When everything’s going right with your eyes, you really don’t pay much attention to them. They blink when you need them to, regulate their own moisture levels, and focus automatically. But when something’s off, it feels like your eyes are suddenly all you can think about.
The symptoms associated with dry eye are distracting, uncomfortable, and potentially dangerous. But you don’t have to grin and bear it. Keswick Family Eyecare is equipped to diagnose and treat dry eye. Book your appointment with us today.
Your eyeball is covered by a mucous membrane. As such, it needs to be properly moistened and lubricated, or it could sustain damage from something as simple as blinking. Your eye produces its own lubricant made of water and oils; we refer to this lubricant as tears.
Sometimes, your eye does not produce enough tears to keep the mucous membrane properly lubricated. Other times, your eye produces enough tears, however, the balance of oils is off; allowing the tears to evaporate too quickly.
In addition to a generally “dry” feeling, patients often experience a gritty sensation; as if there was a foreign object in their eye. It’s not uncommon to also experience stinging, itching, or the feeling that the eyelids are too heavy to remain open. Though it may seem paradoxical, dry eye can sometimes cause sticky, stringy discharge, or short periods of extreme watering of the eyes.
Anyone could experience dry eye, but there are a few factors that increase your chance of having it. Contact lenses can make dry eye more likely or more severe, as well as some laser eye surgeries. Hormone replacement therapy can contribute to dry eye, and menopausal women are more likely than anyone to experience it. Smoking is another factor that is known to add to your chances of developing dry eye.
At Keswick Family Eyecare, we’re excited to bring cutting-edge technology into the exam room to help diagnose dry eye disease: the Tearcheck® Dry Eye Diagnostic Tool.
Tearcheck® uses multiple methods to assess your particular symptoms, evaluate the severity of your dry eye, and point us in the direction of what might be causing the condition. These include:
OSIE® (Ocular Surface Inflammatory Evaluation), which shows us the areas of dryness and severity of dryness on the surface of the eye.
TFSE® (Tear Film Stability Evaluation) shows the micromovements of the tear film in just 10 seconds.
NIBUT (Non-Invasive Breakup Time) evaluates the breakup of the tear film non-invasively, including the area where it starts to break up.
Tearcheck® also looks for:
Eye redness
Signs of parasites
Tear meniscus height (which is used to estimate the volume of your tears)
Another important part of looking into your dry eye is checking on your meibomian glands. The meibomian glands are found right on the edges of your eyelid (very close to where your lashes grow). They produce the oily part of your tears that stops them from spilling onto your face. The oils also help keep your eye’s surface smooth when you blink while keeping your tears in your eyes. As you can imagine, a problem with your meibomian glands can lead to dry eye symptoms.
We use infrared meibography to get a good look at your meibomian glands to investigate any problems there. If they’re clogged, it’s called meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), which exacerbates dry eye disease. But never fear! We have the technology to help.
E>Eye is the first medical device designed specifically to target dry eye disease using intense regulated pulsed light (IRPL). This technology is often used in cosmetic skin treatments and has been modified to work on dry eye in the past—but E>Eye is made specially to help dry eye sufferers.
Some of the pros of E>Eye IRPL treatment include:
E>Eye treatment improves meibomian gland function and reduces inflammation.
There are a wide variety of lubricating eye drops that can target specific types of dry eye. While these drops will not actually cure your dry eye, they will offer some relief to your symptoms. It is best to get an evaluation by your Optometrist, who will be able to recommend an artificial tear that best suit your needs.
These drops will help relieve your symptoms the same way artificial tears do. However, unlike artificial tears, medicated drops will also stimulate your eyes to create more tears, naturally providing your eyes with more moisture. Medicated eye drops require a prescription.
We're located on Arlington Drive, just off Woodbine Avenue next to Dominos Pizza
76 Arlington Drive, Unit 17
Keswick, ON L4P 0A9
Monday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Mondays: 12pm to 1pm
Saturdays: 12pm to 12:30pm
Tuesdays: 11:30am to 1pm (first Tuesday of each month)
