The Dry Eye Patient

- Burning - Grittiness - Stinging - Discomfort - Redness - Dryness - Blurred Vision - Irritation - Ocular Fatigue - Scratchiness - Soreness - Foreign Body Sensation - Tearing

Dry Eye Contact Lens Patient

- Burning - Grittiness - Stinging - Discomfort - Redness - Dryness - Blurred Vision - Irritation - Ocular Fatigue - Scratchiness - Soreness - Lens Awareness - Itchiness

Are you involved in any of the following activities throughout the day?

- Computer use - Reading (work/recreational) - Sewing activities - Extended television viewing - Exposed to Winter months - Video gaming - Working outdoors - Working in dry/dusty environment - Travel in Airplanes - Exposed to Dry/Low Humidity

Do you have any of the following Systemic Conditions?

- Rheumatoid Arthritis - High Blood Pressure - Menopause - Diabetes - Thyroid Dysfunction - Allergies

Are you taking any of the following Medications for?

- Rheumatoid Arthritis - High Blood Pressure - Oral Contraceptive - Oral Anti-Histamines - Menopause (Hormone Replacement Therapy) - Diabetes - Thyroid Dysfunction - Anti-Depressants - Skin Conditions (Accutane) - Over the Counter Pain medications

There are many causes that play a role in dry eye development. Predisposing conditions include environmental factors computer usage, reading, smoking, windy or dusty work environments, airline travel, low humidity climates, winter months and exogenous irritants. These environmental factors can increase the dry eye for those who wear contact lenses. Systemic diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and thyroid dysfunction. Dry eye can also be a side effect of taking certain medications such as those used to treat allergies, Accutane, antidepressants, and birth control pills.

Various daily activities and environmental factors, such as extended visual tasking (television viewing, video gaming, and computer use), dry air (winter time, desert heat), pollutants and certain medications may precipitate and/or worsen dry eyes.

There are varying degrees of dry eyes (mild, moderate, and severe).

Dry eye is a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive evaporation, which causes damage to the ocular surface and leads to discomfort and red eyes. The condition can be Acute (sudden onset) or Chronic (on going for several years). Most often, dry eye starts out as a mild form and then develops over the years to the severe form. Most of the time, you are not aware of the changes that are taking place. Dry eye disease has a considerable impact on the quality of life that a person experiences. By understanding the underlying causes of this disease you experience, we are able to provide prompt treatment to your dry eye condition.

Dry eye is a complex, multi-factorial disease of the tear film and ocular surface. The resulting symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance and poor eye comfort or decreased contact lens wear. It starts as a simple dry eye and leads to an ocular inflammation complete with red eyes, scratchy, gritty and burning sensation. (Eyelid debris, eyelid redness, eyelid swelling)

Discomfort symptoms often associated with dry eye include burning, stinging, grittiness, foreign body sensation, tearing, blurred vision, ocular fatigue and dryness. Various daily activities and environmental factors, such as extended visual tasking (television viewing, video gaming, and computer use), dry air (winter time, desert heat), pollutants and certain medications may precipitate and/or exacerbate dry eyes. There are varying degrees of dry eyes (mild, moderate, and severe).

According to the Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard University, about 6 million women and 3 million men in the United States have moderate-to-severe symptoms of dry eye disease, with an additional 20 million to 30 million experiencing mild cases. Also, studies indicate that greater than 13 percent of the population older than 40 suffers from dry eye and more than 50 percent of contact lens wearers suffer from dry eye symptoms.

Factors Leading to Dry Eyes:

There are many causes that play a role in dry eye development. Predisposing conditions include environmental factors computer usage, reading, smoking, windy or dusty work environments, airline travel, low humidity climates, winter months and exogenous irritants. These environmental factors can increase the dry eye for those who wear contact lenses. Systemic diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction and high blood pressure. Dry eye can also be a side effect of taking certain medications such as those used to treat allergies, Accutane, antidepressants, and birth control pills.

Menopausal women prescribed estrogen alone as hormone replacement therapy are seven times more likely to develop dry eye, although there is an increase in dry eye among patients taking hormone replacement therapy of any age. Age and gender also play a role in the incidence of dry eye occurrence. According to a Women's Health Study, 5 million men and women older than 50 in the United States have dry eye syndrome. The incidence of dry eye in women is almost two times that of men. Women with Sjogren's Syndrome also have moderate to severe dry eye symptoms.

Certain Ocular or Eye diseases also play a role in the development of dry eyes. Those include Blepharitis, Meibomianitis, Oil Gland Dysfunction, Keratitis, and Contact Lens Over wear.

Contact Lenses and the Dry Eye Patient:

Contact lens wear can induce ocular symptoms very similar to those reported by patients who have various dry eye conditions. The same symptoms affect almost 17 million of the 35 million contact lens wearers in the United States alone. Contact lens wearers are 12 times more likely to experience dry eyes from those who don't wear contacts and are 5 times more when those compared to wearing glasses.

While contact lenses are considered a contributing factor in dry eye disease and many of the symptoms are similar to the dry eye patient. Similar treatment methods are used for those who wear contact lenses and experience decreased comfort, decreased wearing time, blurry vision, redness and overall poor comfort while wearing contact lenses.

The common symptoms associated with lens wear include dryness, discomfort, redness, burning, lens awareness, grittiness, irritation, stinging, ocular fatigue, scratchiness, soreness, blurry vision and itching.

With all of the hundreds of contact lenses available to wear, did you know there are several different types of contact lenses available to wear that are Not recommended for those with dry eyes?
Are you wearing one of those contact lenses?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently classify commercially available soft contact lens into four groups based on their charge and water content. By wearing the wrong lens for your eye can increase the dryness you may be experiencing. Knowing which contact lens you are wearing can improve not only the vision but the overall comfort as well. While it is true that not everybody will be able to wear certain lenses and you may not be able to wear lenses like other family or friends. Remember, you are and individual person whose make up is different from others. What other family members or friends are wearing may not work for you.

Dietary effects on Inflammation:

Omega 3 EFAs are found in foods such as flaxseed or linseed oil, leafy green vegetables, and various types of vegetable oils. Other Omega 3 EFAs can be obtained by consuming oily, coldwater fish such as halibut, herring and tuna. Buffalo, venison and walnuts are also rich in omega-3. Omega-3 fatty acids are also attainable from fish oils, which are available in capsule form. Omega-6 EFAs are found abundantly in meat, evening primrose oil, canola and corn oil, and margarine.

Research suggests that an ideal Omega-3: Omega-6 ratio would be 1:1 to 1:3 in favor of omega-6. However, a typical Western diet is over rich in omega-6 containing foods, with studies suggesting that the true ratio is closer to 10-20:1 in favor of omega-6 due to overconsumption of meats and fried foods. Thus increasing the amounts of omega-3 EFAs by foods or by supplements can play a positive role in managing various forms of dry eyes.

The overall effect of Omega-3 and Omega-6 are to decrease inflammation, which can lead to dry eye.

Dry Eye Treatment:

Dry eye treatment can be as simple as using Artificial Tears, lid scrubs and warm compresses. Or they can be more complicated as treating for an underlying inflammation with specialized medicine. Since there are several know factors that cause dry eyes, we will develop a plan to treat your condition once it has been identified. Treating the symptoms such as redness, scratchy and grittiness will not go away until the underlying cause has been identified. Then and only then can we determine what therapy and treatment is right for you.

1) Punctal plugs have been a very effective treatment option in managing dry eyes. Effective treatment for dry eyes begins with a careful examination to determine which factors may be causing your symptoms. The goal of treatment is to keep the moisture (tears) in you eye.

2) Eye drops or artificial tears are used to supplement the body's tear production. Did you know that there are certain times of the day you are suppose to be using these drops? Are you using them at the wrong times of the day? If you are, the eye drops may not be working for you.

Our treatment in managing dry eye is to identify the underlying problem and to attempt to restore the natural tear production. By reducing the inflammation and redness that is present and maintaining the normal state of the ocular surface, we are able to restore the naturals tear for the dry eye patient and improve the wearing of contact lenses. If this sounds like what you are going through, call our office (630) 232-7112 for a "Dry Eye" Evaluation/Examination to start reducing the redness and increase your natural tear production.