top of page

Dry Eye Management

 

Long term relief for your dry eye condition.

​

Some of the dry eye cases have been diagnosed and managed are as below:

Dry Eye with Superficial Punctate Keratopathy

Patient: Asian female, 50s

 

Symptoms: One eye was very red with discomfort after removing contact lenses.

​

Signs: Scanty tear meniscus at the lower eyelid margin, corneal and conjunctival cells on the surface affected in the lower part of the eyeball, conjunctival redness and mucus on the lower part of conjunctiva.

​

Different optometrists and practitioners might treat and manage the same case differently due to different registrations and experience. The information about therapeutic optometrists can be found on: https://www.gloryeyecare.com/choosing-your-optometrist


Management: In this case, discontinue contact lens wear until the condition is clear, eye medications were prescribed to prevent corneal infection and acute corneal ulcer which can lead to loss of vision and blindness. During the treatment, the symptoms were gone in a few days but the signs fluctuate over 1 week, possibly due to various factors. The condition was under-controlled and almost fully recovered after 10 days. However, eye medications are required to use regularly for dryness. Other dry eye treatments were discussed to minimise the recurrency and reliance on the eye medications.

​

Guide: Local experienced therapeutic optometrists with sufficient equipment and tools are the best practitioners to treat and mange of dry eyes and their related eye diseases. The causes of dry eyes are multi-factorial and the symptoms and signs can vary from cases to cases. Some cases with severe signs can have no or minimal symptoms; while some cases with severe symptoms can have minimal signs. Some cases can be very simple and easily resolved; while some cases can be complicated which require number of visits to try different therapies. Therefore, patience and trust are required to go through the process. Seeking opinion from different practitioners might end up starting the journey again which usually cost extra time and fees, increase confusion because different practitioners have different experience, view and perspective.

Dry Eyes Treated By Blocking Tear Drainage

Punctal%2520Plug%2520P61%2520RE_edited_e
Punctal%20Plug%20P61%20LE_edited.jpg

Patient: Middle aged female, multifocal monthly disposable contact lens wearer for many years. 

 

Symptoms: Moderate to severe outer conjunctival (white areas of eyeball) redness and swollen on and off for a few years. She had been using contact lens lubricant over 10 times per day. Vision was fine. Dryness and grittiness of eyes were graded 8 to 9/10. 

​

Signs: Scanty tear meniscus at the lower eyelid margin; superficial conjunctival dryness, redness, swollen in the outer part of the eyeball; mucus over lower part of conjunctiva. Corneas were not affected. Eyelid margin were not inflammed.

​

Management: Temporary occlusion of lower tear duct drainage by inserting a proven and government approved dissolvable collagen plugs into the nasolacrimal duct. Size of the plugs required were gauged and prepared. Local anaesthetic eye drops were applied to numb the eyes first before inserting the plugs. The whole procedures were absolutely painless and finished within 10 minutes. Vision was not affected at all. The patient found the eyes were less dry within a couple of hours and the signs subsided within days. She was very happy with the result. 5 months later, the dryness started to recur and she decided to have the long-term punctal plugs inserted to the lower puncta of both eyes. She was happy about the result and has been no complaint for the past 8 months.

​

Guide: Advanced eye care services provided by experienced evidence-based therapeutic optometrists in well equipped practices are the best professionals to manage these diseases. Recommendations and treatments are based on evidence from years of worldwide research and experience from many leading practitioners. In Australia, all medications and medical devices are required to be approved by The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) which is part of the Australian Government Department of Health.

bottom of page