Dry eye is a common condition that causes uncomfortable symptoms such as redness, irritation, scratchiness, or the feeling that an object is lodged in your eye. Sometimes, dry eye can also cause blurry vision.
There are many options for treating dry eye, from making lifestyle adjustments like limiting screen time to using modern technology like intense pulsed light (IPL). It’s important to address dry eye because, if it’s left untreated, it can lead to more serious complications like corneal scarring.
What Is Dry Eye?
Dry eye is a common condition that happens when an individual doesn’t produce enough tears or when the tears they do produce are of an inadequate quality. Our tears are composed of 3 layers: oil, water, and mucus. When these components are out of balance, dry eye symptoms may develop.
Symptoms of dry eye include:
- Red eyes
- A scratchy, burning, or stinging sensation
- The feeling that something is stuck in your eye
- Excessive tears and watery eyes
- Blurry vision
- A sticky discharge
If you have dry eye, you’re not alone. The condition is thought to affect nearly 16.4 million Americans.
Why Does Dry Eye Cause Blurry Vision?
If your vision clears up when you blink, your blurry vision may be due to dry eye. This is because dry eye sometimes causes a film to form over your eyes. Blinking removes the film and improves your vision.
Another possible reason for blurry vision is damage to the cornea, which can happen if dry eye goes untreated. Your cornea is a clear, dome-shaped structure on top of your eye, and it plays a role in helping your eyes focus. When the cornea is damaged, light can scatter, leading to blurry vision.
If blinking doesn’t cause your blurry vision to clear up, you may have another underlying condition. Book an appointment with your optometrist and let them check out your eyes.
How We Diagnose Dry Eye
Modern optometry offers multiple ways to diagnose and assess dry eye. These include:
- Dyes and staining: We can use dyes like fluorescein and lissamine, along with a slit lamp microscope, to get a better look at the health of your eye’s surface.
- Meibography: This noninvasive imaging technique helps us assess whether meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is the root cause of your symptoms.
- Schirmer’s test: This test involves placing a piece of filter paper inside the lower eyelid. You then close your eyes for 5 minutes. Afterward, the optometrist assesses the amount of moisture on the paper.
- Subjective tear break-up time (TBUT): This is a measurement of how long it takes the tear film to break up on the surface of the eye. TBUT can be measured subjectively by observing the tear film through a slit lamp microscope.
How We Treat Dry Eye
There are many ways to treat dry eye, from simple lifestyle changes to modern treatments like intense pulsed light (IPL).
Lifestyle Changes
Sometimes, lifestyle changes can offer symptom relief:
- Stay hydrated (aim for 8 to 10 glasses of water a day) and get adequate sleep (aim for 7 to 8 hours a night)
- Avoid smoky or windy areas and wear wraparound sunglasses if you’ll be in these environments
- Avoid air conditioning when practical, but consider adding a humidifier to your indoor space
- Limit your screen time and try the 20-20-20 rule
Drops, Sprays & Eye Masks
Eye drops, such as artificial tears, can help with dry eye. Some are available over-the-counter; others must be prescribed. Speak with your optometrist before trying a new medication, especially if you have other health conditions or take other medicines.
Warm compresses, eyelid massages, certain sprays, and eye masks can also help if your meibomian glands are causing your dry eye symptoms.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
IPL treatment uses pulses of light to reduce inflammation, increase tear break-up time, and help the meibomian glands function properly.
Meibomian Gland Expression
This involves using gentle pressure to unblock clogged oil in your meibomian glands. It can help improve tear production and tear quality.
Punctal Plugs
We can insert small devices called punctal plugs into the tear ducts to prevent tears from draining too quickly from the eye.
Eyelid Cleansing
Using BlephEx, we can cleanse the eyelid of biofilm and plaque that has accumulated there. This can help unblock the meibomian glands.
Importance of Dry Eye Treatment
You may think of dry eye as no more than an inconvenience, but it’s actually an important issue to address. Left untreated, it can lead to complications such as corneal scarring, corneal ulcers, and other issues. Dry eye and blurry vision may also be symptoms of another underlying health condition.
We want our patients to feel confident in our care. With 6 locations across North Dakota, Professional Eyecare Centers offers dry eye treatments including intense pulsed light, punctal plugs, meibomian gland expression, and more. To book an appointment, contact us today.
