Which doctor is best to treatment my dry eyes?

Who is the better doctor for treating your dry eye symptoms? Would it be an ophthalmologist or an optometrist?  I’m sure at this stage you are curious to know who in your community is would be the best at treating dry eyes.  And, maybe you are confused about the difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist.  Aren't they both eye doctors?  Is there really a difference?

 

Yes, there is a difference. Optometrists (OD) are doctors to have a significant portion of their training in studying vision.  They are the experts when you want to improve your eyesight with glasses or contacts lenses.  They also prescribe medications to treat diseases and do some medical procedures.

 

Ophthalmologists (MD) have had a significant portion of their training in treating eye diseases with medications and surgery.  These doctors are the experts when you need surgical management of eye diseases.  They would be the one to talk to if you were looking for a surgical option to improve your vision, like LASIK or cataract surgery. 

 

Both types of doctors are trained and capable of treating your dry eyes.  The one you want to choose; however, is the doctor that’s passionate about dry eye treatment.  You want to choose a doctor who has a special interest in treating this subset of patients.

 

In my office at Lusk Eye Specialists, there are both optometrists and ophthalmologists who treat dry eye disease.  In fact, if you were to look at the best dry eye experts across the country, you would find both optometrists and ophthalmologists at the top of the list.  Here are a few of my favorite experts whom I look to for education and expertise:

 

Tanya Gill, OD is the founder of We Love Eyes.  She has developed a line of products to keep your eyelids clean while maintaining the beauty of your eyelashes. Her company grew from the need she saw for women who wanted to look glamorous, but we’re fighting with dry eyes.  Read more about how to use her products in this blog. 

 

Peter Pham, MD is the founder of Zocular.  He found that his patients needed a more gentle solution to treat their red, crusty eyelids.  At the time, there the only treatments available were very harsh tea tree oil scrubs.  His product, Zocular is gentle and very effective at killing Demodex blepharitis.  I utilize these products during in-office procedures.  It is a much more pleasant treatment for my patients versus the way we treated Demodex a just last year.

 

Whitney Hauser, OD is a practicing optometrist, professor, and the founder of Dry Eye Coach.  This is a learning hub for Eye Care Professions interested in increasing their knowledge in the specialty of dry eye disease.  She brings together experts in this area to share their knowledge with doctors who want to learn more.  Her website consists of videos, research papers, and podcasts.  

 

Laura Periman, MD is a practicing ophthalmologist and expert on dry eye disease. She runs a Facebook group with another dry eye expert, Scott Schachter, OD. Together, they post new articles, promote dialog,  and ask important questions in the field of dry eye.  Within the group, knowledge is shared among practitioners who are out treating patients with dry eye on the daily. It is a wonderful way to learn and connect with colleagues who have a similar interest.

 

This list could go on and on.  But, the point is that our knowledge of how to treat dry eye disease and the tools we have to do so are changing at a rapid rate.  Truly, it does not matter if your eye doctor is an optometrist or an ophthalmologist when discussing treating dry eye disease. You just want to pick the doctor who has a passion for the subject because they need to be keeping up with the new innovations and nuances of treatment.

 

If your eye doctor has not given you a treatment plan that goes further than using over-the-counter artificial tears, then you may want to look for another practitioner.  Search for one who specializes in the treatment of dry eyes. 

 

There are two ways to go about doing this research.  First, you could look at the website for their office.  If the practitioner lists dry eye disease as something they treat at their office, this may be a good practice to try.

 

Or, you may wish to do a Google search on your eye care practitioner to see if they have any publications or any mention of management of patients with dry eye.  You may also find testimonials from previous patients stating how well the doctor treated their eye condition.

 

As always, I wish you the best in your dry eye journey. I hope that you find comfort in your treatment. Leave me a comment below and tell me the name of your dry doctor.  The world is smaller than you think, and I just might know them.