Dry eye is increasingly common. It is a problem that affects patients of all ages, both men and women, and is more common with aging. Women are disproportionately affected due to hormonal changes. It also is more common in those with autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjögren’s Syndrome, Thyroid Disease and Lupus.
At the Shiley Dry Eye Clinic, we understand its impact on patients’ quality of life and ability to work. We collaborate closely with SEI corneal specialists Drs. Natalie Afshari, Chris Heichel and Weldon Haw. Each patient’s dry eye condition is evaluated individually by carefully analyzing the effect of dry eye on subjective symptoms such as blurriness, changes in vision and discomfort, as well as the effect that the condition is having on the surface of the eye. In order to do this, tests are performed to evaluate the quality of tears, tear film osmolarity and tear functional analysis. Additionally, changes in the epithelial cell layer of the cornea and conjunctiva are analyzed. State-of the art technology also is used to evaluate the integrity of the meibomian glands in the eyelids, blink rate, extent of complete eye closure, and other parameters to help diagnose each patient’s specific type of dry eye. This permits identification of the root cause of the problem(s) and the best treatment for each particular case.
Artificial tears are the usual initial treatment of dry eye. Patients referred to the Dry Eye Clinic usually have had limited help from artificial tear treatments. We offer additional treatments such as immunomodulator eye drops, systemic medications, biologics, and in-office procedures that improve the quality of the tears by treating the meibomian glands directly. Dr. Maria Laura Gomez is our dry eye specialist and personally assesses every patient by customizing treatments according to each individual’s condition in a careful, caring and scientific way. The full resources of the Shiley Eye Institute are available to our patients.
The Dry Eye Clinic is conducting research to help improve the treatment of dry eye. Our research efforts focus on determining the relationship between tear film function and meibomian gland integrity with dry eye symptoms. We are also constantly evaluating the latest medications, as well as different lid therapies to improve the outcomes of dry eye treatments.
