Dry Eye Treatment In Austin
We offer the latest, most effective dry eye treatments, including IPL and LLLT Light therapy, LipiFlow, BlephEx and Regener-Eyes drops at Lakeline Vision Source. As your optometrists in North Austin, we are experts in examining your eyes for dry eye syndrome and treating them in the best way possible.
Our treatments for dry eye range from prescription eye drops & punctal plugs to heat and light therapy to extract blocked meibomian glands. During your next eye exam with one of our doctors, we can examine your eyes to determine the best dry eye treatment for them.
Dry eyes or dry eye syndrome (DES) is an ongoing condition that treatments may be unable to cure. But the symptoms of dry eye—including dryness, scratchiness and burning—can usually be successfully managed. Artificial tears, which are lubricating eyedrops may alleviate the dry, scratching feeling and foreign body sensation of dry eye. We are lucky to now have prescription eyedrops. Some work on each layer of the tear film, some work on increasing production and some work on improving the quality of the tears.
Check with your doctor before buying any over-the-counter eye drops. Many over the counter eye drops have harsh preservatives or chemicals that can be toxic to the cornea. To reduce the effects of sun, wind and dust on dry eyes, wear sunglasses when outdoors. Wraparound styles offer the best protection. Indoors, an air cleaner can filter out dust and other particles from the air, while a humidifier adds moisture to air that's too dry because of air conditioning or heating.
What Is Dry Eye?
Dry Eye Syndrome can range from a mild irritant to chronic problem. The symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome may include:
- Dry, irritated, or red eyes
- Excessive tearing/watery eyes
- Inflammation
- Sore or sensitive eyes
- Itchiness
- Burning or inflammation
- A gritty or pasty feeling in the eyelids
- Crusty or gunky eyes
- Blurriness
North Austin Dry Eye Treatment for Severe Cases
For more significant cases of dry eye, our North Austin eye doctors may recommend punctal plugs. These tiny devices are inserted in ducts in your lids to slow the drainage of tears away from your eyes, thereby keeping your eyes more moist.
Many times our doctors recommend omega 3 Fatty Acids which has been proven to help with Dry Eye Syndrome.
If medications are the cause of dry eyes, discontinuing the drug generally resolves the problem. But in this case, the benefits of the drug must be weighed against the side effect of dry eyes. Sometimes switching to a different type of medication alleviates the dry eye symptoms while keeping the needed treatment. In any case, never switch or discontinue your medications without consulting with your doctor first.
Treating any underlying eyelid disease, such as blepharitis, helps as well. This may call for antibiotic or steroid drops, plus frequent eyelid scrubs with an antibacterial shampoo.
If you are considering LASIK, be aware that dry eyes may disqualify you for the surgery, at least until your dry eye condition is successfully treated. Dry eyes increase your risk for poor healing after LASIK, so most surgeons will want to treat the dry eyes first, to ensure a good LASIK outcome. This goes for other types of vision correction surgery, as well. To read more about the symptoms and causes of dry eyes, visit Eye Articles & Videos.
Take the Google Tour of Our Dry Eye & SPA Room
How Can I Improve My Lifestyle To Prevent And Treat Dry Eye Syndrome?
Of the many ways you can treat dry eye, we first recommend preventing dry eye symptoms before they start. Address lifestyle factors that may be making dry eye worse!
- Blinking often will help renew your tear film to keep your eye moist and fresh.
- Staying hydrated is helpful and can relieve some of the dry eye symptoms as well.
- Check if any medications have dry eye side effects.
- Over the counter eye drops do bring relief to minor symptoms, and are widely available. During a dry eye exam, ask your eye doctor which specific brand of eye drops works best for your particular case of dry eye.
- Maintain a healthy diet with a focus on vitamins like Omega 3.
Our Products
LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System
A cleared medical device for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) shown to improve gland function.
Over 85% of all dry eye cases are due to MGD. Through the LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System, our team of eye care professionals are able to treat MGD patients in the office with confidence and efficiency.
The LipiFlow System represents more than 10 years of dedicated research and is protected by more than 30 patents. A phased pressure profile with adaptive force equalization and proximal-to-distal peristaltic motion evacuates gland contents as the inner lid is gently heated. This process provides long-lasting relief for persistent, chronic dry eye patients.
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IPL & LLLT Light Therapy for Dry Eye
Intense Pulsed Light Therapy (IPL) & Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) Dry Eye Treatments
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Therapy, which has been traditionally used as a cosmetic procedure for treating facial skin conditions, effectively treats chronic dry eye and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD). In fact, IPL Therapy is among the more groundbreaking treatments for dry eye.
Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) uses specially designed LED lights to gently warm up the eyelids, causing the meibomian glands to unclog and release oils. The LLLT treatment is often used along with an IPL treatment to increase the effectiveness of treating dry eye and even styes or demodex.
BlephEx®
The first and Only Doctor Eyelid Cleaning Procedure to Help Maintain Clean and Healthy Lids
Over 50% of all patients suffer from some type of dry eye and blepharitis symptoms. BlephEx® is a new, in-office procedure that allows your doctor to take an active role in helping prevent, as part of a healthy lifestyle, the risk of dry eye and blepharitis.
BlephEx® cleans eyelids to maintain eyelid hygiene. With regular treatments, as part of a healthy lifestyle, patients may be able to reduce their risk of returning symptoms associated with dry eye and blepharitis. The BlephEx® treatment only takes a few minutes to perform. Click for more about blephex
Zocular® products are the result of transformative research and development on dry eye.
The link between the eye and skin led to the development of a natural and proprietary activated okra complex called Zokrex. Our okra-based formulation with Zokrex changes the paradigm for both eye care and skin care by catering to the intrinsic needs of your eye and skin with natural solutions, not with harsh drugs or synthetic compounds.
Our eye care professionals utilize Zocular products to provide the most gentle, convenient, and effective platform to address almost any eyelid issue. Zocular is a quick and immediate dry eye treatment to help your eyes feel and look better. Click for more about Zocular
Regener-Eyes
Regener-Eyes is a sterile, preservative-free eye drop that comes in two versions, LITE (for mild ocular surface disease) and PRO (for moderate to severe ocular surface disease). Both the Pro and LITE have a shelf life of 3 years. The Pro version is required to be refrigerated while LITE may be placed at room temperature.
OCULUS Keratograph 5M
OCULUS Keratograph 5M is a corneal topographer that is useful for the detection & evaluation of Dry Eye symptoms. With its built-in real keratometer and color camera, the Keratograph 5M produces incredible images of your eye.
Lakeline Vision Source is Cedar Park, TX owned and operated. We have convenient hours with appointments available in the evenings and on Saturdays. Our staff is highly educated and are all certified in their profession and we are committed to keeping our staff trained and educated with the latest information and technology. You will not find a better trained or more motivated care team in North Austin.
Lakeline Vision Source is dedicated to having all the technology and equipment necessary to take the very best care of our patients. At Lakeline Vision Source we love being able to help people see better, look better and feel better…and we have fun doing it!
