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...

One of the biggest complaints my dry eye patients talk to me about is redness.  Across the board, no matter their age or gender, patients hate having red eyes.  It's just embarrassing.  And, in truth, other people do notice when your eyes are red.  

Let's face it, the eyes are the windows to your soul.  And although rose colored glasses may give you a sunnier disposition, rose colored eyes do not.  There is no beauty in red eyes.  And, we don't like the story that red eyes tend to relate about activities we may have engaged in the night before.

Instead let's concentrate on how to make your dry eyes white again. This week especially, only a few days before Easter, you don't want to be mistaken for an Easter bunny.

Why are your eyes red when they're dry?

Well, dry eye is driven by inf...

Winter season is the driest time of the year.  So today, I'm talking about how to keep your dry eyes happy during the winter season.  Most of us are spending the winter days indoors. 

Winter is Dry Eye Season 

Outdoors the air is dry. The temperature is cold to freezing. Generally, there's not a lot of humidity. It could be windy. The days are short and there's less sunlight inside. Inside it's dry, hot with artificial heat and fire places.  Smoke and scents from candles can be very irritating to sensitive eyes.

What are the two things that you can do to help your eyes feel more moist?

#1) Perk up the Air Quality to Help Your Dry Eyes

The air quality can really irritate your eyes since you're spending lots of time in these dry environments.  Utilize a humidifier to add soothing m...

Step 1: Make up remover

  Step 2: Cleanse the Face

Happy New Year!

I like to take the time at the beginning of the year to think about where I am going on purpose.   A lot of times, we feel that life is just happening to us, but that is not the case.  We are all living the life that we ourselves have created. 

Take a minute to look back over 2021 and be thankful for all that you were able to create in your own life.  There is one accomplishment in 2021 that I am most proud of (see #3 below).  But, there were tons of accomplishments along the way as well.  Celebrating your wins is part of living a full life.  You put in the work to accomplish them, so don't hold back on giving yourself the credit you deserve. Here are 3 of my wins from this year:

1. 2021 marked my 20th year since graduation from Optometry School.  It's hard to believe I h
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Women want to have beautiful eyelashes.  Sometimes, they even want to wear eyelash extensions to have a more glamorous look.  My patients ask me a lot of questions about wearing eyelash extensions.

Often, my patient's eyelashes aren't as long and glamorous as they used to be. Dry eye occurs when the meibomian glands, which are the oil gland in our lids, aren't working properly. The glands aren't producing the oil that coats the tear film.  The oils also condition the eyelashes and makes them stronger. 

Since many of my patient's lashes are short and tend to be brittle, they are always asking me about wearing extensions.  At this time, there is only one eyelash extension I can say yes to. 

The problem is that a lot of the lash extensions on the market these days will do harm to your dry ...