Dry Eye Treatment

Even without knowing the term “dry eye” or “Dry Eye Syndrome“, if you suffer from it, then you are all too familiar with the soreness, discomfort, and constant misery that can come with dry eyes. 

Fortunately, our team can bring relief from Dry Eyes to patients from Chiswick . We can treat Dry Eye Syndrome, from mild to severe. 

What is dry eye syndrome?

Dry eye syndrome is a condition in which the amount of aqueous (the watery component of tears) produced by the lacrimal gland is insufficient. You
may also experience symptoms of dry eye syndrome if other components of the tears (mucus and lipid) are insufficient. This may occur if you have an eyelid or conjunctival disease, such as blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids), or when normal blinking is disrupted by neurological or eyelid abnormalities.

 

About your tears

We tend to notice tears when something is very funny, or very sad. However, if your eyes are healthy, glands in your eye are making tiny amounts of the same liquid all of the time. This is known as the ‘tear layer’. The tear layer helps to protect your eye and also allows you to see clearly. It is made up of three main ingredients:

Aqueous (water) – Tears are mostly made of water. This is produced by the lacrimal gland, which is located above your eye, underneath your eyelid. Water is required to moisten the eye, wash away debris and provide a smooth corneal surface to help your eye focus. The lacrimal gland also secretes antibodies and antibacterial elements to protect the eye.

An oily outer layer – The oily, outer layer is produced mainly by glands within your eyelids (the meibomian glands). This layer lubricates your eye, which helps you blink. The oil also stops your tears from evaporating too quickly.

An inner mucus layer – This layer is produced by glands within the conjunctiva (the clear layer that covers the white part of your eye and the inside of your eyelids). The mucus layer helps to spread tears over the surface of your eye.

What might your symptoms mean

SORE EYELIDS

 

Sore eye­lids indi­cate inflam­ma­tion. Inflam­ma­tion of the eye­lids is called Ble­phar­i­tis, which is often asso­ci­at­ed with dry eyes too. Eye­lids need gen­tle care to keep them healthy.

YOU MAY HAVE BLEPHARITIS.

RED EYES

 

BOTH EYES

The most com­mon caus­es of two red eyes are ​‘Dry Eye’ or ​‘aller­gy’, but it can also mean infection.

YOU MAY HAVE DRY EYE, ALLERGY.

JUST ONE EYE

You should seek the advice of your optometrist, phar­ma­cist or GP as this could indi­cate a spe­cif­ic prob­lem such as an infec­tion or inflam­ma­tion that needs treatment.

YOU MAY HAVE AN INFECTION. SEE YOUR OPTOMETRIST.

If in doubt seek advice from a healthcare professional.

BLURRED VISION

 

ALL THE TIME

Vision that is blur­ry all the time needs check­ing out by your optometrist first – it may be that you need new glass­es or that there is an under­ly­ing prob­lem that needs man­ag­ing, such as cataracts.

 INTERMITTENT

 Blur­ry vision that comes and goes dur­ing the day can be a result of tired eyes – this may be because you need new glass­es, so seek the advice of your optometrist first.

Smeary vision that comes and goes as you blink is like­ly to be caused by an unsta­ble tear film dis­turb­ing your vision.

 YOU MAY HAVE DRY EYE.

WATERY EYES

 

BOTH EYES

If both of your eyes tend to water after being exposed to grass pollen or ani­mals, you may have an eye aller­gy or sea­son­al aller­gy – speak to your phar­ma­cist to find the best solu­tion to resolve it. If both eyes water eas­i­ly in the wind or cold con­di­tions, this is like­ly to be Dry Eye.

YOU MAY HAVE DRY EYE.

ABOUT DRY EYE

JUST ONE EYE

If it is just one of your eyes that seems to over­flow, then get this checked out by your optometrist, who can assess your tear ducts to see if there is a local ​‘eye plumb­ing’ prob­lem that needs treatment.

SPEAK TO YOUR OPTOMETRIST

CONTACT LENS FATIGUE

 

A sim­ple way to improve the com­fort of your con­tact lens­es is to help hydrate and lubri­cate your eyes with Dry Eye drops, but they must be preser­v­a­tive free.

YOU MAY NEED DRY EYE DROPS.

GRITTY, SORE EYES

 

BOTH EYES

If both eyes are grit­ty and sore, most of the time, and there is no dis­charge, you are like­ly to have ​‘Dry Eye’ or blepharitis.

YOU MAY HAVE DRY EYE AND/OR BLEPHARITIS OR ALLERGY.

ABOUT DRY EYE

ABOUT BLEPHARITIS

JUST ONE EYE

You should seek the advice of your optometrist, phar­ma­cist or GP as this could indi­cate a spe­cif­ic prob­lem such as infec­tion, or a scratch on the sur­face of the eye that needs treatment.

SEE YOUR OPTOMETRIST.

STICKY DISCHARGE

 

You might have a mild eye infec­tion such as con­junctivitis – speak to your optometrist or pharmacist for advice.

YOU MAY HAVE AN INFECTION. SEE YOUR OPTOMETRIST.

FOREIGN BODY SENSATION

BOTH EYES

If both eyes feel like this most of the time, and there is no dis­charge, you are likely to have ​‘Dry Eye’, ​allergy or blepharitis

YOU MAY HAVE DRY EYE AND/OR BLEPHARITIS OR ALLERGY.

ABOUT DRY EYE

ABOUT BLEPHARITIS

JUST ONE EYE

If you feel like there is a for­eign body in just one eye, it could be just that, and if it cannot be easily removed, you should get this checked out by your optometrist with­out delay.

SEE YOUR OPTOMETRIST