Do I Have Dry Eyes
You may not realize that your eyes are dry. The symptoms of dry eyes can vary. You may have a foreign body sensation in your eyes with a gritty, stinging, burning or scratchy sensation. In addition, you may have blurry vision especially with concentrated tasks such as reading, on your computer, watching television or driving for a long period of time. Usually the vision is better when you initially start these tasks but blurs after a period of time.
What is Dry Eyes?
Dry eyes is an often chronic condition where the eyes don’t produce either enough tears or good quality of tears to keep the surface of the eye healthy and comfortable. Dry eyes can become more common as you age. It is also often influenced by the amount of screen time. Often oral medications you may be taking for other conditions can worsen dry eye.
Diagnosis
Dr. Cindy Wang and I can perform a comprehensive eye examination. Often dry eyes can be diagnosed after taking a history of your symptoms and looking at the eyelids and ocular surface with a slit lamp. It is important to look for other eye diseases that can also contribute to discomfort. We also provide tear osmolarity testing to aid in diagnosis.
Treatment
If you have not already tried over the counter products, we may initially ask you to use artificial tears during the day and somtimes ointment at bedtime. If you have already tried these products or your condition is more severe, we may start you on prescription products.
It is also important to treat any other eye conditions such as blepharitis and ocular allergies. Sometimes a plug into the tear duct (punctal plugs) can be useful in managing dry eyes. It is important to realize there is no cure for dry eyes, but our job is to make your eyes as comfortable as possible.
Alaina Kronenberg, M.D.
Cataract Specialist
Comprehensive Ophthalmologist
Dearborn, Michigan 48126