Dry Eye & Ocular Surface

It sounds contradictory, but it is very common. Most cases of dry eye are not caused by too little tears, but by their poor quality: tears evaporate too fast because the Meibomian glands, which produce their oily layer, are clogged. The irritated eye reacts by producing emergency tears that do not protect it well either. That is why you can tear up and still have dry eye at the same time.

Artificial tears relieve the symptom for a while, but they do not fix the cause. If your dry eye comes from Meibomian gland dysfunction, the most common cause, you need treatments that restore function to those glands, like thermal pulsation, gland expression, or IPL. Tears are a support, not the underlying solution. That is why we diagnose the exact cause first.

It diagnoses with objective measurements instead of guessing with different drops. We measure tear osmolarity and inflammation markers, and we image the Meibomian glands to see their real condition. With that data, we identify the exact cause of your dry eye and design a targeted treatment. It is a space dedicated to the ocular surface, with specific technology and protocols based on severity. Learn more about the Dry Eye Spa.

It is a treatment that applies pulsed light to the skin around the eyes to reduce inflammation and improve how the Meibomian glands function. It is especially effective when dry eye is linked to ocular rosacea. It is done in sessions, usually two, a few weeks apart, with maintenance cycles, and it is outpatient and painless. It is one of the most modern tools against evaporative dry eye.

They are tiny plugs placed in the punctum, the eye's tear drainage opening, to keep tears on the eye's surface longer instead of draining away quickly. They are especially useful for aqueous-deficient dry eye, when tear production is low. They can be temporary or permanent, and placing them is quick and painless. In select cases, a surgical alternative is also available.

It makes it much worse. In front of screens, we blink up to three times less, and blinking is what spreads your tears and expresses the Meibomian glands. Less blinking means more evaporation and more gland blockage. The 20-20-20 rule helps (every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds), along with blinking consciously and keeping good humidity around you. If the discomfort continues, it is worth getting evaluated.

Dry eye is usually a chronic condition, but that does not mean you have to live with the discomfort. With the right diagnosis and treatment, it is very manageable: most patients reach a point where it no longer dominates their day. It takes a maintenance plan and a few habits, just like other chronic conditions. The goal is not a "magic cure," but lasting comfort.

A lot. A healthy ocular surface is key to the success of these surgeries: untreated dry eye can affect the accuracy of pre-surgical measurements and make post-op discomfort worse. That is why optimizing your ocular surface before surgery improves both the outcome and your comfort afterward. At the Dry Eye Spa, we prepare your ocular surface before refractive surgery, cataract surgery, and other procedures.

Blepharitis is chronic inflammation of the eyelid margin, sometimes caused or worsened by the Demodex mite that lives at the base of the eyelashes. It inflames the Meibomian glands and changes the quality of your tears, which makes dry eye worse. It is treated with specialized eyelid hygiene and, when Demodex is present, with targeted treatments. Controlling blepharitis is an essential part of controlling dry eye.