Dry Eye is a condition that occurs when your eyes are unable to produce enough tears to lubricate the eyes, which leaves them healthy and comfortable. Without this natural production of tears, your eyes are left irritated and without the tears they need to naturally function and stay healthy.
When you receive LASIK surgery, your eyes do become more vulnerable to Dry Eye Syndrome. Today, we will be discussing how LASIK can cause dry eye, and how to treat it if you happen to get the condition post-LASIK.
Post-LASIK Dry Eye
While your eye is healing from LASIK surgery, your eye may not produce as many tears as it normally does, resulting in temporary Dry Eye Syndrome. This is due to the tissue in your eye being cut during surgery, which can temporarily lead to a reduced sensation of the surface of your eye. This reduced sensation can cause a lack of tear production. If you have been diagnosed with Dry Eye prior to surgery, it is more likely that you will experience these dry eye symptoms after surgery as well.
How is Dry Eye treated?
While there are multiple ways to treat dry eye, there are two that are most common. The first method to treating dry eye is adding tears back into your eyes. This is accomplished with eye drops. Eye drops, also called artificial tears, are similar to your own tears. They lubricate the eyes and help maintain moisture.
The second method to treating dry eye is conserving your own tears. Conserving your eyes’ own tears is another approach to keeping the eyes moist. Tears drain out of the eye through a small channel into the nose. Your ophthalmologist may close these channels either temporarily or permanently. The closure conserves your own tears and makes them last longer.
The tiny devices your ophthalmologist will use to close these channels are called punctual plugs. They are typically inserted in the puncta of the upper or lower eyelids, which are the tiny openings that drain tears from your eyes.
Illinois Eye Center also provides two different procedures to treat your Dry Eye Syndrome. Learn more about these procedures here.
How to Properly Apply Eye Drops
In the case that your eye doctor suggests that you use eye drops to treat your dry eye condition, you’ll want to learn how to properly apply them. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to properly apply eye drops:
- Tilt your head back slightly and look up towards the ceiling
- Place your index finger under your eye, below your lower lid and gently pull down
- Squeeze one drop into the pocket in your lower lid
- Close your eye and keep closed for at least a minute without blinking for the drop to completely penetrate the surface of the eye
AAO provides a thorough step-by-step guide on how to easily put in eye drops if you are struggling to successfully to do so.
To learn more about dry eye treatment or get help for your itchy, sore eyes, call (309) 243-2400 and make an appointment at Illinois Eye Center today. Relief may be just around the corner.