Dry eyes seem simple, but they can significantly affect your lifestyle. The good news is your eye doctor can help you manage and treat dry eye in many ways. Optometrists have many options, from eye drops to high-tech solutions. You might be surprised to discover how successful dry eye treatments are today.

What Is Dry Eye?

A dry eye occurs when you don’t have enough tears to lubricate the eyes adequately. There are many possible reasons why someone’s eyes might not produce enough tears. The fact, though, is that insufficient tears can cause inflammation and damage to the eye’s surface. More than that, dry eye stings or burns, and it can be uncomfortable, even debilitating.

Ways to Treat Dry Eye

As mentioned, there are plenty of ways to treat dry eye nowadays. Eye doctors have many options available for you, some of which include:
 

• Steam Goggles

This treatment involves a set of goggles placed warmed through an electronic timing device and then placed on the eyes. They produce steam, bringing moisture to your eyes when the goggles soften the oils in the Meibomian glands. You can have it along with other dry eye treatments, but it does well in treating the condition on its own.
 

• Pulsed Heat and Massage

With pulsed heat and massage, applicators will be placed over the front and back of both eyelids. These applicators release heat and pressure, massaging the Meibomian glands to release the clogged oils. It’s not as comfortable as other treatments, so eye doctors apply numbing eye drops before every session.
 

Besides the pulsed heat, your eye doctor may massage your eyelids gently. This helps release the clogged oils and makes the treatment more effective. Pulsed heat and massage reportedly help minimize dry eye symptoms within six months to a year. More importantly, it only has slight side effects.
 

• Scleral Contact Lenses

Scleral contact lenses are one of the best ways to treat dry eye. These contact lenses are large and custom-fit. They don’t sit directly on the cornea, which is how it is in standard contact lenses. Those can irritate dry eyes that are already sore, while scleral contact lenses don’t because they don’t sit on the cornea.

These contact lenses are rigid gas permeable or RGP contact lenses. They don’t rest on the cornea but on the sclera, which is the white part of the eye. They’re comfortable to wear and provide eye moisture via saline solution applied when the contacts are inserted. Artificial tears solution or gel eye drop is also used for severely dry eyes.
 

• Eyelid Scrub

With eyelid scrub, your eye doctor uses a handheld device to spin a medical-grade sponge. They carefully spin it along the eyelid’s edge at high speeds. In doing so, the scrub should remove biofilm, toxins, and bacteria from your eyelids and the glands lining them. Like steam goggles, eyelid scrub can be used with other treatments or on its own.

There are many different ways eye doctors can treat your dry eye. Schedule an appointment soon if you want to know more about your options. Get a consultation for dry eye treatment at Patterson Eye Clinic by calling (804) 285-7638 or visiting our office in Richmond, Virginia.