What is dry eye?
Dry eye is when there are not enough tears in your eye, and the surface of your eye becomes dehydrated. This affects the front layers and parts of your eye.
One of the most important parts of your driving experience is a clean windscreen, and we also feel that a good ocular surface is critical. The moistness of your eye is only a few microns thick, but is really important to comfort and clarity.
Causes and risk?
There can be different causes of dry eye – some we don’t know.
Your tear gland could just not work well and never has. It could be that you are on some medications that cause you to get dry eye. It could be hormonal or that you have to use eye drops for a particular condition.
The oil component for your tears comes from your eyelids, and maintaining your eyelids in good condition is also very important for eye comfort.
Are there different types?
IThere can be different causes of dry eye, depending on how your tears are produced and maintained.
Your tear gland may not produce enough tears, or the oil component of your tears may not be working as well as it should. The oil component comes from your eyelids, which is why keeping your eyelids in good condition is important for maintaining eye comfort.
What are the symptoms? How does it affect your vision?
Dry eye symptoms include:
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A gritty, sandy, or scratchy feeling, as if dirt is in your eye.
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Stinging or a burning sensation.
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Redness in the white part of the eye.
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Watery eyes, which happens because irritation triggers extra, watery tears.
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Blurred vision that gets better when you blink.
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Sensitivity to bright light.
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Tired, heavy, or fatigued eyes.
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Discomfort when wearing contact lenses.
The key symptom of dry eye is discomfort, but not always. As optometrists, we have seen people who don’t know they have dry eye, but they want to understand why their vision is blurry, and we find that dry eye is the cause.
Can it be treated or managed?
There are lots of eye drops to lubricate the surface of the eye, from thin saline drops to thick ointments. The most important thing to remember is the frequency. You need to use the lubricating drops often and regularly to maintain comfort.
We wouldn’t say that dry eye is curable; we would say it needs ongoing management and care.
We also encourage keeping the eyelids in good condition. We ask you to do this with warm compresses for a few minutes and then keep the eyelid area clean.
Come see us at Milford Optometrists so we can help you pick out what would suit you best. We have a range of eye drops, compresses, eyelid cream, and cleansers.
How is it detected or diagnosed?
We can analyse how dry your eyes are by checking how good your vision is, and then using our slit lamp biomicroscope to have a look at the structures of the eye.
Sometimes we use a yellow dye to work out if there is any desiccated skin of the eye. This all lets us figure out how bad the dryness is, and then work out how to help you manage this best.
If you experience ongoing discomfort, redness, or blurred vision, book an appointment with your optometrist to have your eyes assessed and discuss the best way to manage your dry eye.
