You might find plenty to delight in as spring approaches — birds chirping, buds ready to burst, and tulips and daffodils emerging from their winter dormancy. One thing that accompanies spring that you probably don’t love is allergies and the dry eyes that come with them.
When you suffer from dry eyes, you may not only experience discomfort, the condition can be painful, too. Dry eye can also up your risk for corneal abrasion and make you more prone to eye infections.
The expert team at Beverly Hills Institute of Ophthalmology treats an array of common and unusual eye conditions with the most advanced tools, decades of combined experience, and abundant sensitivity.
Rest assured that you receive highly individualized care from Dr. James Khodabakhsh, and Dr. Billy Pan, whether you’re living with dry eye syndrome or another condition.
What are the symptoms of dry eye syndrome?
Dry eye manifests because, as its name suggests, your eyes don’t produce enough tears to maintain a proper tear film — the three-layer coating that should be present in your eyes to keep them sufficiently lubricated.
When you have dry eye syndrome, your eyes feel persistently dry, grainy, and painful. Your eyes may look red, and you can also experience blurry vision and sensitivity to light.
How do I know my dry eye syndrome is allergy-related?
If we rule out that your dry eye is caused by certain conditions where your eyelids roll improperly, medication and contact lens use, and inflammation issues, allergies are the likely culprit.
In addition to treatments we offer, you can start minimizing your allergy symptoms by doing such things as:
- Wearing sunglasses when outdoors to reduce your eye’s contact with airborne pollen
- Closing windows and using dehumidifiers and air purifiers in your home to cut down on indoor pollen and mold
- Opting for air conditioning when necessary
- Using a mattress cover to protect yourself from dust mites
- Washing your hands thoroughly after petting or playing with your pet
Whether you’re allergic to dust, pets, mold, or pollen, following these tips can make a marked difference in the severity of your allergy symptoms, and consequently, your dry eye.
Unfortunately, you may also need to stop taking antihistamines, because, while they may help your allergies, they cause dry eye syndrome.
Successful dry eye syndrome treatments
In addition to things you can do at home, we offer a host of treatments if you suffer with allergy-induced dry eye syndrome.
If your symptoms are mild, we provide artificial tears that stand in for your own tears, as well as prescription eye drops that cause you to produce more natural tears. We may also suggest you take omega-3 fatty acid-rich dietary supplements, which also increase natural tear production.
Our next treatment option, if these don’t offer relief, is a simple surgery that blocks your tear ducts with semi-permanent or self-dissolving punctal plugs. These prevent tear drainage and improve the integrity of your tear film.
Punctal plugs work for many, but not everyone. If this is the case for you, we offer thermal cautery, a procedure where we close your tear ducts permanently.
Your eyes are in good hands
Come see us to talk about how to ease and eliminate your dry eye symptoms. Call either our Beverly Hills or Torrance office, or message us via our website..