Dry Eye Syndrome Causes and Treatment Options
What is Dry Eye Syndrome and What are the Causes?
Have you found that no matter the time of day, your eyes are full of tears or constantly itchy? There are quite a few symptoms of dry eyes, but typically your tear system is irregular causing the symptoms you’re experiencing. Dry eye syndrome (DES) is when an individual doesn’t produce enough quality tears to correctly lubricate eyes. While dry eyes are often a part of the aging process, it affects millions of people.
Dry eye syndrome is known by many names. These include:
- Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS)
- keratitis sicca
- sicca syndrome
- xerophthalmia
Dry eyes can occur for many reasons, including:
Exposure to environmental allergens
Health conditions
Age & gender
Medications
Diseases
Other
There are plenty of other factors that can cause dry eyes in individuals, but these are some of the more common ones.
Levels of dry eye
Dry eye syndrome can vary among different people. The three levels include mild, moderate and severe. Depending on the level of dryness you have, you’ll experience different symptoms.
Symptoms of dry eye include the following:
- Redness
- Burning
- Itching
- Scratchiness
- Tearing
- Sensitivity to light
- Mucus secretion
- Blurred vision
Dry eye is a treatable condition.
- Artificial teardrops
- Long-lasting lubricating gels
- Ointments placed in the eye
- Temporarily or permanently plugging of the tear ducts, in addition to replacing the tears with drops or ointments
- Prescription medication (Restasis/Xiidra/Doxycycline)
- IPL treatment
- Thermi Treatment
IPL
Intense Pulsed Light uses light energy to soften dark spots or eliminate red vascular areas on the skin and is also commonly used for hair removal. It has also been used for nearly a decade to treat dry eye symptoms. It is believed to exert an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing small, surface blood vessels around the lid margins. Additionally, the heat generated by the light energy helps to thin the Meibomian gland secretions that are designed to prevent evaporation of the water component of the tear film. We have had great success using IPL for dry eye treatments since 2012. A typical treatment schedule is a monthly session for 3-4 months, followed by maintenance treatments once every 6-12 months as needed. IPL is limited to lightly pigmented skin types as it can cause patchy depigmentation in dark skinned patients.
Thermi
We are excited about Thermi, our newest addition in the fight against dry eye. Thermi uses radiofrequency energy to stimulate collagen production and smooth surface wrinkles on the skin. It has also been noted to improve dry eye symptoms in patients when utilized around the lids. Since it does not use light energy, it can be used on all types of skin pigmentation.
In order to determine the best treatment, we need to see you for an eye exam and then determine the most appropriate type of treatment listed above. Contact us today to get relief from your dry eye symptoms.
Content reviewed by Kevin R. Skelsey, M.D., F.A.C.S.
