More Dry Eyes in the House/NY Times Article

Dry-eye syndrome is growing, and doctors blame smartphones, office buildings.

Click on the link below to the interesting article from the New York Times.

Why Are We Having So Many With Dry Eye?

Dry Eye Disease Awareness Month

Learn more about Dry Eye

Skyvision Center is an accredited Tear Lab Dry Eye Center

   

In Partnership with the 

Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation 

  

TearLab®  is proud

to bring awareness to this often

undiagnosed disease.

Please visit 

www.tearlab.com

and

www.sjogrens.org

for more information.

For every LIKE in the month of July on allaboutdryeye's Facebook page, and Sjogren's Facebook Page, TearLab Corporation will donate $1 to the Sjogrens Syndrome Foundation.  Please participate and do your part to help raise awareness for this disease.

Know the Dry Eye Facts

You’ve been staring at your computer and sifting through paperwork for hours. Your eyes begin to feel gritty, sore and tired. You could be among the 30 million Americans that suffer from dry eye disease, and not even know it. Since dry eye symptoms can mimic many other syndromes, sufferers frequently go undiagnosed and often don’t realize what they are afflicted with. Additionally, many people confuse dry eye symptoms with seasonal allergies or the common cold. It is imperative to know the facts; and we have made it easy for you with our dry eye fact sheet.

So, why is being aware of dry eye disease important, you ask? Well, if dry eye is left untreated or undetected, it can be much more than just a bothersome and uncomfortable condition. Untreated, excessive dry eye disease can damage the eye’s delicate tissues and disrupt the cornea, which can ultimately lead to vision impairment or even loss. Permanent scarring on the ocular surface and frequent eye infections can also be a result of undetected dry eye disease. Do not take eye hydration for granted!

In every practice, there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of patients who suffer from some form of ocular dryness. In fact, dry eye disease is the number one reason for eye doctor visits. And while we can’t change the fact that we have dry eye disease, we can limit the environmental factors that aggravate symptoms. Being aware of potential dry eye triggers and becoming familiar with recognizing the symptoms can be exceedingly beneficial.

With so much to know, and so little time to read literature on the topic, how can one be more knowledgeable regarding the proper protocol to detect, ease and avoid dry eye symptoms? Further, who are the unlucky individuals more likely to be plagued with dry eye disease? Know the answers to these questions and the most common do’s and do not’s of dry eye disease to lessen your risk before the problem progresses. Proactively reduce your chances of developing or worsening dry eye symptoms by printing or sharing this child-friendly, educational dry eye fact sheet! Know the basics, your eyes will thank you!

Always see an Accredited Dry Eye doctor for a regular eye examination, or if you think you may have dry eye disease.

September 6, 2012 by All About Dry Eye 

Eye Health Tips for High School and College Students

Students face special challenges to the eyes when they are under academic performance pressure. 

Lack of sleep, prolonged computer use and long hours studying make for tired eyes that are dry, 
scratchy and achy. 


Prolonged computer use contributes to eye fatigue because you blink less frequently. Less
blinking significantly reduces lubrication in the eye making it feel tired, scratchy and “dry” as a
result. Also eyes are not designed for prolonged focus on a single object, such as the computer.
Remedy: place a note on the computer screen as a reminder to blink and to look away from the
screen and focus on objects in the distance. Looking out a window (20 – 20 – 20 rule: for every
20 minutes of computer work, look away for 20 seconds, and focus on a scene or object at least
20 feet away) is a good break for the eyes. The key is to give your eyes a rest.

“Dry eye” is a common feeling from not giving your eyes enough rest while some people just
naturally do not produce enough tears to keep their eyes healthy and comfortable. Some common
symptoms of dry eye are stinging and burning to the eyes, scratchiness, excessive eye irritation
from smoke or wind and excessive tearing. Remedy: If you have occasional symptoms of dry
eye, you should try eye drops called artificial tears. These are similar to your own tears and help
lubricate the eyes and maintain moisture. For persistent “dry eye,” see your SkyVision doctor.

Contact Lenses and Sleep Deprivation 

When a contact-lens wearer stays awake studying for 18-20 hours or more with their contacts in,
it’s almost the equivalent of sleeping with contacts in, something that Eye M.D.s warn against.
Prolonged wearing of your contact lenses is a problem for people who wear regular hydrogen
lenses, since traditional hydrogels are relatively less permeable to oxygen than newer alternatives
like silicone hydrogels. The eye needs oxygen to keep it healthy. Without regular exposure to
oxygen, the eye’s cornea can become inflamed and the vision blurry. Prolonged contact lens use
can even lead to infections or corneal ulcers that in the worst case can permanently damage
vision.

Sometimes students fall asleep without knowing it (with their contacts in), while studying.
Remedy: Alternate wearing contact lenses with use of eyeglasses during long study periods.
Also, students with irregular sleep patterns can wear contact lenses made of silicon hydrogen, a
new material with improved oxygen permeability, which may reduce risk of infection and
discomfort.

Make sure you have a current prescription for your spare eyeglasses! 

For more information about contact lenses and proper contact care guidelines ask one of the SkyVision doctors.

This article reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Ophthalmology's EyeSmart 
Campaign (www.geteyesmart.org).

The Chronic Dry Eye Five

How do you know that you need to make a special visit to your Skyvision Centers eye doctor when you think you have dry eye, even if you are not due for an appointment? Here are 5 questions to ask yourself:

1) Are you using artificial tears multiple times a day?
2) Have you been using them on your own without an eye doctor's guidance for several months?
3) Have you tried 2 or more types?
4) Are dry eyes affecting your use of the computer? Reading? Driving? Wearing contacts?
5) Are you unsatisfied with the relief you're getting from the dry eye treament you've chosen?

Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) is incredibly common. In fact, people search the internet for information on DES rougly 5X as frequently as they search for information on LASIK! If you have not had a DES consultation at Skyvision Centers and you answered "Yes" to two or more of the above questions call us (or download our free Smarphone app and email) for a consultation.

You don't have to suffer from chronic DES!

When Should I Use Teardrops?

There are many degrees of Dry Eye so there are many answers to this question! For some people it's perfectly OK to just use an artificial tear when there is a little bit of discomfort. Feel a little dry? A tiny bit of scratchiness? Go ahead and put a drop in. 

Other people have Dry Eye symptoms all the time. The doctors at Skyvision like to tell these folks that they should use their tears just like they were a prescription medicine. 2, 3, sometimes 4-6 times a day on a schedule is sometimes what it takes to be comfortable with your Dry Eye.

It turns out that it is usually easier to prevent the Dry Eye symptoms from starting than it is to stop them once they start! In other words, the time to take your eye drops is when you DON'T have any symptoms. If you wait until your eyes feel badly it's already too late. 

Think of an image of a well with a bucket that hangs down into the water. If the well slowly drains all day long pretty soon the rope won't be long enough to reach the water. In order for the bucket to get to the water you first have to FILL UP THE WELL! Same thing with dry eye; if you don't keep the well full all day you won't get the benefit of the tears until you fill the well (your eye) back up! 

Ask one of the SkyVision Centers docs (Dr. White, Dr. Schlegel, or Dr. Kaye) what kind of artificial tear is best for you, and how much to use them.  There are many types of over-the-counter eye drops available.  If you need something more than artificial tears, there are ways to determine what is the best solution and the SkyVision Docs will work with you until you are comforable once again.

Do You Have Dry Eye?

How do you know that you need to make a special visit to your Skyvision Centers eye doctor when you think you have dry eye, even if you are not due for an appointment? Here are 5 questions to ask yourself:



1) Are you using artificial tears multiple times a day?
2) Have you been using them on your own without an eye doctor's guidance for several months?
3) Have you tried 2 or more types?
4) Are dry eyes affecting your use of the computer? Reading? Driving? Wearing contacts?
5) Are you unsatisfied with the relief you're getting from the dry eye treament you've chosen?


Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) is incredibly common. In fact, people search the internet for information on DES roughly 5X as frequently as they search for information on LASIK! If you have not had a DES consultation at Skyvision Centers and you answered "Yes" to two or more of the above questions call us (or download our free Smartphone app and email) for a consultation.


You don't have to suffer from chronic DES!