The Worst Thing You Can Do for Your Eyes This Allergy Season. Here’s What to Do Instead 

Spring flowers are beautiful, but they can wreak havoc on your eyes. If you’re dealing with itchy, red, watery eyes during allergy season, you might be tempted to grab an over-the-counter antihistamine like Zyrtec, Allegra, Claritin, or Xyzal. But if dry, irritated eyes are also part of the problem, these over-the-counter remedies may make things worse. 

Let’s explore a few ways to have eyes that feel great, see great, and look great, even when allergy season is in full swing. 

The Antihistamine Mistake 

While oral antihistamines are great for sneezing and nasal congestion, they come with a hidden downside: they dry out your eyes. 

These medications work by reducing histamine, the chemical your bo...

Spring brings a burst of colors and fragrances, but for many, it also marks the onset of ocular allergy symptoms. Itchy, watery eyes and incessant sneezing can make enjoying the season a challenge. However, with a few proactive steps, you can alleviate these symptoms and embrace the beauty of spring with clarity and comfort.

How do you know if it's an allergy?

There are a couple of symptoms that are the same between dry eyes and allergies so it can be hard to distinguish between the two problems. However, timing seems to play a big part in ocular allergies. If you suddenly notice the symptoms below, it's most likely to be allergy. 

• redness
• watering
• Itching - this is the hallmark sign of allergy
• Eyelid swelling
• Mucus or stringy discharge
• Topical antihistamine eye drops improve sym
...

It's fall! The weather has that crispy quality again. We can get out our sweaters and enjoy being outdoors without sweating. 

Fall is a great time of year to enjoy the outdoors and usually, there are lots of opportunities to do so. You may be going to football games or spending the day at a fall festival. You may have gotten lost in your local corn maze or spent the day picking apples.

Being outdoors is great this time of year, but as a dry eye sufferer, it has it's challenges. Let's explore the best ways to prepare yourself for spending time outdoors this fall.

Protect your Eyes from the Sun

The sun and wind can still irritate your already challenged eyes. It's important to protect your eyes from UV light. And, sense it can also be windy this time of year, be sure to find a sunglass...

Let's dive into the world of Oculaire Skincare, the ultimate destination for eye-enhancing products that promise to make you feel, look, and even see better!

Today, I'm joined by Jessica Rosales, a skincare expert from Oculaire Skincare, who will take us on a journey through their incredible product line designed specifically for sensitive eyes and skin. Get ready to unlock the secrets to youthful and radiant eyes naturally! 

Oculaire Mousse d'or - The Gentle Foaming Face and Lid Wash

Jessica introduces us to the wonder of Oculaire Mousse d'or, a foaming face and lid wash that's perfect for daily use. Mousse d'or is a calming formulation that helps eliminate demodex, alleviate symptoms of blepharitis, reduce lid swelling, and address skin inflammation. Its gentle and scent-free formula...

In the clinic, I get asked this question all day long, "What's causing my eyes to be so dry?" The short answer is that dry eye is multifactorial. It comes from many different causes. Some of the things we have no control over, like your gender and your age.  Women, especially those over 40, are more likely to have dry eye than men. And, we can't change our gender or age.  But, there are a ton of causes of dry eye that we can control.   

Let's talk about what you can take care or change to help our dry eyes. I like to break this down into three parts. I called it the EYE Method.  The first is E for Eyes. The Y is for Your Health. And, the final E is for the Environment. 

This week, we will take a deep dive into how your environment helps effects your dry eyes. 

E is for the Environment

Th...

Next week is the official start of Spring. Woohoo!

I couldn't wait for this day to get here.  As a dry eye sufferer myself, I have a harder time dealing with artificial heat and that lack of moisture in the air than I do with pollen.

However, if you're an allergy sufferer, you may be hiding inside today. I want to go over three ways to help you wear your contact lenses during the spring season. The three ways to continue wearing contact lenses even though it's allergy season are: prevent, cleanse and dispose.

No. 1) Prevent

Prevent the pollen from getting in your eyes. You could do this as simply as wearing sunglasses.  This would mean that any time you're outdoors, you wear sunglasses.  Utilizing a style with side shields would prevent wind, pollen, and dust from getting into your eye...

I'm going to talk today about a question that my patients ask me all of the time: "How can I wear my contact lenses during allergy season?" "They're itchy, they're red, they run water all over the place, I don't know what to do, I can't get my contacts in!" I've got three tips for you today on how to wear your contact lenses during allergy season.

Tip #1) Take a Break

Tip number one: Take a break! You don't have to wear your contact lenses every day! I know you don't want to hear this, but maybe just during this season, save them for special occasions. Wear them occasionally. Wear them less time during the day, take them out when you get home, or only wear them when you're going out. Take a little break.

Tip #2) Wear a Daily-disposable Contact Lens

Number two, wear a daily-disposabl...

It's Springtime, and we've been talking a lot about how to take care of yourself during the spring. If you missed it, the last blog was all about Springtime allergies, how to avoid them, and a couple of tips on how to treat them.

Now that we know that we should just avoid Springtime allergies, we're going to dive into what to do about your eyes when you're suffering from allergies. I've got three tips for you today on how to treat your eyes when you're suffering from Springtime allergies and maybe even still have dry eyes to kind of compound the fact.

Tip #1) Artificial Tears and Cool Compresses

Use artificial tears and a cool compress. We've got right here, a cool compress. You're going to just have that ready in the freezer and then you can come home and lay that over the eyes. The hi...