Dry Eye Treatment

Find relief from dry, itchy, irritated eyes.

Tear Care Treatment patient talking with practitioner

Dry eyes affect millions of people in the United States. It is estimated that as many as 4.88 million Americans over the age of 50 suffer from this uncomfortable condition.

If you need help, book an appointment at Cicero Family Eye Care. We’ll help you find a treatment option that brings you the relief you’re searching for.

What are the common symptoms of dry eye?

Everyone experiences dry eye differently because there are so many potential underlying causes.

Typical symptoms include:

Redness or eyes that appear irritated and bloodshot
Consistent burning or tingling sensations in the eyes
Eyes that feel itchy or as if they have something in them
Increased sensitivity to bright lights or sunlight
Excessive tearing, or eyes that always appear watery
Visual fluctuation

What causes dry eye?

Dry eye can be influenced by a number of factors related to the environment and health that determine tear quality.

Tears have 3 layers:

a mucus layer,
an aqueous (watery) layer, and
a lipid (oily) layer.

If there’s an imbalance in these layers, your vision and comfort of your eyes may be affected. For example, if not enough lipid layer is being produced, tears may evaporate too quickly and cause symptoms ranging from discomfort to extra tear production and poor quality of vision.

Meibomian Gland

Meibomian GlandPoor tear quality is often caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), a condition that impacts the production of oils in your tears. The most common form of MGD is obstruction of the oil-producing glands in the eyelids. At Cicero Family Eye Care, we will test your tear quality to determine whether MGD is contributing to or causing your dry eye symptoms and create a customized treatment plan to address it.

Source: Craig JP, Nichols KK, Akpek EK, et al. TFOS DEWS II Definition and Classification Report. Ocul Surf. 2017;15(3):276-283. doi:10.1016/j.jtos.2017.05.008

In some cases, the cause is obvious, such as environmental irritants or short-term inflammation.

Some of the other causes of chronic dry eye problems include:

Blepharitis
Allergies
Defects that affect the eyelid or shape of the eye
Certain medications
Abnormal eye pressure
Deficiency of aqueous fluids

Because the underlying causes vary, treatment methods after diagnosis will also vary according to the patient. It is also not uncommon for there to be more than one cause for dry eye.

How is dry eye diagnosed and treated?

Through imaging of the meibomian glands, measuring osmolarity of the tear film, and screening for certain conditions, we are able to diagnose and provide treatment for the condition.

Some of the typical treatments include:

Artificial tears and lubricant drops
Prescription eye drops to combat inflammation
Treating oil glands
Blinking exercises or proper eyelid hygiene
In-office obstruction removal with medical devices like The TearCare® System.

If an infection is causing the issue, low-dose antibiotics may also be prescribed.

What is TearCare®?

Tear care Treatment

TearCare® is an innovative Dry Eye procedure that targets the blocked meibomian glands in your eyelids that produce oils to keep your tears healthy. When these glands become blocked or have reduced function, your tears may evaporate more quickly.

Unblocking these glands with The TearCare® System can help restore their function and stabilize the tear film. This may improve the quality of tears and reduce symptoms like dryness, gritty or scratchy sensations, blurry vision, and watery eyes.

At your appointment, we will determine whether your dry eye symptoms are caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) and would benefit from the use of The TearCare® System.

Dry eyes are not only uncomfortable — they can also be bad for the health of your eyes. Book an appointment at Cicero Family Eye Care to find relief.