Diagnosis and Treatment for Dry Eyes
If you depend on eye drops to get through the day or find it hard to get relief from your discomfort, we're here for you. At Medical Arts Eye Clinic & Optical here in Auburn, we know eye irritation is painful and inconvenient. We also know that you need a long-term solution that actually works. No matter what causes your dry eyes, we are here to help.
The good news is, dry eyes are a common problem, so we can easily help you get rid of your symptoms and minimize your future risks. Learn more about the symptoms and causes of dry eye syndrome.
Dry Eye Symptoms
You might suffer from dry eye syndrome if your eyes can't produce a normal amount of tears to coat your eyes. The following are symptoms of dry eye syndrome:
- Stinging or burning
- Dull or sharp pain
- Redness in or around eyes
- General eye discomfort
- Decreased ability to see or focus vision
- Watery tears
- String-like mucus in the eye
If you'd like to learn more about your symptoms and find out how to reduce them, schedule an eye exam with one of our Medical Arts Eye Clinic & Optical doctors.
Causes of Dry Eyes
The most common cause of dry eye syndrome is going too long without blinking. This means that if your job involves a lot of screen time or reading, you could be more susceptible to dry eye syndrome. However, this isn't the only cause of dry eye syndrome. These issues could cause it too:
- Long-term use of contact lenses
- Long-term exposure to dry or hot conditions
- Aging
- Antihistamines and nasal decongestants
- Antidepressants
- Oral contraceptives
- LASIK surgery
- Hormone replacement therapy
- Allergies
Dry Eye Syndrome Issues
While pain and redness are the most obvious complications from dry eye syndrome, they aren't the only ones. The dryness means that your tear ducts aren't producing enough oil, water, and mucus, so your eyes aren't adequately protected. This increases your risk of infection. When you don't have enough oil in your eyes, they aren't properly lubricated, so they compensate by producing extra watery tears. This might not seem like a big issue since water washes away debris and can help lower the risk of bacterial infection. However, water alone doesn't properly lubricate your eye surface.
Dry Eye Treatment in Auburn
Dre eye syndrome is a hassle to deal with on a daily basis. To truly reverse it, you need a long-term treatment plan that addresses the cause of your syndrome. We have several dry eye treatment options:
- Specialty contact lenses that minimize aggravation and irritation
- Artificial tear drops that restore tear duct balance
- Punctual occlusion, a procedure that closes the tear ducts with a dissolvable or removable plug to prevent draining
- Medicated eye drops that stimulate tear production in addition to replacing tears
After we diagnose the symptoms and causes of your dry eyes, we will figure out which dry eye treatments work for you. Call us today to get started.