What Is Dry Eye Disease?
Tears are more than a symbol of emotion – they are a crucial part of your ocular health. Your body needs tears to clean, lubricate, and protect your eyes. They even help sharpen your vision by smoothing out your ocular surface.
Dry eye disease occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough high-quality tears to hydrate your eyes. As a result, your eyes become dry and irritated.
While it may seem like an irritating-yet-minor problem, the long-term effects of dry eye can be severe. Without treatment, dry eye can lead to corneal abrasions, corneal ulcers, infections, and even vision loss.
Milton Eye and Vision Care can diagnose and treat your dry eye disease, restoring comfort and clarity to your eyes.
Symptoms
Symptoms of dry eye disease may include:
- Redness
- Irritation
- Burning
- Foreign body sensation
- Grittiness
- Sensitivity to light
- Glare or halos around lights
- Difficulty driving at night
- Periods of excessive tears
- Stringy discharge
- Difficulty wearing contacts
Some patients mistake their dry eye symptoms for allergies. Many dry eye symptoms do overlap with the symptoms of an allergic reaction; however, there is usually one key difference. Allergies tend to make the eyes feel itchy, while dry eye disease usually causes a burning or stinging sensation.
Your symptoms may vary somewhat depending on the type of dry eye disease you have.
Major Types of Dry Eye Disease
Evaporative Dry Eye
This type of dry eye disease is the most common. The tear film that coats your eyes has 3 layers:
- A mucin layer to help tears stick to the ocular surface
- An aqueous layer that is mostly water
- A lipid layer that prevents evaporation
When your eyes don’t produce enough oil for a healthy lipid layer, your tear film evaporates too quickly from the surface of the eye, leaving the ocular surface dry and vulnerable.
Aqueous Deficient Dry Eye
Aqueous deficient dry eye is less common but no less important than evaporative dry eye.
This type of dry eye occurs when the eye doesn’t produce enough of the aqueous layer to fully clean and hydrate the ocular surface. The risk of developing aqueous deficient dry eye grows higher as you age.
Treatment Options
No two cases of dry eye are exactly alike, so there is no 1-size-fits-all dry eye treatment. Dr. Strohan will work with you to identify the cause of your dry eye symptoms. From there, he will develop a customized treatment plan that addresses the source of your symptoms – not just the symptoms themselves.
Your treatment plan may include:
- Prescription eye drops
- Artificial tears
- In-office treatments
- Punctal plugs
Rest assured that Milton Eye and Vision Care can tailor-make a treatment plan to address your unique needs.
Where to Find Us
Our Address
Milton Eye and Vision CareDr. Ronald Nicholas Strohan
106 Wakefield Road
Milton, ON L9T 2L8
Contact Information
- Phone: 905.878.5882
- Email: [email protected]
- Fax: 905.878.7158
Hours of Operation
Our Services
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Milton Eye and Vision Care – Dr. Ronald Strohan Optometrist carries a wide variety of high-quality frames and lenses for the whole family. We have something for everyone! Visit us today to browse our selection.
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Milton Eye & Vision Care
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Milton Eye and Vision Care
Dr. Ronald Nicholas Strohan
106 Wakefield Road - Milton, ON L9T 2L8
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P: 905.878.5882
[email protected]