Let’s Learn About Dry Eye

We love living in Boulder, Colorado. With access to endless outdoor activities and over 300 days of sun every year, it is a wonderful place to be. But, we live in a very dry climate. This leads to the most common eye health condition we diagnose and treat everyday  - dry eye. In this post, we will discuss the causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of dry eye.

Dry eye is a common, chronic, and inflammatory condition that affects a large portion of the population. It occurs through poor tear quality and/or poor tear production. Tears are necessary to maintain a healthy surface of the eye and aid in good vision through a clear tear film.

Causes:                                                      

Our tears are produced by glands that are in and around our eyes. The aqueous layer is made by the lacrimal gland and if it is not produced well, it will lead to aqueous deficient dry eye meaning you don’t make enough tears. The meibomian glands are located on our upper and lower eyelids behind the eyelashes and produce the oil (lipid) layer. If these glands stop functioning, the tear film will evaporate quickly leading to evaporative dry eye.

Our tear film consists of 3 layers. The mucin layer is the innermost layer and keeps tears on the eye. The aqueous layer is the middle layer and is the main hydrator of the layers. The lipid layer is the outermost layer and prevents evaporation of other layers and helps keep vision clear. Dryness occurs if one or more of these layers is poor quality.   
 

Risk Factors:

Dry eye consists of many different risk factors, which often makes it difficult to treat. The most common are listed below:

• Age. It is more common in older adults.

• Gender. Dryness is more common in women due to hormones.

• Medications. Many medications have drying side effects.

• Certain health conditions. Inflammatory conditions, diabetes, and eyelid inflammation are often correlated to dryness.

• Environment. Dry and windy climates and extended screen time.

• Long term use of contact lenses. Interrupts tear film layers from interacting. 

• Refractive surgery. LASIK/PRK alter the surface of the eye.
   

Symptoms:

Symptoms of dry eye include: redness, burning, stinging, discomfort with contact lens wear, watery eyes, inflamed/red eyelids, blurry vision, discomfort opening eyes in the morning, and sensitivity to light. These symptoms often worsen in dry, windy or in forced air places. 
 

Diagnoses:

During your eye exam, we will diagnose dry eye through an evaluation that includes:

• A thorough patient history.

• Evaluation of the eye, including the eyelids.

• Testing the quality and production of your tears through different methods.

Treatment:  

Dry eye varies not only in the type of dryness, but also the severity. Because of this, we create individualized treatment plans for our patients. This varies from something as simple as artificial tears or blink therapy to in-office treatments and/or medicated eye drops. As dry eye is a chronic condition, it takes time to treat and compliance is the most important part of the treatment. 

Prevention:

What can you do to help prevent dry eye?

• Blink more regularly. We like the 20/20/20 rule. 

• Stay hydrated with water and use humidifiers, especially in the winter.

• Wearing sunglasses outside adds a barrier between the air and your eyes.

• Certain nutritional supplements will help. Please call us for more information.

Dry eye is only becoming more common with our current lifestyles. If you would like more information about dry eye or to schedule a dry eye consult, please call or text us: 303-939-8021. 

Image from https://mydryeye.ca/components-of-a-tear-film/