#170: Get Your Dry Eye Ready for Back to School

Let's talk about fall. When I think about fall, I think about getting ready for back to school.  For me, as an eye doctor, I think about your back to school eye exam.  This time of year, all the moms bring their kiddos to the eye doctor, in August and September, and get them ready for the school year.  They update their glasses and make sure they have a good pair for school and maybe an extra pair for home.

In general, fall is a time to get back into structure from the easy days of summer. It's a good time to dust off your old routines or pick up some new ones. Get back into the swing of things and take care of what needs to get done.

I want to encourage you, even if you aren't going back to school,  to schedule an eye exam. It's a great time of the year to just get back on track, really get back into the schedule of taking care of your eyes. And, having an eye exam is a great way to get the ball rolling.

When you have dry eyes, it is so important to have because there are many things that your eye doctor can do in the office to help your eyes for the whole year.  Let's talk prescriptions and in office procedures you can have during your eye exam.

As you know, I like to talk about 4-simple steps to treat your dry eyes:

1. Hydrate with a Preservative-free Artificial tear - get the guide here
2. Harmonize with the lid and lash cleanser
3. Heat the lids with a warm compress, releasing the oils into the tear film
4. Heal the eyes using an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement containing Omega 3 Fatty Acids

In the Doctor's Office

There are also many things your eye doctor can do to treat your dry eyes that you can't do at home. Here, I review both prescription medications and in office procedures your doctor could utilize for each of the 4 steps of a normal treatment plan. 

STEP 1: HYDRATE

Using an artificial tear may give you temporary relief, but using a prescription medication will help you put more of your own natural tears in your eyes. There are several prescription medications which help add moisture to the eyes and treat the signs and/or symptoms of dry eyes. These prescription medications include:

Tyrvaya: a nasal spray that stimulates your trigeminal nerve to make tears and put more moisture into your eyes.

Restasis, Xiidra, and Cequa: prescription eye drops, which calm down the inflammation and help your eyes to create more moisture

There are also procedures used to block the tears from draining from the eye. These include:

Punctual plugs: These are small plus made from silicone or collagen which are placed inside the tear drain to block your tears from leaving the eye. There are two tear drains in each eye.  One in your upper eyelid and another in the lower eye lid. The doctor will often block one of the drains and leave the other one open so that you don't have tears running down your face.

Punctal Cautery: surgical closing off of the tear drain to keep more tears in the front surface of the eye.

STEP2: HARMONIZE

This step involves removing the bacteria from the eyelids and lashes. In the eye doctor's office, tools can be used to gently exfoliate your lid margins. This involves using a little scrubber to actually break down the biofilm sticking to your lid margins. The bacteria who normally live on your lids and lashes, use biofilm to make it easier for them to live on your lids and breed.

This biofilm is a little bit sticky, and it's hard to remove. But, your eye doctor can remove it easily with the right tools. And, the procedure can be very comfortable.  There are several devices your doctor may use including:

BlephEx: A spinning device that cleanses the lid margins with mechanical scrubbing

ZEST: a cleansing gel based from the Okra plant is applied to the eyelids and lashes before it is scrubbed away removing bacteria, dirt, and debris

Nu Lids: a spinning brush safe to be used by patients in their homes which can be prescribed by eye doctors for their patients to use

STEP 3: HEAT

Heating the eyelids is utilized to melt the oils trapped inside the lids.  When the oils are melted, they can be released from the glands and are able to spread across the front surface of the eyes to soothe the eyes.  

In the doctor's office there are several techniques that can be used to heat the lids to the melting point of the oils that are trapped inside the lids and then express those oils out. These treatments include:

TearCare: It involves placing these sticky pads to the eyelids. The pads heat up the lids. Then, the doctor would use a special tool to express those oils out.

Lipiflow: This device uses an applicator on the eye and sandwiches the lids in between the heating portion and the massaging portion.  It utilizes a gentle massaging motion to push the clogged oils out of the eyelids.

iLux: This is a hand-held device which the doctor utilizes to heat the lids and express the oils at the same time 

Those procedures can be performed in the doctor's office once a year. Once the clogged oils are completely removed your body can produce its own clear oils to coat the front surface of your eyes. If the oils become clogged again, the procedure can be repeated. 

STEP 4: HEAL

I recommend using a nutritional supplement, like HydroEye or  Physicians Recommended Nutraceuticals (PRN), to give your body the building blocks it needs to produce healthy tears. The brands sold in a doctor's office are usually of a medical grade and are superior to brands that you may find at the grocery store or pharmacy. 

CONCLUSION:

There are tons of reasons to go see your eye doctor. In office treatments and prescriptions can be used to speed up your dry eye treatment and healing.  There are many new in office treatments that can be done.  And, more treatments and medications are being added to the FDA approval list at a rapid rate. When you are there having your eye exam, don't forget to ask your eye doctor what they have to offer.

 This fall when you're bringing your kiddos for their back to school eye exams, go ahead and schedule an exam for yourself as well. Talk to your eye doctor about your dry eyes. And, find out what options they have for you to get them treated right there in the office. You'll be surprised to see how great your eyes feel when you leave. Before you get to the office, download the guide to artificial tears and find your favorite drop.