Dry Eye Treatment

An optometrist is the right first stop. Dry eye is diagnosed with a slit lamp, dye, and a look at the oil glands, and most of it is managed with drops, lid care, prescription treatment, and plugs, all of which are handled in an optometrist’s office. Severe or unusual cases are referred to a cornea specialist, and the optometrist keeps managing the rest.

Not enough tears, and tears that evaporate too fast. The first is aqueous-deficient dry eye, where the lacrimal glands underproduce. The second, evaporative dry eye, is more common and comes from blocked oil glands in the eyelids, so the tear film has no oil layer to hold it on the eye. Many people have some of both.

Do not use redness-relief drops daily; they constrict blood vessels and rebound. Do not rub your eyes. Do not sleep in contact lenses or wear them through a flare. Do not aim a fan or car vent at your face, and do not sit through hours of screen work without blinking breaks. Do not keep using a drop that has stopped helping; that is the signal to be examined.

A preservative-free artificial tear, a few slow full blinks, and a warm compress on closed eyes for ten minutes take the edge off most flares. Relief that lasts needs the cause treated: for blocked glands that means daily lid warming and cleaning, and for inflammation it means prescription drops.

Often, yes, in the sense that symptoms can be brought down to little or nothing and kept there. Dry eye from a medication, a contact lens, or screen habits can resolve when the cause changes. Chronic dry eye from gland dysfunction is managed rather than cured, but managed well it stops interfering with your day.

Allergic conjunctivitis, blepharitis, a lid that does not fully close in sleep, and the early stage of an infection all produce similar burning and grittiness. The reverse happens too: watery eyes are often dry eyes, because an irritated eye over-produces thin tears that run off. The exam separates them.

Recent options target the oil glands and inflammation directly: in-office treatments that warm and clear blocked glands, light-based therapy for the lids, newer prescription drops, and a nasal spray that stimulates natural tear production. The American Academy of Ophthalmology lists these among current treatments. Whether any applies depends on your type, which is what the evaluation establishes, and the doctor refers out for anything not done in our office.

An irritated, dry surface triggers reflex tearing, which floods the eye with thin, watery tears that lack oil and run straight off. The watering is a symptom of dryness, not the opposite of it, and treating the dryness is what stops it.

Usually, once the dry eye is under control. A daily disposable lens or a different material often fixes afternoon scratchiness on its own. During a flare, a break from lenses helps the surface recover. The doctor will say when lenses are safe to go back in.

Screens do not cause the disease, but they make it worse: blink rate falls by about half when you concentrate on a screen, so tears evaporate before the next blink replaces them. Someone with mild gland dysfunction who then works eight hours on a monitor gets symptoms they would not have had otherwise.

No referral. Book a dry eye evaluation directly, or raise the symptoms at a routine exam and the doctor will schedule the evaluation. Bring a list of your medications and any drops you have been using, including the ones that did not work.

No. Dry eye is a medical condition, so the evaluation and follow-ups bill to medical insurance, like a visit to a physician, with that plan’s copay. Vision plans cover routine exams and eyewear. Call (310) 305-2950 with your plan name and the front desk will explain what to expect.