Believe it or not, one of the most common visits and diagnoses we see here at Slade & Baker Vision is Dry Eyes.
At Slade & Baker Vision, we have our very own Dry Eye Clinic, where we offer just about every treatment option for Dry Eyes. In fact, we even have a dedicated dry eye counselor, Christina, and two optometrists who specialize in it.
These are some of the treatments (with some info on each) that our Dry Eye Clinic provides to our patients:
- Serum Tears – Read all about our Serum Tears treatment here (it is a customized treatment using your own blood plasma – nature’s way of healing!)
- Read our Blog about a Serum Tears patient who drove 5 Hours for her treatments!
- Pharmacologic treatments and drops: like Restatis, Xidra, and Artificial Tears
- Restasis reduces inflammation by helping the eye produce more tears. Restasis was the first drug proven to not only temporarily alleviate the symptoms of dry eye, but to effectively treat the cause.
- Xiidra is a prescription eye drop approved by the FDA to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease which was specifically designed to target a source of inflammation that can cause dry eye disease.
- Artificial Tears are non prescription and our doctors can guide you along the path of when, which and how to use them along with other dry eye treatments
- Punctal Occlusion/Punctal plugs: the doctor inserts a small plug into your puncta to slow the drainage of tears from your eyes; this relieves dry eye symptoms and efficiently uses the limited lubricating tears your eyes are producing
- The Lipiflow treatment
- For patients with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction, LipiFlow is the only FDA-cleared device for removing gland blockages and restoring gland function. Through advances in the application of Vectored Thermal Pulsation (VTPTM) technology, the LipiFlow treatment utilizes a patented algorithm of heat applied to the inner eyelids along with massage to remove the obstructions in a patient’s meibomian glands.
To read more about all of our treatments, please see our full list on our Dry Eye Services Page.
Do you have Dry Eye?
Dry Eyes usually present with one or more of the following symptoms:
- Stinging
- Itchiness
- Burning
- Irritation
- Dryness
- Grittiness
- Foreign Body Sensation (Basically the feeling that you have something in your eye)
Why do you have Dry Eye?
Our Dry Eye Clinic also offers extensive diagnostics of our patients’ tear film, tear production, quality, osmolality and more. Identifying these items is important as it tells our doctors the root cause of an individual patient’s dry eye since dry eye is caused by different things in different patients. Once we know the root cause, we know the best mode of treatment!
What are the Causes of Dry Eye?
Dry Eyes can be caused by any of the below:
- Use of contact lenses
- Aging
- Reading, using a computer, or watching TV
- Reduced blinking of the eyes (this can be caused by many things)
- Meibomian Gland Dysfunction
- Diseases such as diabetes, Sjogren’s, and Parkinson’s.
- Post-menopausal or other hormonal changes
- Prescription medications include some high blood pressure medications, antihistamines, diuretics, antidepressants, anti-anxiety pills, sleeping pills, and pain medications.
- Over-the-counter medications including some cold and allergy products, motion sickness remedies, and sleep aids.
- Hot dry or windy conditions (Excessive dry air)
- High altitude, air-conditioning, and smoke
- Some forms of eye surgery
- Recent research suggests that dry eye may be caused by inflammation due to an imbalance of “good” fats and “bad” fats
Our doctors have years of experience in diagnosing and treating dry eyes and are very dedicated to helping patients with dry eyes get the unique treatment they need to find relief and better vision!
Please call us today at 713-626-5544 or write us at info@visiontexas.com, if you have been diagnosed with dry eyes or are feeling any of the symptoms that we mentioned above.
