We offer the latest, most effective dry eye treatments, ILux, Blephex and Regenereyes biogic drops at Desert Eye Clinic. As your optometrists in St. George, we are experts in examining your eyes for dry eye syndrome and treating them in the best way possible. Our treatments for dry eye range from prescription eye drops & punctual plugs to heat therapy to extract blocked meibomian glands. During your next eye exam with one of our doctors, we can examine your eyes to determine the best dry eye treatment for them. Dry eyes or dry eye syndrome (DES) is an ongoing condition that treatments may be unable to cure. But the symptoms of dry eye—including dryness, scratchiness and burning—can usually be successfully managed. Artificial tears, which are lubricating eyedrops may alleviate the dry, scratching feeling and foreign body sensation of dry eye. We are lucky to now have prescription eyedrops. Some work on each layer of the tear film, some work on increasing production and some work on improving the quality of the tears.

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Check with your doctor before buying any over-the-counter eye drops. Many over the counter eye drops have harsh preservatives or chemicals that can be toxic to the cornea. To reduce the effects of sun, wind and dust on dry eyes, wear sunglasses when outdoors. Wraparound styles offer the best protection. Indoors, an air cleaner can filter out dust and other particles from the air, while a humidifier adds moisture to air that’s too dry because of air conditioning or heating.

Dry Eye Syndrome can range from a mild irritant to chronic problem. The symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome may include

  • Dry, irritated, or red eyes
  • Excessive tearing/watery eyes
  • Inflammation
  • Sore or sensitive eyes
  • Itchiness
  • Burning or inflammation
  • A gritty or pasty feeling in the eyelids
  • Crusty or gunky eyes
  • Blurriness

St. George Dry Eye Treatment For Severe Cases

For more significant cases of dry eye, our St. George eye doctors may recommend punctual plugs. These tiny devices are inserted in ducts in your lids to slow the drainage of tears away from your eyes, thereby keeping your eyes more moist. Many times our doctors recommend omega 3 Fatty Acids which has been proven to help with Dry Eye Syndrome.

If medications are the cause of dry eyes, discontinuing the drug generally resolves the problem. But in this case, the benefits of the drug must be weighed against the side effect of dry eyes. Sometimes switching to a different type of medication alleviates the dry eye symptoms while keeping the needed treatment. In any case, never switch or discontinue your medications without consulting with your doctor first.

Treating any underlying eyelid disease, such as blepharitis, helps as well. This may call for antibiotic or steroid drops, plus frequent eyelid scrubs with an antibacterial shampoo. If you are considering LASIK, be aware that dry eyes may disqualify you for the surgery, at least until your dry eye condition is successfully treated. Dry eyes increase your risk for poor healing after LASIK, so most surgeons will want to treat the dry eyes first, to ensure a good LASIK outcome. This goes for other types of vision correction surgery, as well. To read more about the symptoms and causes of dry eyes, visit Dry Eye Articles.