Today, I'm going to talk to you about the first of three myths about dry eye disease. Stay tuned over the coming weeks for the other two myths.

Myth #1:

Dry Eye Disease symptoms will just go away on their own.

Truth:

Dry eye is a disease. It's called dry eye disease (DED).  And, it's chronic and progressive just like other disease that you might have, like diabetes or high blood pressure.

DED is chronic. You will need to treat it for a lifetime. It doesn't just go away on its own. So it needs to be treated long term. It's best to make simple shifts to your lifestyle to treat it. If you make your treatment regimen a part of your daily care routine (like you do for brushing your teeth) it is easy to do it over your lifetime. 

Check out the 4-simple steps of daily dry eye care here.  ...

It's almost Labor Day weekend, and many of you may be preparing for travel.  I have covered how to travel with dry eyes on a couple of blogs, but I wanted to give an updated version here.  Next week, I am traveling abroad, so I wanted to include a couple of tips for longer airplane travel and a warm compress mask that didn't require a microwave or an electric plugin.

It is very important not to skip out on your eye care routine even when you're out of town.  The results of missing a few nights of care can be disastrous.  I've been there.

I previously wrote a blog about traveling with dry eyes.  You can check out that blog here. It goes over specifically all the things you need to pack in your carry-on versus your checked bag.  And, if you'd like to learn more about some great travel read...

The cause of Dry Eye Disease is multifactorial.  This means that the factors that make it worse come from all around us.  It is our lifestyle, or the things you're, or are not, doing on a daily basis that can either improve or hinder your dry eye symptoms. 

Last month, I did a webinar with Scope Eyecare to explore how to deal with Dry Eye Disease while you're working.  Your computer and other digital devices can play a big role in how dry your eyes feel. Download the guide to Digital Eye Strain Relief here.

In this webinar, we took a deep dive into:

• How to know if you have dry eyes. Yes, there are tons of tests your doctor can do, but you can do this quick test to find out for yourself.
• Blink regularly and intentionally.  Close your eyes and intentionally squeeze the lids closed for
...

Lots of states are returning to having a mask mandate.  Here in Louisiana, as of August of 2021, we are back to wearing masks while in doors in public areas.

We're back to wearing masks again.  And, if you suffer from dry eyes, like I do, your eyes are probably feel pretty bad when you wear a face covering for several hours.  I want to give you some tips on how to wear a mask when your eyes are dry.

What is going on when we wear a mask?

Well, the air from your nose and mouth needs somewhere to go when your wearing a mask.  If the mask isn't tight over the bridge of your nose, the air will travel up into your eyes and dry them out.  Not to mention, that warm moist air will fog your glasses.  When you have your mask on, and it isn't tight enough over the bridge of the nose, the air from y...

Sometimes, we get eye infections.  They can seem to come out of no where.  Last week, I had one myself.  I want to tell you five tips to do if you think you've got an eye infection.  These rules apply whether your eyes are dry or not.

Symptoms of an eye infection include: redness, irritation, scratchy sensation, light sensitivity, tearing, and mucus discharge.  In addition, your eye lids may be swollen and painful to the touch.

Infections can be in both eyes at the same time, or just in one eye.  But, be careful, infections can quickly travel from one eye to the other as well.

If you think that there's something going on with your eyes, these five things are going to work for you to help your eye feel better and get relief quick. Here we go.

No. 1) Take your Contact Lenses out

If yo...

I hope that most Americans have gotten into the habit of having their eyes checked once a year.  No matter your age or stage of life, you should be having an annual eye exam.  And, if you are having a problem with your eyes, schedule an appointment to see your eye doctor.

A lot of times, patients come to see me for a very specific reason instead of for their annual eye exam.  They come to see me specifically because they have eyelashes that are turned around and are poking their eyes.

What is Trichiasis?

Trichiasis is the medical term for eyelashes that are misdirected or growing in the wrong direction.  It's a problem that can be annoying at best, is usually painful, and can lead to devastating eye infections in the worst cases.  

When eyelashes grow inward or towards the eye, they ca...

I was able to take my first trip a couple of weeks ago to an in-person education meeting.  I was so excited to travel again and traveling now causes some new problems for those of us who suffer from dry eyes. 

Getting ready to go on a trip caused me to think a bit about packing up my dry eye supplies.  It is so important not to skip out on your eye care routine even if you are out of town.  The results of missing a few nights of care can be disastrous.  I've been there.

I previously wrote a blog about traveling with dry eyes.  You can check out that blog here.  It goes over specifically all the things you need to pack in your carry-on versus your checked bag.  

What has changed?

Airlines are requiring you to wear a mask for the duration of your flight.  Mask wearing can be particularly...

Many of my patients ask me about using artificial tears.  There are so many of them on the market.  It's hard to know which ones to use.  

Based on the research provided by the Tear Film and Ocular Surface (TFOS) Society, I advocate using Artificial Tears on a daily basis to care for your dry eyes.  TFOS wrote a report called the Dry Eye Workshop (DEWS II) Report that utilized the expertise of 150 clinicians and scientists from around the world to compile all of the literature available in the dry eye space and write a consensus on how to treat dry eyes.  

The TFOS DEWS II report advises using 4 steps to care for your dry eyes daily:  

1. Every day, the first step is to hydrate your eyes with an artificial tear.
2. The second step is to clean the lids and lashes.
3. The third step is to...