Dry eye treatment options include eye drops or other treatments to keep the eyes healthy, more comfortable and prevent vision being the effect.
Dry eye treatment options
The primary treatment option used to treat dry eyes include adding tears, conserving tears, increasing to tear production, and treating the inflammation of the eyelids or eye surface that contributes to this condition.
Adding tears - Mild dry eye cases can easily manage using over the counter artificial tear solutions. These can be useful as often as required to supplement natural tear production. Artificial tear solutions without preservatives are recommending, because preservative could further irritate the eyes. However, some people may have persistent dry eyes that are not responding to artificial tears alone, need additional steps to take to treat it.
Conserving tears - An additional approach to reducing the symptoms of dry eyes is to keep natural tears in the eyes longer. This can be by blocking the tear ducts through which the tears normally drain. The tear ducts can block with tiny silicone or gel like plugs (that can be removed, if needed). A surgically closing the tear ducts permanently can also be performed. In both approaches, the goal is to keep the available tears in the eye longer to limit dry eye problems.
Increasing to tear production - the optometrist can recommend prescription eye drop that helps to increase production of tears, as well as omega-3 fatty acid nutritional supplements. RESTASIS (cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion, 0.05%) - to increase tear production in patients whose tear production is presumed to be suppressed due to ocular inflammation associated with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (chronic dry eye).
Treatment of the contributing eyelid or ocular surface inflammation - Prescription eye drops or ointments, warm compresses and lid massage, or eyelid cleaners may recommend helping decrease inflammation around the surface of the eyes.
Alternative treatment dry eye - Dry eye is the cause of tear gland defects, so to cure it; we need to correct the tear gland and its secretions. There is some eye exercises to correct this dry eye problem; they are: