Archive for the ‘Dry Eye Syndrome’ Category
“If I’ve got dry eyes, why am I tearing all the time?” These 5 things can help!
01.14.2012
Welcome to winter - that is, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere.
If you’ve got dry eyes, it’s likely that your symptoms are worse during winter. Here’s why…
The cold air of winter can’t hold much water vapor. That’s why you see the water vapor coming out through your mouth – the air is literally saturated.
So a 30% humidity level when the air is cold contains a lot less dissolved water than the same humidity percentage when the weather is balmy.
And guess what happens when that cold air finally enters your house or office?
Unless you’ve got a humidifier running, the air is now warm and dry. And like a desert climate, your tears that are bathing the eye’s surface evaporate rapidly.
With Dry Eye Syndrome, your tear glands can’t keep up with the rapid evaporation. This is especially common in women over the age of 30.
The clear cornea on the eye’s surface, as a result, develops uncomfortable dry spots. The white conjunctiva may become red. Light sensitivity (photophobia) is common. So is a sense of hazy or unclear vision, especially when reading or working on a computer, when you blink much less frequently.
The eye, now irritated, sends a message for help to the brain. The brain obliges with intermittent floods of very watery tears.
Unfortunately, these are not the tears that really help the symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome. Rather, they’re a clumsy built-in rescue system that briefly douses each new fire.
The most effective and highest quality tears are the ones that “seep” 24 x 7, trickling high quality nutrients and moisture throughout the day, sort of like one of those soaker garden hoses with the thousand pinprick holes that you lay down in your tomato garden.
It is this shortage of “basal tearing” that is the most common culprit in Dry Eye Syndrome.
Here are my 5 helpful tricks to make you more comfortable if you’re experiencing dry eye symptoms during winter:
- Humidify your bedroom. Ultrasonic humidifiers are the quietest and cheapest, but in my own bedroom, I much prefer the moist humidified air that a warm mist humidifier produces. The latter sounds like eggs quietly frying in the kitchen, but over time, I’ve grown to like the sound.
- Use artificial tears not when the eyes hurt, but rather BEFORE your eyes hurt. For my patients, I generally recommend 2-4 times per day, depending on how severe their dry eye symptoms.
- Discuss Restasis prescription eyedrops with your eye doctor. In our practice, about 50% of patients notice an improvement.
- Discuss punctal plugs with your eye doctor. This is a non surgical procedure that works to hold your limited tears on the eye before you blink them away and they disappear down the tear canal into your nose.
- Consider using my patented Dry Eye Relief Tear Stabilization Formula. After two months use, double blind studies indicate about 70% of people notice a marked improvement in their symptoms.*
–
Paul Krawitz, M.D., President
Vitamin Science, Inc.
New guidelines for diagnosing and treating dry eye symptoms
09.27.2011A new report which took more than two years to complete was published in a special issue of the Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science outlining the recommended methods of diagnosis and treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction.
Meibomian gland dysfunction is one of the leading causes of Dry Eye Syndrome and occurs when the meibomian glands fail to secrete the proper quantity and quality of oil into the tear film. Sometimes, the oil may be thicker than normal which blocks the narrow ducts that open at the eyelid margin.
Prior to this report, there was no definitive definition for meibomian gland dysfunction. The new recommendations offer methods of managing both meibomian gland dysfuntion.
Methods of treating meibomian gland dysfunction revolve around unplugging the glands. Artificial tears and punctal occlusion may provide temporary relief. Nutritional supplements may also reduce symptoms. Visivite’s Dry Eye Relief is one of those supplements. It addresses meibomian gland dysfuction by including phytosterols in its formula and it is the only dry eye supplement to include phytosterols.*
Elise Ervin
Staff Writer
Free Eye Health Book this month to first 100 people that sign up
08.05.2011
We’re giving away my eBook, Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Eye Health this month only to the first 100 subscribers. To sign up for this free offer, go to http://www.visivite.com/get-free-ebook.html. It’s packed with insider’s information, advice and recommendations about Lasik, Contact Lenses, Dry Eye, Cataract Surgery, Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, and more.
Paul Krawitz, M.D., President
Vitamin Science, Inc.
Eeew! What’s that thing in your eye???
07.13.2011I just got back from a nice, relaxing, 7 day, adult only vacation on the beautiful coast of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. We stayed at an all inclusive resort that had a pool with a swim up bar, that gave you a nice break from the heat of the sun in the middle of the afternoon. While sitting there, we became friends with one of the bartenders whose name was Diaz. Diaz was very impressed that we were from New York, explaining to us that it is his dream to one day come to America, specifically New York, on a vacation. I told him that one day he would hopefully be able to fulfill that dream and he shook his head and said, “I doubt it.” Diaz explained that in his country, only the extremely wealthy are permitted to get a Visa that would enable them to leave the country. He asked me if I had a big glamorous job in the city, and when I told him I actually worked for an eye doctor, he asked me to take a look at his eye. He said he had this thing growing on his eye.
What Diaz had, was actually called a Pinguecula (pronounced pin-GWEK-yoo-la). A Pinguecula is a yellowish bump or patch on the conjunctiva, the thin membrane that covers the clear part of your eye. This bump is a change in the normal tissue that results from a deposit of protein, fat and/or calcium, often occurring on the side of 
the eye closest to the nose. These growths are believed to be caused by dry eye and environmental elements such as wind and sun exposure, making people who live on the islands more prone to them.
Symptoms can include redness and inflamation, irritation, dryness, itchy, sandy feeling and having the feeling like you have something in your eye every single time you blink. Re-wetting drops or artificial tears can often help alleviate these symptoms, although there is no “cure”. It is not contagious or an infection, so antibiotics will not work either. If the symptoms become very severe or start to effect your vision, it can be surgically removed. Although, Pingueculas often can come back, so you would have to be very careful not to expose yourself to the risk factors.
I told Diaz he was going to be just fine and to get a really good pair of UV protective sunglasses.
And on a side note, the gift shop in the hotel sold 3 different types of rewetting drops. Do you think they read my recent blog entry and stocked up in case people got sunscreen in their eyes??
Mary Sweetman C.O.A.
Certified Ophthalmic Assistant
Don’t laugh, it can be done – How to put in eyedrops with your eyes closed!
06.30.2011Working for an Ophthalmologist who is a glaucoma specialist, I have a large amount of patients who are on daily drops for their Glaucoma. I know that I have a hard time putting drops in my own eyes, I can’t imagine how difficult it can be for an elderly person who has an unsteady hand or lives alone manages it on a daily basis, often more than once a day in both eyes. To make matters worse, the bottles are small and the drops are measured out precisely with the correct amount of drops for the month, leaving little left over in case you miss your eye.
If I ever found myself unemployed, I could open my own business being the “Long Island Drop Girl”, going from home to home, putting drops in for patients that struggled with this daily task.
Patients always ask me, “What is the proper way to put my drops in my eyes?”
The best way to instill eye drops is to tip your head back, pull down your lower lid making a “cup” for the drop to fall into and look up and back. If you do this correctly, the drop should fall right into the little “cup”, but some people are not able to do this.
If this method does not work for you, I recommend trying the eye closed technique. Lay down or tip your head back and close your eyes. Bring the dropper close to your eye near the inner corner, by your nose. Place a drop on the inner corner, open your eye, so the drop goes in. Always make sure that they dropper does not touch the lids or lashes. This could cause contamination, especially in instances where you are on drops for a contagious eye infection. If the dropper should touch your lid or lashes, simply clean the applicator tip with alcohol.
Remember, all you need is a little opening for the drop to go in, and whatever method works for you, it is important to make sure you take your drops as prescribed by your Ophthalmologist.
Mary Sweetman
Certified Ophthalmic Assistant
