.g. Roacutane)
                f. Aging
                g. Pollution
                h. Contact Lenses
                e. Some eye and lid diseases (Blepharitis)
                f. Heat
                g. LASIK (temporary for the first several months)

           3. How can I treat my eye dryness condition?
                  Eye dryness can be successfully treated using:
               a. Lubrication eye drops
                    i. Come in preservative-free and preservative-containing packaging devices.
                    ii. The advantage of the preservative-free drops is that they do not irritate the eye, while the ones with preservative can irritate
                        the eye when used frequently (more than 6 times a day)  
                    iii. Preservative-free drops have to be packaged in small plastic containers and should be discarded within a maximum of 24
                         hours after breaking the cap. They are also more expensive than their preservative-containing counterparts.
                b. Punctal Plugs
                    i. They are made of silicone or collagen material (figure 1)
                    ii. They are inserted into one of two canals draining the upper and lower lids to the nose and mouth (figure 2).
                        They help decreasing the outflow of tear from the eye, increasing the stay of the natural fluid as well as the tear
                        drops in the eye.
                    iii. They are very practical for patients especially those with busy and fast-paced lifestyle
                    iv. They are easy to insert (takes few minutes in the office), have virtually no significant side effects,
                         and can be removed at any time.
                 c. Ancillary medications:
                     i. Are used in addition to the above.
                     ii. Include omega 3 fatty acids (oral intake)
                     iii. Cyclosporin, initially an anti-cancer medication, can now be packaged as an eye drop and is very helpful in treating
                          severe cases of dryness.
                 
                   Figure 1.                                                        Figure 2