Summer is a great time of the year to enjoy spending time with your friends and family outdoors. This can be especially challenging for dry eye sufferers since they often are sensitive to wind and sunlight. Let’s discuss three ways to protect your eyes this summer.  

#1) Protect Your Eyes 

Wearing your sunglasses to protect our eyes from UV rays is important any time of the year. Harmful UV rays have been linked to cataract creation and an increased risk of development of macular degeneration. In the summer, it is extra important to wear sunglasses because there are more hours of daylight. 

When you have dry eyes, your eyes tend to be more sensitive to light and to wind. I like to wear sunglasses whenever I'm outdoors year-round, but especially in the summertime. Make sure that your sun...

In 2021, I was invited to serve as a member of the Public Awareness Committee for the TFOS Lifestyle Workshop. This is a global initiative where doctors, scientists, and researchers come together to gather information and make recommendations. The purpose of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society’s newest workshop was to produce evidence-based education about the lifestyle choices patients are making which cause ocular surface disease.  

The purpose of these TFOS workshops is to gather the known evidence-based research and compile it. This helps to gather a consensus from research to help guide treatment protocols. It also answers questions about disease progression and uncovers areas that have not yet been fully researched. In fact, each subcommittee report has a section to suggest whe...

LipiFlow is an in-office treatment for dry eye disease to reduce the scratchiness and irritation of the eye. The device is used to loosen the oils that may be trapped on the oil glands in you eyelids. These glands are called meibomian glands, and when the oils inside of them get trapped, we call it meibomian gland disease. 

During the treatment the trapped oils are melted and released from the glands. The oils are able to come out onto the front surface of your eye, protect your tears from drying out and give you stable vision that doesn't fluctuate when you're blinking. The procedure also calms down the redness, irritation, and eliminates that scratchy feeling that you might be having on your eyes. 

Since I've been performing LipiFlow treatments in my office for years, I'm going to sh...

Traveling can be a little tricky when you have sensitive eyes or suffer from dry eye disease. There seems to be added environmental stressors around every corner when you are in a new setting. I travel often and I've developed a little kit of products that I'm always sure to grab when I leave town.

The last time I traveled I added a new product to the kit.  It's definitely going to be a staple of my daily care regimen whether I'm on the go or not.  I love this product so much that I don't just use it when I travel and its brand new, so I'm excited to talk to you about it. It's called Neutra Wipe from Tear Restore.

First, let's review the 4-simple steps to dry eye care:

1. Hydrate with an artificial tear
2. Harmonize with a lid and lash cleanser
3. Heat with a warm compress mask
4. Heal w
...

Ivizia is a new over-the-counter artificial tear that's just hit the U.S. market in 2022. It's different from any other tears on the market before. This is an artificial tear, so it's an over-the-counter product that you can pick up at your drugstore or local pharmacy.

#1) Ivizia has two great ingredients for your dry eyes. 

Hyaluronic Acid

Now I know all you ladies know about hyaluronic acid (or HA) is because you love it when it's an ingredient in your skincare products. HA binds water to your cells and puffs them up and makes them more plump. You love having HA on your face so that your skin looks dewey and fresh.

You'll love this same ingredient on your eyes as well. The HA will bind moisture to the front surface of your eyes and make them feel more comfor...

This week I'm talking about the best makeup kit for Dry Eye Sufferers. I love this makeup kit from twenty/twenty beauty. It just came out during the 2022 holiday season. It's still available on their website and it is so beautiful and has the greatest products in it. 

The most important step to any beauty routine is removing your makeup. If you don't yet have a favorite makeup remover, please download the Guide to Makeup Removers for Sensitive Eyes here.

Let's go over each of these four products and review why they are safe to use when you have dry or sensitive eyes. The makeup kit contains: a mascara, an eyeshadow, and lash and brow growth serum, and a special Hypochlorous cleanser.

#1)Clean Sweep Mascara

This mascara is great for those of us who have dry eyes because there aren...

The eye care industry is constantly evolving. There is always research going on to make products better, more tolerable, and longer lasting. This past year, there were 3 new products that hit the market that can significantly affect your dry eye relief. Let's talk about three of the best dry eye products that came to market in 2022.

 #1) For your Eyes: Optase MGD Advanced Dry Eye Drop

Optase has been available in the US for a couple of years now. Their preservative-free Dry Eye Intense drop has been a favorite of mine for several years now.  However, in 2022, MGD Advanced came to the US market as well. 

MGD Advanced has three key ingredients:

1. Hyaluronic Acid: binds moisture to the front surface of our eye.
2. Trehalose: a naturally occurring compound that prevents drying out, or desicc
...