Dry Eye Treatments
What Are Dry Eyes?
Eye dryness is one of the most common conditions that affect your eyes. In fact, it often results from a lack of tear production, poor tear quality, evaporation, and inflammation all working together. It may also be a result of underlying systemic conditions.
What Are the Symptoms of Dry Eyes?
Symptoms of dry eyes usually affect both of your eyes. These symptoms can include:
- Eye redness
- Blurred vision or eye fatigue
- Difficulty with nighttime driving
- A burning or scratchy sensation in your eyes
What Are the Risk Factors?
There are many risk factors for dry eyes. The most common ones include:
- Being a woman
- Being older than 50
- Being low in vitamin A
- Wearing contact lenses
How Can I Prevent Dry Eyes?
Many situations can cause dry eyes, or make your dryness worse. Here are a few things you can do to keep these from happening.
Rest your eyes.
Take breaks, and remember to blink a lot if you’re doing something that requires a lot of focus.
Know your environment.
If you’re in a dry environment, such as a desert area or at a high altitude, occasionally close your eyes for a minute to keep your tears from drying.
Keep air from blowing in your eyes.
Whether it’s from high wind, a fan, or an air conditioner, try to keep air from blowing in your eyes and drying them out.
At Ennen Eye Care, we provide the most thorough care in the Fort Smith area to ensure your safety and clearest sight.
What Treatment Is Available?
Treatment often begins with a combination of artificial tears/gels/ointments, eyelid compresses, and massage. Another treatment can involve anti-inflammatory medications. However, these measures often aren’t enough. Here’s a quick look at two safe, effective treatment options when first-line defenses don’t work as well.
LipiFlow
Ennen Eye Center is one of the few institutions in Arkansas that has invested in LipiFlow treatment. This thermal pulsation device lets your eye doctor unblock the eyelid glands that cause your dryness. This 12-minute procedure is another tool to assist in the care of dry eye patients who haven’t responded to standard therapy.
Punctal Plugs
Each eyelid has a connection to the tear drainage system called a punctum. Your doctor can block these puncta with an artificial plug to help provide increased tears, which prevents symptoms of dryness.
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Procedures
Why Choose Us?
At Ennen Eye Care, we provide the most thorough care in the Fort Smith area to ensure your safety and clearest sight. Along with our decades of experience, we also rely on the latest technology to make your visit with us the best that eye care has to offer!
Contact us today to discuss our treatment options, insurance coverage, and affordable payment plans!