January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

I want to take some time to discuss how glaucoma and dry eye are related.  You probably already know what dry eye is. You know that it's an irritation of the front surface of the eye that can cause your eyes to be red, gritty, and irritated.

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is often referred to as the "silent thief of vision".  It is a disease that causes you to lose your peripheral vision.   It generally happens very slowly over a long period of time,  This loss of vision is caused by an increase in the pressure inside the eye.  The increase in pressure is usually not enough to cause pain. 

There are very few symptoms that indicate to a patient that they are suffering from glaucoma.  It can go on for years undetected by the person suffering from it until...

Are your eyes so irritated that you can't wear your eye makeup?  My patients complain about this to me all the time.  Why is this happening?

If your eyes are red and watery, they may be sensitive to the makeup you're putting on your lids and lashes.  That makes it difficult to wear makeup day after day. 

Years of wearing and caring for your makeup improperly can lead you to this point in your life.   I want to be the first to reassure you though. This is not your fault.  You didn't know that placing your eyeliner inside the eyelashes was harming your eyes.  You don't know which ingredients in your makeup are toxic to your eyes.  No one taught you how to do this properly and the resources weren't available for you to learn it on your own.

The U.S. Beauty Industry

The beauty industry her...