Dry Eye Therapy

WHAT IS DRY EYE?

Dry eye symptoms are not just uncomfortable; they can actually cause long term damage if your eyes don’t receive proper treatment. Almost one-third of all Canadians currently suffer from dry eye. At Whitby Family Eye Care we not only treat the symptoms of your dry eye, but we also get the source of the problem so that we can offer you a customized solution to meet your dry eye needs.

Dry eye syndrome is a serious issue which develops for one of two reasons: insufficient tear volume or poor tear quality.

Dry eyes can also be caused or exacerbated by a variety of external factors including:

• Dry environments
• Prolonged use of digital screens
• Dehydration
• Certain medications including antihistamines, antidepressants, and birth control pills
• Ageing and hormonal changes
• Select systemic diseases

SYMPTOMS OF DRY EYE

There are a wide variety of symptoms that may indicate that you are suffering from dry eye. These include:

• Redness
• Itching and irritation
• Burning or stinging
• Feeling that something is in your eye
• Difficulty opening your eyes in the morning
• Eye fatigue or heavy eyelids
• Sensitivity to light
• Blurry vision
• Periods of excess tears
• Stringy discharge
• Watery eyes

Though it may seem strange, watery eyes can actually be a symptom of dry eye. If poor quality tears are the cause of your dry eye, your eyes may try to compensate by producing excess tears, causing your eyes to water.

If these symptoms sound familiar, request an appointment with us today.

DIAGNOSING AND TREATING DRY EYE

Dry eye may seem like an innocuous problem, but chronic dry eye is a progressive condition that will get worse over time if left untreated. At Whitby Family Eye Care, we aren’t satisfied with just treating your symptoms; we want to address the underlying problem to help you find long-term relief.

To help us determine the root cause of your dry eye, we use a variety of specialized equipment including the iPen to access tear quality, and Meibox to assess the health of your meibomian glands. Meibox is a state of the art piece of diagnostic imaging technology that allows the optometrists at Whitby Family Eye Care to take high definition images of your meibomian glands.
The right diagnosis empowers us to help find the right treatment for you.

Once we understand the underlying cause of your symptoms, we can craft a tailored treatment plan that meets your eye relief needs. Though ordinary, over the counter eye drops can offer temporary relief medicated eye drops, such as Restasis and Xiidra, can help your eyes produce better quality tears naturally. Depending on the cause of your dry eye your optometrist may prescribe medicated eye drops for your dry eye.

Professional treatment products such as Thealoz Duo eye drops, Hyabak eye drops, Bruder Mask, and Blephaclean (sterilized eye cleansing pads) and in-office treatments, can help manage the underlying causes of your dry eye and are available at Whitby Family Eye Care.