At the end of each year, I like to review the blog and find the best tips from the whole year and put them together in one place. This year, choosing just 3 was particularly hard. There were so many great things to talk about this year. So, I may end up doing more than Best of episode.

In this blog, I want to focus on the best dry eye relief tips we talked about this year. There were 3 that stood out to me:

• How to get dry eye relief without using eye drops
• Alternatives to Lash Lengthening Mascara
• Redness relief when you have Dry Eyes

These 3 stand out as giving some great Dry Eye relief tips that can be used all year long. Let's Review:

#1) Can you Get Dry Eye Relief without Using Eye Drops (Blog #171)

Even if you hate putting drops in your eyes, or even touching your eyes in ge...

We are talking about three myths about dry eye disease. This blog is dedicated to Myth #2: "All dry eye drops are the same." New patients come in to see me all the time and say, "I've tried everything out there." This basically means that they went to the drugstore, and they picked up Visine and one other generic artificial tear. They tell me they tried them both. Their eyes felt great for about five minutes, but returned to the same level of dryness right away.

Even when talking about products that you can buy at the drugstore, not all dry eye drops are the same. There are 3 types of over-the-counter (OTC) products.

 #1) Artificial Tears

In fact, even the ones that you get over the counter are different. You can go to the drugstore and buy artificial tears. If they come in a bottle, th...

Let's talk about treating your dry eyes when you hate taking eye drops. I have lots of patients in my office that just don't like taking drops. Or, perhaps it's hard for them to use drops because they have arthritis and can't squeeze the bottles, or their handshake too much.  It turns out there are several alternatives to your dry eye treatment that don't require putting drops in your eyes. 

If you have dry eyes, I always advocate taking 4-simple steps every day to treat your dry eyes. These steps are: hydrate, harmonize, heat, and heal.

1. Hydrate: Using something to help produce more tears in your eyes to lubricate them.
2. Harmonize: Removing bacteria and biofilm from your lids and lashes.
3. Heat: Using a warm compress to heat up the meibomian gland that live in the eyelids and relea
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Let's talk about fall. When I think about fall, I think about getting ready for back to school.  For me, as an eye doctor, I think about your back to school eye exam.  This time of year, all the moms bring their kiddos to the eye doctor, in August and September, and get them ready for the school year.  They update their glasses and make sure they have a good pair for school and maybe an extra pair for home.

In general, fall is a time to get back into structure from the easy days of summer. It's a good time to dust off your old routines or pick up some new ones. Get back into the swing of things and take care of what needs to get done.

I want to encourage you, even if you aren't going back to school,  to schedule an eye exam. It's a great time of the year to just get back on trac...

Step 1: Make up remover

  Step 2: Cleanse the Face

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.  ...