As 2021 comes to a close, we have a lot of things to be thankful for at Alleviate Dry Eye.  It has been an amazing year of innovation in dry eye care.  We have seen new products and medications being brought to the market for the benefit of our patients.

At Alleviate Dry Eye, I have been working on some new resources for you to help you take back the control of your dry eyes.  In January, there will be an opportunity to learn how your lifestyle choices are affecting how your dry eyes feel.  Stay tuned for a webinar in January.  You'll have the opportunity to get registered for it soon.

Let's take a walk down memory lane and review the 3 best blogs from 2021:

#103 Can I Wear Eye Makeup when My Eyes Are Dry?

You can wear makeup when you have dry eyes.  You may need to make some changes...

Happy New Year!

I love making new year's resolutions, and I do them every year.  For me, it is all about setting the intention of what I would like to work towards.  I like to take the time at the beginning of the year to think about all the steps to get me from where I am to where I would like to be.  I write them down and put them on my calendar so that it is not only an idea of how to get there but the exact path I need to follow.

Book #1

If you have been following me for a while, you know that every year I like to reread my favorite book by Jack Canfield, The Success Principles.  Reading this great book is one way I like to start off my new year.

The Success Principles book gives lots of ways that you can reach your goals.  It describes the 67 timeless principles and practices us...

Mask Associated Dry Eye is dryness caused or exacerbated by wearing a face-covering mask.

Many of us have been mandated to wear a face-covering while in public by our local government for months now.  Many people who work in the public are now wearing these masks for a large portion or at least several hours a day.

Personally, I wear a mask the entire time I am at work, whether I am in front of patients or not.  I am still in the building or in a room with others, so wearing a mask is important.  Dry eyes associated with wearing a mask is increasing in patients.  It is even increasing in patients who did not have dry eyes previous to the pandemic.

2 Ways Poor Mask Fit Leads to Dry Eyes:

Too Loose:

Breathing out while wearing a mask that does not fit tightly to your cheeks can send the...

Is it something I'm doing that's making my eyes dry? 

This is something my patients ask me about every day. Is it something I'm doing that's causing my eyes to be dry?  Well, unfortunately there's something we're all doing that's causing our eyes to be dry.  Right now here in Shreveport, Louisiana it's late summer.   That means that the weather is hot, and there's lots of pollen in the air.

Environment

Sometimes, it is a factor of your surroundings that are causing your eyes to be dry.  One factor to consider is the current season of the year.  Summer tends to have more moisture in the air than winter, but having the air conditioners on full blast and pollen in the air is going to irritate your dry eyes. 

In the winter, heaters and freezing temperatures tend to dry the air both indoo...

My patients ask me that all the time, "How can I get dry eye relief that lasts?" The answer is that you need a holistic treatment plan. 

What is a holistic treatment plan?  Let's start with an example we can relate to.  Let's talk about Barbara wanting to lose weight.  She decided to join a gym and committed herself to go to the gym every day, but since she was being so good about going to the gym, she also decided she didn't need to change what or when she was eating. 

For a whole month, Barbara went to the gym every day.  And, she continued eating as she normally had.  When she stepped onto the scale at the end of the month, she found that she had gained weight.  During this month, she had improved her cardiovascular health, improved her breathing, and her stamina.  She had even put on...

Have you ever thought about writing a book?  Joseph Epstein, “81 percent of Americans feel that they have a book in them — and should write it.”  It makes it sound like there are many aspiring authors out there.  So, I thought I would share a little bit about my journey to being an author. 

The book that I have published is actually not the book that I have dreamed about publishing for decades.  So, maybe there is still another book in me.  I can understand that many of you may have a dream of a book in your mind, or maybe 5 books.  I wanted to share with you 3 tools you need to write a book.

 Tool #1 - Know How to Write a Book

I used an online program.  They took me through the process step by step:

https://self-publishingschool.com//how-to-write-a-book

 I had a coach who kept me acc...