Dry Eyes?

With dry eye being one of the most missed and undiagnosed simplistic issues ( with over 3 million reported cases and millions more unreported cases of dry eye yearly ) resulting in discomfort and loss of vision, experts here at Natural Vision can accompany any of your dry eye needs with a simple consultation or an office visit. Providing a wide variety of different treatment options and procedures right here in our office you can expect to have relief within a matter of days and continued care to provide long, life lasting eye health.

Signs/Symptoms

• Stinging, burning sensation
• Feeling like you have something in your eye
• Increase sensitivity to wind, smoke, A.C.
• Discomfort with contact lenses
• Blurred vision in the beginning of the day and/or the end of the day
• Excessive tearing
• Red irritated eyes
• Itching

What Exactly Are Tears?

Your Tears are important to your overall health of your eyes and your vision. With each blink of an eye distributing a protective film around your eye. Your tears are made up of three main layers:

• Mucin Layer : Innermost layer which provides the eye with moisture, lubrication, and nourishment. This layer also helps retain tears ability to stick to the surface of the eye and spread evenly throughout the eye.

• Aqueous (Water) Layer : The middle layer that is composed of mostly water, responsible for lubricating the eye and acting as a secondary defense to any infections or harmful particles from breaching the surface of the eye.

• Lipid ( Oil ) Layer : The outermost layer which is composed of oil/lipids. The main function of the outermost layer is to hold together the other layers of tears and aid in preserving the tears from evaporating.

Taking into consideration that any one of these layers and other factors can become compromised and jeopardize the overall health of your eye and create issues such as blurry unstable vision, it is important to understand and to take care of the issue before it becomes out of hand.

Types of Tears

• Reflex : defensive mechanism when your eyes come in contact with a foreign substance such as smoke, dirt, chemicals, or other foreign objects. These tears may also contain antibodies which help to fight bacteria.

• Emotional : have no specific use, however they are produced in response to sadness, joy, fear and other emotional states.

• Basal : lubrication tears that are present in your eyes all the time providing nutrition and defensive shield around your eye against the environment, keeping out small particles and debris

A seemingly simplistic and looked over factor of the eye can have a great effect on the eye, if you suspect you have any of these signs or symptoms look no further than the Doctors and staff at Natural Vision as your one stop shop to a better overall healthy eye.

Various Causes

• Age
• Vitamin A deficiency
• Meibomian gland dysfunction
• Work environment / low humidity / windy
• Medications
• Arthritis, Sjögren's, Grave’s disease, diabetes, etc.
• Extended device usage
• Hormonal changes, pregnancy, menopause
• LASIK
• Antihistamines

Treatment Options

Hydro Eye, Derm Masks, OCuSOFT, Retaine Eye Drops, and much more!

Natural Vision provides products that can be purchased in our office for a cheaper price than you would find at most stores! Many of which can relieve your dry eye symptoms, lid hygiene, and overall health. Any of our staff can update you more on the products we carry and what makes them superior over other Over The Counter brands.

Restasis

Restasis ( Cyclosporine ) is a prescription eye drop that reduces chronic inflammation that affects the lacrimal glands in combination with increasing your own natural ability to produce quality tears. Now in a MultiDose form, Restasis studies shows patients producing significantly more tears within their 6 month trial of use.

Xiidra

An FDA-approved eye drop that is capable of treating both signs and symptoms of Dry Eye Disease. Xiidra is a prescription eye drop that relieves symptoms for some patients in as little as 2 weeks and overall reduces dry eye symptoms by week 12. Xiidra’s active ingredient being Lifitegrast, also reduces inflammation by inhibiting cell binding.

Meibomian Gland Expression

People suffering from Meibomian Gland Dysfunction can look no further than Natural Visions in office treatment. Majority of patients with dry eye suffer from Meibomian Gland Dysfunction ( blockage of the meibomian glands which are responsible for secreting essential oil into tears for quality longer lasting tears ) with a simple couple minute procedure and continued lid hygiene patients can expect long lasting noticeable results.

Prokera

An FDA approved amniotic membrane tissue which has a wide variety of different uses for eye however can also treat damage caused by mild – severe dry eye. With the application of Prokera the natural healing capabilities of the tissue can aid the cornea in reverting back to a clear smooth surface and reduce inflammation all coming together to produce tears normally.