I've been talking a lot about how Winter is a dry eye season.  There are many factors in your environment and also in your lifestyle that can be significantly affecting how your eyes feel this time of year.  

If you haven't been following along with this series about how to help your dry eyes feel more comfortable this time of year, you can catch up with these blogs: self-care, indoor adjustments, and outdoor adjustments.   

1) Diet

Now let's talk about your diet this time of year, especially with the holidays, you probably ate all sorts of things that aren't part of your normal diet. There's usually lots of potlucks and people bringing in little treats from home this time of year.

When you're at the office, you may be eating too much sugar, wheat, dairy, alcohol, and caffeine. Just ...

This week is Thanksgiving!  It is one of my favorite holidays.  I love to take the time to think back and remember all the things I can be grateful for in my life.  In this blog, I'll reveal the three things that I am thankful for in the dry eye world that are new this year in 2021.

#1) Innovation in Eye Care

There have been several new drugs that have gained FDA approval in the past couple of years to treat Dry Eye Disease.  The newest drug to receive approval is Tyrvaya.  It was just FDA approved in October.  It is a nasal spray for the treatment of dry eye disease.

A nasal spray!?!?!? Wow.  You won't need to be putting more drops in eyes that sting and burn.  Yay.  It's something completely different.  This nasal spray that stimulates your body to make its own real natural tears.  ...

In an earlier blog, I discussed the importance of using a warm compress mask as part of a daily treatment regimen for dry eyes.  However, some of my patients find it hard to use a mask because of a facial condition they have.  The condition is called Acne Rosacea.  It is quite common in light skinned folks or those with heritage from Northern European countries.

 Acne Rosacea causes irregular blood vessels to form on the skin.  If you have rosacea on your cheeks, there is an 80% chance that you also have rosacea on your eyelids.

 When these irregular blood vessels are close to the eyes, they bring inflammation to its front surface.  This inflammation fuels to cycle of dry eyes.

 My patients that have rosacea, are not fans of using warm compresses because they can cause these blood ves...

Today I have a very special guest with me, Dr. Diane Hilal Campo. She is the founder of Twenty/Twenty Beauty, a new line of beauty products that have been very helpful to my dry eye patients.  The reason my patients have had so much success with her products is because they avoid all of the most common toxic ingredients.  If you would like to see a list of common toxic ingredients, download it here.

I am so pleased to have Dr. Campo to help explain her views of clean makeup and how her products are solving problems for dry eye patients who haven't been able to wear makeup, maybe for years now.

WHAT IS CLEAN BEAUTY

Clean beauty means that the products that you're using for your beauty routine do not contain anything that can harm your body. The beauty industry is not well-regulated....

Over the last few years, the number and styles of warm compress masks have exploded.  There are masks that you microwave, plug in to a computer, track with an app, use once and throw away, and even a mask you can wear while continuing to watch TV or scroll social media.  It's amazing what our imaginations can design.

Using a warm compress mask is part of the 4-simple steps I recommend to all of my patients when starting a dry eye treatment regimen.   

I recommend using four simple steps daily to treat your dry eyes.  If you're not sure what I mean by each of these steps, you can refer to this blog for a deeper explanation.  Here's an overview of the steps:

1. Hydrate: Use an artificial tear to refresh and replenish your tear film.
2. Harmonize:  Cleanse the bacteria populating you
...

I want to talk to you about step one of my four simple steps to alleviate your dry eye. If you've been following me for awhile, then you know that I advocate you taking four simple steps to care for your dry eyes.

Let's Review

I advocate using 4-Simple Steps to care for your dry eyes daily.  These steps come directly from the TFOS DEWS II report.  This study was conducted to develop a scientifically studied plan on how to diagnose and treat dry eyes. 

These four steps are part of the treatment plan recommended whether you have mild, moderate, or severe dry eyes.  The steps support a healthy tear film, which we all need to have healthy eyes.  And of course, there are plenty of ways to customize the steps to fit your lifestyle.  Here are the 4 steps i...

Have your eyes been feeling a little down lately?  Many of my patients are very concerned with the not only the health of their eyes, but their appearance as well.  As the windows to your soul, you want them to present you in a good light.  I understand, you want your eyes to be open and bright.  You want them to enhance your appearance and not take away from it. 

There's a new eye drop that can make your eyes look more beautiful and alive.  Upneeq is the only FDA approved drop that is used to treat low lying lids by lifting the lid to open the eyes.  Unlike most of the information on my blog, this drop doesn't necessarily have anything to do with dry eyes.  But, I thought you would be interested in a drop that made your eyes look beautiful, right?

What does it ...