Question:
What is the best treatment for dry eye?
Answer:
There is no "best treatment" for dry eyes. There are many treatments for dry eye, but no single treatment that works for everyone. I like to think of the treatments in stages. For mild dry eye, most ophthalmologists recommend supplemental tear drops to be used as needed along with the avoidance of activities that cause increased evaporation from the eyes like ceiling fans, motor cycles, and other wind-driven activities. Dietary supplements with dietary oils, like flax seed oil, can also be helpful. Moderately severe dry eye is better treated with punctum plugs, which can be used to greatly diminish the rate in which tears exit the surface of the eye and drain from the eye into the back of the nose. These plugs are simple to insert, are done in the office without pain and can easily be removed if needed. I save the use of Restasis eye drops for the most severe cases of dry because of its expense and the fact that it must be used forever. Your ophthalmologist (Eye M.D.) will know how to evaluate your degree of dry eye and work with you to achieve greater comfort with your eyes.
Answered by: Wayne Bizer, MD
Categories: Eye Conditions,
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