Dry eyes are a frequent problem that affects up to 20 million Americans

Dry eyes along with allergies can cause significant discomfort, enough to cause numerous patient visits to the eye doctor.  Contact lens wearers and the elderly lead the pack with dry eyes with estimates of up to 50%-80% of contact lens wearers and 75% of the population over 65 suffering from this problem.  However, there are many other factors that can lead to dry eye problems such as autoimmune diseses such as thyroid disease and Sjogren's syndrome which is also associated with arthritis and a dry mouth.  Abnormalities of lipid metabolism which affects the meibomian glands that lie behind the lashes and contribute to the oily layer of the tears can lead to evaporative dry eye.

There are many ways to diagnose dry eye disease.  Beginning with a good patient history patients often complain of discomfort, itching, or even pain with symptoms often worsening in the evening.  Tasks such as working in dry, arrid conditions, reading or working on a computer can aggravate this problem.  Complaints of fluctuating vision with the need to blink often to clear the vision is another common symptom.  At North Shore Eye Care we have many objective tests that can help diagnose this condition including our new sophisticated tear lab that  measures tear osmolarity.

Dry eyes can be treated in many different ways depending on the cause of the dye eye condition ranging from antiinflammatory medicines, immune modulators, lubricants, antibiotics, and plugs placed in the openings of the lids known as the lid puncta which allow tear drainage, thus preventing further loss of tears.  Diets rich in flax seed oil and omega 3 fatty acids are also quite helpful.