What is Dry Eye?
Dry Eye means that your eyes may not be making enough tears, that the tears which are being produced are of poor quality or that the tears that are produced evaporate away. The normal function of tears is to keep the surface of the eye wet and lubricated so any shortage of tears or reduction in their quality can produce a gritty, burning sensation of the eyes and can also disturb vision.
Dry Eye Clinic
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Here at G R Hardwick, we now run a dry eye clinic to help improve the symptoms and in some cases treat the causes of Dry Eye. We ask that prior to the initial assessment you complete a questionnaire that will help us determine the cause and severity of your symptoms. We then spend 45 minutes discussing the results and assessing the type of dry eye before giving advice on the appropriate product(s).
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We will complete a follow-up appointment around a month later to see how well we are managing your condition and change the regimen where necessary, there are a number of different products available since not everyone responds the same way to the same lubricant. You will then be monitored at roughly 6 monthly intervals to ensure the on-going suitability of the treatments we are providing. Where necessary we will also advise on lid hygiene, for the treatment of blepharitis, such as lid-wipes, Eye-Bags and Blephex. The costs are as follows:
The symptoms of Dry Eye may include:
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What are the causes of Dry Eye?
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How is Dry Eye treated?
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In some cases patient's symptoms can be relieved simply by altering the external influences above. Environmental factors can be helped by making simple changes – for example avoidance of dehydrating environments such as air conditioning; if your job involves lots of computer work take regular breaks to rest your eyes. Protecting the eye from dehydrating influences such as a cold wind by wearing spectacles or sunglasses may also help.
Tears must be distributed efficiently, replaced or conserved in order to provide relief. As Dry Eye syndrome is caused by an imbalance of tears on the eye's surface the most logical way to treat the problem is to artificially replace the tears and by so doing improve both quantity and quality. Surprisingly, having a watery eye can actually be caused by a lack of tears. This results in dry patches which the eye tries to correct by a flood of watery tears. Sometimes too much tear flow just needs better lubrication; think of a car engine with water in it, it will be wet but will not be well lubricated. There are a variety of artificial tears available and you will be advised the best option for your particular problem and how to use your treatment. In severe cases of Dry Eye punctum plugging is available, where tiny little plugs are put into the tear ducts to prevent the tears draining away. |
BlephEx ... The First and Only Clinician Treatment for Blepharitis
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BlephEx treatments at the practice take 30 minutes, cost £69.00 and include a free bottle of Ocusoft Plus (worth £11.95) following treatment.
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BlephEx is a painless in-practice procedure performed by our Optometrists. A revolutionary new patented BlephEx hand piece used very precisely and carefully, spins a medical grade micro-sponge along the edge of your eyelids and lashes, removing scurf and debris and exfoliating your eyelids. The patented micro-sponge is disposable and a clean one is used for each individual eyelid so bacteria are not spread between the lids. The eyes are rinsed well afterwards.
The procedure lasts about 6 - 8 minutes and is well tolerated. Most patients simply report a tickling sensation. A numbing drop is usually placed in each eye prior to treatment for increased comfort. After the procedure, the patient is instructed on how to maintain their clean eyelids with regular nightly lid hygiene. Since home treatments are only semi-effective, the procedure is typically repeated at 4-6 month intervals |
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