Dry Eye

Rocky Mountain Eye Center

Ophthalmology & Optometry located in Missoula, Hamilton, Butte & Helena, MT

Dry eyes can cause various levels of discomfort, including itching, burning, and excess watering that make it difficult to perform daily tasks. The optometrists and ophthalmologists at Rocky Mountain Eye Center diagnose and treat dry eye at their locations in Missoula, Hamilton, Helena, and Butte, Montana. If you think you may have dry eye, call or book an appointment online today.

Dry Eye Q & A

What is Dry Eye?

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Dry eye is a common condition that happens when the quality or quantity of your tears isn’t enough to properly lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears are an essential part of eye health and help provide clear vision.

What Causes Dry Eye?

Dry eye occurs when your eyes either don’t make enough tears, or when the tears they produce are of poor quality:

Inadequate Amount of Tears: Several glands around your eyelid produce tears. Various conditions may reduce the volume of tears these glands make, including -
- Increasing age
- Damage to the tear gland
- Certain medications, including antihistamines
- Medical conditions, such as diabetes
- Environmental factors, such as wind, smoke, and dry air, may temporarily reduce the number of tears by increasing tear evaporation
Poor Quality of Tears: Tears have three main layers: oil, water, and mucus. Each component plays an important role in nourishing the surface of your eye. An imbalance in any of these layers may cause tears to evaporate too quickly or prevent them from adequately covering the surface of your cornea. These conditions can lead to dry eye.

What are the Symptoms of Dry Eye?

Signs and symptoms of dry eye typically affect both eyes. Common dry eye symptoms include:

Stinging, burning, or scratching sensation
Feeling like something is in your eyes
Mucousy discharge around your eyes
Blurred vision
Watery eyes
Red eyes

Dry eye may make it uncomfortable to wear contact lenses and cause vision problems that make it difficult to drive, especially at night.

How is Dry Eye Diagnosed and Treated?

To diagnose dry eye, your vision specialist at Rocky Mountain Eye Center performs a comprehensive eye exam. They thoroughly review your medical history and eye health to understand the cause of your dry eye. They may also perform tests to measure the volume and quality of your tears.

Then, they recommend the best treatment for your specific dry eye condition. Treatment for dry eyes may include:

Using artificial tear eye drops
Medications to reduce eyelid inflammation
Medications to stimulate tear production
Punctal plugs to reduce tear loss
Using special contact lenses for dry eye

Your specialist at Rocky Mountain Eye Center may also recommend self-care steps you can take to reduce dry eye, such as using a humidifier and taking nutritional supplements that contain essential fatty acids.

To find the right dry eye treatment for you, call Rocky Mountain Eye Center or book an appointment online today.

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What is Dry Eye Disease?

Along with helping you express yourself, tears provide necessary lubrication for your eyes and help reduce the risk of infection, wash away foreign matter, and keep the surface of your eyes smooth. Dry eye disease occurs when you don’t produce enough tears and/or your tears lack the necessary quality to keep your eyes moist and healthy.

The tear film covering the front of your eye contains three layers. The topmost layer consists of oil (lipids) that helps prevent evaporation of the watery middle layer, which rides over the mucin (mucus) layer that spreads tears evenly over your eye surface. When one or more of these tear components are inadequate, dry eye disease occurs.

When left untreated, dry eye disease causes inflammation and irritation on the surface of your eye. This can lead to stinging and burning discomfort, blurry vision, increased risk of eye infections, and other concerning eye health issues.

What is LipiFlow?

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LipiFlow is a dry eye treatment that’s designed to address problems in the top layer of your tears. The lipids necessary for this oily protective layer come from numerous tiny meibomian glands that line your upper and lower eyelids. When they’re functioning properly, these glands secrete appropriate amounts of oil with every blink.

Meibomian glands can become plugged, however, with hardened and sticky debris that limit their function. Blocked meibomian glands don’t produce enough oils to adequately coat your watery tear layer. This common component of dry eye disease causes your tears to evaporate too quickly.

LipiFlow is an FDA-approved device that uses gentle warmth on the inner lids and carefully controlled rhythmic pressure applied to your outer lids to liquefy and break up meibomian gland blockages, which restores lipid flow to your tears.

Rather than addressing your symptoms with drops or other temporary relief measures, LipiFlow treats one of the underlying causes of dry eye disease at its source.

What Can I Expect During a LipiFlow Treatment?

LipiFlow treatments take about 12 minutes. After your eye doctor positions the LipiFlow devices, one for each eye, you lean back and rest while the system does its job. Most patients describe the sessions as relaxing, much like a gentle, therapeutic massage for your eyelids.

For effective treatment that relieves your dry eye symptoms and protects your eye health, schedule a visit at Rocky Mountain Eye Center, in Missoula, Montana, today.

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