It is particularly common in those over 40 and is more common in women than men. Dry eye causes symptoms such as gritty feeling eyes, irritation, burning, itching, blurred vision, eyes sticking together at night and, surprisingly, watery eyes.
Dry eye is often caused by a problem with your natural tears. When you blink you leave a thin layer, called the tear film, over the front of your eye. The tear film keeps the front of your eye healthy, and it also helps the eye focus properly, giving you clear vision. It also helps to fight infection at the front surface of the eye.
If the tear film balance is incorrect the tears do not stick to the eye long enough, they evaporate and dry out more quickly. If you don’t produce enough tears, if your tears aren’t of the right quality or your tears aren’t spread across the front of your eye properly then you may develop dry eye.
Conditions such as blepharitis (an inflammation of the eyelids) and meibomian gland dysfunction (blockage of the oil secreting ducts in the eyelid) can exacerbate dry eye symptoms.
Dry eyes can be affected by many factors including environment, occupation, age, laser surgery, hormones and the weather.
Certain conditions such as arthritis, thyroid problems, Lupus, Sjogren’s and certain medications can cause dryness.
You may also be more prone to dry eye if you wear contact lenses, read a lot or work on a computer. But the good news is that you do not have to live with the symptoms.
Dry eye is worth treating, even if you feel you can live with the symptoms. A dry surface to your eye, a little like dry skin, makes you more prone to infections such as cysts, styes, and conjunctivitis.
Long term dryness can cause ulceration of the cornea and scarring, so it is best treated long before it gets to this stage.
The tear film is a complex structure and needs to be properly assessed before treatment can be targeted to alleviate the symptoms of dryness at the cause, rather than just trying a range of drops to treat the symptoms, which may never work.
At Edgbaston Eye Clinic your eye care practitioner will carefully assess your symptoms and use various specialist tests to establish if you have dry eyes and what may be causing it and then recommend the best treatment.
This tailored approach helps even for those who may have tried GP prescribed drops or over the counter remedies before with little success.
Book into the dry eye clinic and your eye care practitioner will thoroughly examine your eyes and develop a tailored treatment plan for you.
Your treatment plan will be carefully monitored and regularly followed up to ensure you remain on the best treatment.
Dry Eyes are often linked to other eyelid conditions such as Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and Blepharitis.
We usually recommend a preservative free lubricant to reduce irritation to the eyes over long term use.
For more severe dry eye cases, we can fit punctual plugs which offer a more permanent solution to dry eyes, considerably reducing or eliminating the need for lubricating drops. Your eye care practioner will examine you to see if you are suitable to try punctual plugs.