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.

The symptoms of Dry Eye may include:

• Dryness
• Burning, stinging or itching
• Gritty feeling
• Irritation from wind or smoke
• Blurred or smeary vision 

• Tired eyes
• Red eyes
• Excessive watering
• Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
• Contact lens discomfort

What are the causes of Dry Eye?

• Ageing
• Blepharitis
• Dry environment and pollution
• Computer use
• Contact lens wear
• LASIK surgery
• Preservatives 
• Hormonal changes, especially in women e.g. menopause
• Dry Eye may also be symptomatic of general health problems
• Certain types of medications 

How is Dry Eye treated?

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.

Advanced Thermal Therapy for Dry Eye Management

The use of heat is a well-established and important adjunct therapy in the management of meibomian gland dysfunction and ensuring expression of the meibum through eyelid massage is just as important. Both therapies in conjunction can be very effective to relieve MGD and Dry Eye symptoms. However, both take time and have to be carried out regularly, so patient compliance can be challenging. The Heated Eye Wand™ LED+ represents a significant advancement in at-home dry eye therapy. This device is designed to provide targeted and controlled heat, massage, and red LED therapy to address the underlying causes of evaporative dry eye and improve patient comfort.

• 2-3 minutes using the hot compress on the upper and lower lids on each eye (4 – 6 minutes total).
• 2-3 minutes using the hot compress with gentle massage on each eye.
• 5 minutes using one of the LED wavelengths per night. Peep Club recommends that the patient sticks with one wavelength every night for 2 weeks and then switch to another wavelength for another 2 weeks.