Alexander Heights
Ph (08) 9343 0278 or 0422 710 020
OPENING HOURS
Mon ~ Fri: 10am - 5:30pm
Sat: 10am - 5:00pm
(Some Sat: 10am - 1pm)
Sundays & Public Holidays Closed
Other Times By Appointment
Dry / Watery and Eyelid Disorder Management
Long term relief for your dry / watery eye and eyelid disorders.
Some of the 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, contact lens wear was discontinued until the condition was cleared up, 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 were 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 manage dry eyes and their related eye diseases. The causes of dry eyes are multi-factorial and the symptoms and signs can vary from case to case. Some cases with severe signs can have none 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 very 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 knowledge, experience, views and perspectives.
Dry Eyes Treated By Blocking Tear Drainage
Patient: Middle aged female, multifocal monthly disposable contact lens wearer for many years. (AH61)
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 dissolvable collagen plugs into the nasolacrimal duct. Size of the plugs required were carefully gauged and prepared. Local anaesthetic eye drops were applied to numb the eyes first before inserting the plugs. The procedures were painless. 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.
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. Our philosophy of management aim to achieve the best overall outcome by treating the root of the problems rather than just masking the symptoms or signs only which leave those underlying problems to become worse and mores serious; that can lead to other complications which can be very hard and costly to manage in the future.
Intermittent Watery Eyes with Lower Eyelids Sag and Turn Outwards
Patient: 70+ years old male (AH3846).
80+ years old male (AH4027)
Symptoms:
Signs:
Management:
Guide: