Are you happy with your understanding of ‘dry eye’? What is it REALLY?

Are you happy with your understanding of ‘dry eye’? What is it REALLY?

If your doctor has just uttered the words ‘you have dry eyes’ it is fair to assume that you haven’t actually been diagnosed. Alas, a correct and thorough diagnosis is a rarity, even though this is the key to successful treatment of any ocular surface disease. The term ‘dry eye’ isn’t a diagnosis at all, it is merely an all- encompassing phrase or term for a variety of ocular surface conditions. These conditions may have many underlying causes. Correctly identifying the conditions and treating them appropriately and in the right order, will offer you the best chance of successful treatment.

As is the growing trend these days, it is advisable to educate yourself via the net before getting professional assistance with your condition. Excuse the analogy but mainstream medicine is blinkered and the ‘professionals’ are a little robotic in their assistance. Once you are confident in your self analysis regarding your conditions, the next step will be to try to find a qualified, open-minded and motivated eye-care professional. Good luck! Ultimately, you will need professional opinion to translate your conditions into finding the underlying causes.

Having spent the time and money at the eye doctors, if you leave with a script for Restasis or Loteman or a sample of Refresh Plus or Systane or with the advice to use a night gel or ointment, there is a good chance you have been misdiagnosed. These products are OK for a temporary dryness fix but they are not treating the cause. It’s like giving a band aid to someone who has just had their arm cut off!

The term Dry Eye or Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) is most commonly used meaning a failure of the lacrimal glands to produce enough moisture. Auto-immune diseases such as Sjögrens Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis or Lupus have an association with this use of the term, as do certain frequently prescribed medications. But as a cause of dry eye symptoms, the failure of the lacrimal glands to produce enough moisture is actually that frequent. In fact it is estimated that 70% or more of ‘dry eye’ cases are actually people with poor tear quality, not quantity. In most cases those with ‘dry eye’ often have other related conditions such as:

Blepharitis. This is an ocular disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the eyelid margins. Blepharitis may cause redness of the eyes or itching with a gritty sensation.

Meibomian gland dysfunction - which can cause Blepharitis.

Nocturnal lagophthalmos – which is the inability to close the eyelids during sleep.

Recurrent corneal erosions (RCEs)

ABMD - Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy

EBMD - Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy

MDFD - Map-Dot-Fingerprint Dystrophy

Ocular rosacea - is a manifestation of rosacea that affects the eyes and eyelids. Symptoms generally consist of redness, irritation or burning of the eyes

Ocular allergies

I would certainly recommend looking into the above conditions to see if any of these could apply to you and then armed with your knowledge; raise your opinions with your eye doctor.

Soothing and lubricating Can-C eye drops give your eye the best possible environment to fight ocular disorders. The super anti-oxidant - n-acetyl-carnosine, clears the way for the eye to begin its self-healing process.