Do dry eyes go away?
People get dry eyes because of genetic and environmental factors. You often cannot influence the genetic factors, but you can modulate their effects. The environmental factors you can fix. So do dry eyes go away? No, but they can be improved, and your eyes made to feel comfortable.
Most of the time when we hear about dry eyes, we think of it in isolation. However, It is associated with blepharitis and meibomian gland dysfunction. These conditions affect a significant proportion of the population.
There is a lot you can do to treat blepharitis and meibomian gland dysfunction. At Clinica London, we can help you with this through the Tears Clinic, which is run by Jane Olver and the nurses. We use the Tear Lab osmolarity test as a guide. We use this together with slit-lamp examination and fluorescein dye testing. We look at the tear meniscus, the tear break-up time and any residual staining with fluorescein on the cornea or conjunctiva. We inspect the whole of the lid margin, the lash roots, the flat bit of the lid margin. We inspect where the meibomian glands usually open, and then actually at the meibomian glands themselves. Pressing on the meibomian glands can tell us whether the oil produced is healthy.
Furthermore, we can offer treatments that can be done at home. Treatments like heating, massage, clean the eyelids. Other treatments include different lubricant drops, most often based on Hyaluronate. In the clinic, we offer BlephEx, which is a lid margin curettage to rid the biofilm and MiBoFlo or MiBo Thermoflo, which is a technique for heating the eyelids and massaging them. These can be done as an adjunctive treatment to home care.
Environmental factors have to be considered with dry eyes. Factors like the humidity at work, air conditioning, lighting, screen use.
Hormonal factors play a role as well. Women who are peri and post-menopausal are likely to have drier eyes. In fact, all people over the age of 60 have a strong degree of dry eyes. Fortunately, in many of them their tear ducts, which drain the tears, are often becoming a little narrower. They may maintain a decent amount of tears and not be symptomatic.
Do you have any doubt about whether you have dry eyes? Do you want to know what can be done about it? Please do contact or see us at Clinica London for an assessment in the Tears Clinic.
Telephone: 020 7935 7990
International Callers : +44 20 7935 7990