Dry Eye Symptoms and Solutions in San Ramon

Find the Comfort Your Eyes Deserve

You lead a busy life, and eye dryness can make everything you love to do less enjoyable. We’re here to help you find relief for dry eye symptoms, and we do this by tailoring your treatment to target the exact problem.

If you’re struggling with finding eye comfort, it might be time to book an appointment with our team today. Give your eyes the care they deserve and start seeing comfortably and confidently today.

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What Is Dry Eye?

Dry eyes can occur in 2 ways: lack of tears (evaporative dry eye) and lack of quality tears (aqueous tear deficiency). Both of these issues impact your tear film, a tear layer on the surface of your eyes responsible for keeping them comfortable.

There are 3 different layers to your tear film, and each layer has its unique role to play in your eye comfort. These layers include:

The Mucus Layer

The innermost layer of your tear film, the mucous layer, is responsible for spreading your tears evenly across the surface of your eye.

The Aqueous Layer

The aqueous layer is the watery middle layer of your tear film. Produced by your lacrimal glands, this layer is responsible for keeping your eyes hydrated and comfortable.

The Lipid Layer

The lipid layer is the outermost oily layer of your tear film. These oils are produced by meibomian glands in the margins of your eyelids and are responsible for “sealing in” the other layers of your tear film, preventing them from evaporating.

Causes, Symptoms, & Risk Factors

Causes

There are various causes for dry eye, including:

Aging
Poorly fitted contact lenses
Medications
Allergies
Meibomian gland dysfunction
Medical conditions like Sjögren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus
Side effects from laser eye surgery (a common and usually temporary part of the healing process)

Symptoms

With dry eyes, you could experience:

Light sensitivity
Burning, stinging, or even gritty eyes
Difficulty wearing contact lenses
Redness
Watery eyes
Blurry vision

Risk Factors

While dry eyes are a common occurrence for many, different risk factors can contribute to your symptoms, including:

Sex: Hormonal changes during pregnancy or menopause can contribute to dry eye symptoms.
Environmental factors: Regular exposure to wind, smoke, and dry air can also contribute to dry eyes.
Eye strain: Spending too much time focusing can reduce how much you blink, preventing your eyes from getting the tears they need.

Relief Strategies

Our team at Optometric Center & Eyewear Galleria is committed to tailoring your treatments exactly to what your eyes need. When you come in for a dry eye appointment, we use a range of tests to determine the source of your symptoms and customize your treatment based on our findings.

We’re proud to use a variety of different treatments, but some of the most common ones include:

Expression & Debridement

Meibomian gland dysfunction is a common issue that blocks the steady production of oils to your tear film, leading to evaporative dry eye symptoms.

We manage this issue by gently expressing the glands around your eyelid margins using a BlephEx micro-sponge to clean away the blockages. Cleaning your glands can help maintain a steady flow of lipids to your tear film.

Some patients may have to do this treatment periodically to maintain their eye comfort. If this is the case with you, we’d be more than happy to schedule follow-up appointments.

Punctal Plugs

Punctal plugs are used to manage how your tears drain. These “plugs” are small inserts that are planted in your puncta, the drainage opening for your tear duct. These will help keep your tears on your eye’s surface longer.

Specialty & Prescription Eye Drops

We offer a complete range of specialty and prescription eye drops and artificial tears to help manage your tear film quality.

We also make sure our artificial tears are preservative-free, preventing further irritation from dry eye syndrome.

OptiLight by Lumenis

OptiLight by Lumenis is a light-based, noninvasive treatment done in the area below the eyes to manage dry eye. The first and only IPL FDA-approved for dry eye management.

The treatment is safe, gentle, and is backed by more than 20 clinical studies.

Learn more about this approach on our OptiLight by Lumenis page.