Is it Allergies or Dry Eye Syndrome? How to Tell and How to Treat

This time of year it can be hard to tell whether eye irritation and dryness is a result of fall ocular allergies or actual dry eye syndrome. While allergy symptoms can be relieved through many dry eye relief methods, treating the core issue is necessary for lasting relief so it is important to determine the root of your symptoms.

So how can you figure out which condition you’re suffering from in order to best approach treatment? Here are a few rules of thumb:

1. Perhaps the easiest way to determine the root of your symptoms is to consider when they occur. If your symptoms are seasonal, you can probably assume that allergies are to blame. If your symptoms are consistent or seem to fluctuate independently of weather patterns, however, you are likely confronting dry eye syndrome.

2. Look to your lids. If your lids are swollen and your symptoms occur in conjunction with nasal congestion, you are most likely suffering from allergies. Dry eye syndrome rarely manifests this way.

3. Is your vision blurry? If you are experiencing blurred vision, dry eye syndrome is very likely your culprit.

4. Do you eyes burn or itch? While allergies can cause a burning sensation in the eyes, burning is more common in patients with dry eye syndrome. Similarly, itching can occur whether you have allergies or dry eye syndrome, but is more common in allergy cases.

5. Still unsure? With dry eye syndrome, tear breakup time seems to be short, and you may experience bloodshot eyes. In addition, dry eye patients experience tear hyperosmolarity. Have your eye doctor check to see whether or not your osmolarity is normal to develop a clearer indication of what is causing your irritation.

Now what?
If it appears that allergies are your issue, talk to your doctor to consider medication options. If instead you are suffering from dry eye syndrome, realize there are many causes of dry eye syndrome. Blepharitis and MGD are key triggers. If this is your issue, consider an eyelid scrub to prevent clogging of the Meibomian glands along your eyelid. In addition, you may want to consider a lipsome spray. Ocusoft offers both eyelid cleansers, lidscrubs, and liposome sprays to promote proper eyelid hygiene.

Further, there are ways you can combat symptoms whether allergies or Blepharitis are at hand. Changes to your diet can be key as Omega-3 Fatty Acids can help stimulate tear production. MedOp’s Maxi Tears Dry Eye Formula works to relieve dry eyes with a blend of Omegas and vitamins. Tranquileyes goggles are an option as well. This product provides eye hydrating therapy to soothe and restore dry, tired eyes by creating a humid, warm environment which stimulates tear production and slow the evaporation of tears.

Getting in tune with the cause of your symptoms will help you gain control over them. For more dry eye treatments and general optical information, check us out on Facebook and Twitter, and see our Directory for product suggestions.

Dry Eye in the Fall

As we welcome the fall season, some of us might also unknowingly be dealing with increased dry eye symptoms. The warm, dry weather of this season results in dry, sore, itchy or watery eyes for many. Do not simply dismiss this discomfort as a result of fall allergies. Determining whether you’re dealing with dry eye or simply allergies is difficult for optometrists encounter during time of the year. In fact, it is possible for the two conditions to coexist making differentiation complicated.

Even though dry eyes and allergies may overlap in terms of symptoms, their distinction is vital in identifying the correct treatment strategy. For instance, treatment for dry eye includes treating the meibomian glands and underlying inflammation causes. Even if you're already diagnosed with dry eye disease, the changing season might aggravate your symptoms requiring a change in your current therapy or treatment. 

Risk Factors for Dry Eye

• Age

• Menopause, hormones

• Medications

•  Lasik surgery

If any of these risk factors apply to you and you are suffering from dry, sore, itchy or watery eyes, make sure to see your physician to find out the root cause.  

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Causes of Dry Eye

Dry eye can manifest itself with a number of symptoms from pain and redness to heavy eyelids to an inability to cry. Blurred vision is a particularly concerning symptom of dry eye because while it is often a result of tear film dehydration, blurred vision can also be a symptom of other, more serious, medical conditions. Blurred vision is not a medical condition but is instead a symptom of underlying problems. It is associated with glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration, all of which must be seriously controlled. While it is very possible that your blurred vision is simply due to dry eye, checking with your doctor to make sure is always a wise idea, especially if the blurred vision continues as you properly treat your dry eye.

When is Dry Eye the Likely Culprit?

Before you visit your doctor, it is a good idea to think critically about your symptoms. Does your blurred vision worsen at the end of the day? Does it come and go? It is exacerbated after long periods in front of the computer of concentrating on a book? Does it improve when you blink liberally? Affirmative answers to these questions generally indicate that your dry eye syndrome might be to blame.

Why Does Dry Eye Cause Blurred Vision?

The tear film is important to protecting and lubricating the cornea, which transmits light. Dry eye sufferers have poor tear film quality and this can affect the transmission of light to the retina. When dry eye leads to dry spots on the cornea, blurred vision is a common result. Poor tear film moisture can also increase chances of bacteria growth and allergies, which can result in itchy and watery eyes and subsequent blurred vision.

What Else Could It Be?

If you don’t think dry eye is to blame, and you aren’t experiencing symptoms of glaucoma, cataracts or macular degeneration, here are some other potential explanations for your blurred vision. Migraine sufferers often report experiencing blurred vision just before experiencing a headache. Also, studies have shown that certain drugs, including heart medications, blood pressure medicine, and oral contraceptives can cause blurred vision. Ask your doctor if blurred vision is a side effect of any medication you might be taking. Very often, blurred vision is simply an indicator that you might need corrective lenses, or a new prescription if you are also wearing glasses or contacts. In any case, conversation with your doctor needs to occur if bothersome blurriness is impacting your life. Dry eye might be a factor, but it’s important to consider all options in order to maximize your chances of successful treatment.

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Solutions for Make-up Wearers with Dry Eye

Many wearers of cosmetic make-up report experiencing discomfort or irritation in their eyes. This discomfort can at times be exacerbated by sleep-deprivation, long computer usage, drinking, and smoking, and also by the increased allergens in the springtime.

Solution #1: Formulated Eye Drops
There are many solutions to this problem. The first solution is to apply eye drops formulated for treating dry eyes. According to dry eye experts, the best technique is to apply these drops when not wearing make-up. If there is make-up on the eyelid when drops are applied, this may cause additional irritation as the make-up and eye drops are mixed together and flow back into the eyes.

Solution #2: Eyelid Cleansing Wipes
Even after you clean the make-up off of your eyelids there may still be remaining make-up residue. For example, try the lid scrubs produced by OCuSOFT, the #1 doctor recommended brand.

Solution #3: Healthy Make-up Habits
These make-up strategies come from dry eye experts and are applicable to all make-up wearers, even those without dry eye:

• don't share make up
• throw make-up out after 3 months
• clean face before applying make-up
• remove make-up before going to sleep
• avoid glitter or powder (they worsen irritation to the eyes)

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Why Can LASIK Lead To Dry Eye

Why Can LASIK Lead to Dry Eyes?

LASIK and other vision correction procedures involve penetration of the eye surface, which can lead to reduced corneal nerve sensitivity. Dry eye can result if your eyes struggle to sense when they need to produce tear lubrication after the surgery.

Who Is Most At Risk?

Dry eye is a common side effect of LASIK surgery for both people who suffer from the condition before the procedure and those who have never experienced dry eye. However, those with higher degrees of myopia tend to be more at risk for dry eye because these patients require a deeper removal of corneal tissue to reshape the eye. More significantly, for 25% of patients, dry eye symptoms are found to persist for up to six months after surgery. Older age, certain allergies, autoimmune diseases can also contribute to dry eye, so patients who fit these criteria should be extra aware of the potential dry eye side effects of these procedures.

If any of these risk factors apply to you and you are suffering from dry, sore, itchy or watery eyes, make sure to see your physician to find out the root cause.  

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The Future of Dry Eye Therapy

While the majority of dry eye cases can be treated just by using over the counter eye drops, for the select severe cases, more drastic treatment is necessary. Thankfully, recent progress in the field of dry eye research has produced several promising alternative treatment procedures that may provide lasting relief to patients suffering from severe dry eye symptoms.

One of the more well-publicized new alternative treatment has been Lipiflow by TearScience. Lipiflow works by applying heat and gentle pressure to the inner eyelids in order to unclog the meibomian glands. This technique can produce significant improvement in cases of evaporative dry eye since insufficient lipid layer on the tear film is often the key to the condition. Best of all, the treatment is FDA approved, meaning health insurance coverage is a likely possibility.

Intense Pulsed Light therapy works in a similar way to Lipiflow. IPL aim to eliminate bloated, inflammatory blood vessels in the lower eyelid and unplug the necessary oil glands. The result can be significant and patients often report dramatic improvement in the severity of their dry eye symptoms.

Along with Lipiflow and IPL, there has been advances made in the field of at home treatments. Mucosta ophthalmic suspension UD2% is a new drug launched by Acucela and Otsuka Pharmaceutical. The drug has a new mechanism of action which increase the level of mucin in the tear covering conjunctiva and cornea. If effective, Mucosta will stabilize the tear film and lessen the amount of corneal-conjunctival damage associated with dry eye.

Retaine® MGD™ Ophthalmic Emulsion by OCuSOFT is a revolutionary new type of eye drop that stay within the eye. It uses Novagali’s Novasorb technology to bind positively charged ions within the artificial tear to the negatively charged ocular surface. This ensures that the product will be spread in an “optimal, uniform and comfortable way across the entire ocular surface”, improving retention time and user comfort.

The treatment options listed above are just some of the new dry eye therapies that are currently out in the market. Many more are likely to be in the pipeline, awaiting results for tests and clinical trials. There seem to be a general trend that in recent dry eye research to focus more on the root of the condition, aka problem with the patient’s tear film. This is great news for people suffering from severe dry eye who need extra help.

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Could Dry Eye Be Making Your Migraines Worse?

While there isn’t sufficient research to prove a connection between dry eye and migraines, some studies suggest that the two may be related. Thinking logically, such a connection would make sense. We tend to react to dry eye symptoms by rubbing, itching, and squinting. All of these activities increase pressure around and behind the eyes, which in turn could aggravate headaches.

So what does the research say? A research study called “Dry Eyes and Migraines: Is There Really a Correlation” found that dry eye disease occurs more frequently in patients who experience migraine headaches than in non-migraine patients. Of course, correlation does not equal causation, but this research supports the hypothesis that migraine attacks may be worsened or set off by dry eye symptoms.

Dry eye symptoms alone are bothersome. If these symptoms are setting off migraine headaches too, they might seriously limit and affect day to day activities. So what can you do? Pinpointing the root of your dry eye symptoms is a good place to start. If your symptoms are seasonal, your dry eye may be a result of allergies, which proper treatment can control. Check out your pharmacy for options or consult your doctor. If you wear contact lenses, consider how your specific type of lenses may be contributing to your dry eye. Check out our article here to read more about how your choice of contact lenses and lens cleaning routine affects your symptoms. Often, however, dry eye has little to do with lens use or allergies. Many patients suffer from blepharitis, inflammation of the eyelid, which cause worrisome dry eye symptoms. Proper eyelid hygiene is the answer to this problem. Consider investing in eye drops, liposome sprays, and lid scrubs to combat your symptoms. Occusoft offers an impressive line of products that get to the root of your problem so you can find relief. Regardless of the root of your dry eye, EyeEco’s Tranquileyes product uses soft, flexible goggles to offer eye hydrating therapy. The goggles create a humid, warm environment that stimulates tear production and slows the evaporation of tears. By combating the root of your dry eye symptoms, and finding relief, you can prevent pressure build up behind the eyes that might be triggering your migraines.

For more dry eye information, check us out on facebook and twitter, and visit our directory for product suggestions.

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