Dry eye disease occurs when your eyes do not produce enough tears or produce poor quality tears that inadequately lubricate the eye’s surface. Aside from dryness, symptoms may include burning, stinging, blurry vision, or a “gritty” feeling in your eyes. Dry eye disease is a multifactorial condition. Factors affecting dry eye include your eyelid anatomy, eyelid oil gland function, your body’s ability to produce tears, hormones, systemic medications, as well as environmental factors.
Advanced Dry Eye Clinic at Hughes Eye Group
The Advanced Dry Eye Clinic at Hughes Eye Group is a program for patients who have had limited success with the traditional methods of treating dry eye. The doctors at Hughes Eye Group will determine if you are a candidate for the Advanced Dry Eye Clinic at your regular office visit. If you are a candidate, we then schedule an Advanced Dry Eye Consult which consists of in-house laboratory testing and imaging of your eyes. The results of these dry eye specific tests help to determine which type of dry eye disease you have, to stage the severity of your disease, as well as to create a customized treatment plan for you. Medical insurance typically covers the costs of your exam; however, medical insurance may not cover the costs of all dry eye specific laboratory testing.
Advanced Dry Eye Clinic: Testing
Tear Osmolarity Testing
Tear Osmolarity Testing is now considered the “gold standard” of objective dry eye diagnosis and the single best marker of disease severity. This test is done to initially stage the severity of your dry eyes in order to create a treatment plan, then repeated periodically to determine effectiveness of the treatments with time. The test is done in the office and is quick and painless, obtaining a reading from your eyes tears within seconds.
InflammaDry Testing
InflammaDry testing helps your doctor identify a specific cause of your dry eye disease. This test detects levels of MPP-9, an inflammatory marker, which is consistently elevated in tears of patients suffering from dry eye disease. The InflammaDry testing results are achieved in our office laboratory in just 10 minutes.
Lipiscan Imaging
The Lipiscan is an imaging system that creates a high-definition view of glands in the eyelid called meibomian glands. These glands produce an oily component of your tears, which is important to prevent evaporation of tears from the ocular surface. By assessing these specific glands, your doctor will determine if meibomian gland dysfunction contributes to your dry eye disease.
Shirmer Tear Testing
The Shirmer’s test is used to determine the quantity of tears, or whether the eye produces enough tears to keep it moist. This test is performed by placing a test strip inside the lower eyelid to measure the amount of tears produced in a 5 minute period. The results of this test help to identify why type of dry eye disease you have.
Advanced Dry Eye Clinic: Treatment
Based on the results of your dry eye laboratory testing, your doctor will create a customized plan specific for your type and severity of dry eye disease. Treatment options may include a combination of over the counter treatments, prescription drugs, and in office procedures. Read below to learn more about common treatment options for dry eye disease.
Lid Hygiene
Ocular hygiene is one of the first steps to improve your tear film and the comfort of your eyes. Lid wipes are beneficial to clean the lid and lashes and to treat certain conditions that lead to dry eye. A moist heat mask is a naturally proven way treat dry eye caused from meibomian gland dysfunction. Your doctor will customize a lid hygiene routine that will benefit you based on testing and evaluation of your eyes.
Medications
Topical medications in the form of eyedrops are a baseline treatment for many types of dry eye. Your doctor will determine if over the counter or prescription drops are necessary for you based on the severity of your condition. In some cases, patients may benefit from oral nutritional supplements to aid in the treatment of dry eye as well.
Dry Eye Procedures
Some patients benefit from procedures in the office to supplement at home dry eye treatments. Procedures range from treatments to alleviate eyelid and gland dysfunction to healing treatments for the ocular surface. Depending on the procedure indicated for you, treatments may be repeated periodically to provide continued relief of your symptoms. Your doctor will determine if a dry eye specific procedure is indicated to treat your type and severity of disease.
LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System
LipiFlow is a common procedure for patients with meibomian gland dysfunction, a condition that affects 85% of patients with dry eye disease. This procedure is the only FDA approved treatment using thermal pulsating heat for meibomian gland dysfunction. Lipiflow incorporates heat and massage to evacuate the blockages from the eyelid glands, allowing the glands to resume oil production. The LipiFlow procedure may be an option if your eyelid glands are not functioning properly to produce quality tears.
Advanced Dry Eye Clinic: Working Together
It is important to know that a “cure” does not exist for dry eye disease. All chronic dry eye patients require some form of maintenance treatment at home, typically on a daily basis. Compliance with the recommended treatment plan is critical to provide good results and lessen your dry eye symptoms. The doctors at Hughes Eye Group are dedicated to working with you to develop a plan to treat your dry eye disease and improve your quality of life with this condition.
Order Dry Eye Products Online
Your doctor may recommended specific over the counter products for your customized dry eye treatment plan. Click here to order dry eye products shipped directly to your home. Use code “HUGHESEYE20” to receive 20% off your initial online order.
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