If drops stopped working, the drops were never the answer.
Most dry eye is not a shortage of tears. It is oil glands in the eyelids that have stopped working properly, so the tears you make evaporate before they do their job. Adding more water to the surface does not fix that.
Dry eye rarely feels dry.
Patients describe burning, grittiness, a lash or a speck that will not come out, tired eyes by mid-afternoon, trouble with screens, and vision that blurs and then clears when they blink. A good many describe watering — eyes streaming so badly they assume the problem is the opposite of dryness. It is not. A poor tear film triggers reflex tearing.
It is also the most commonly dismissed condition in eye care, usually with a recommendation to buy something over the counter. That works for some people. When it does not, there is a reason, and it is findable.
Treating the glands, not just the surface.
BBL light therapy
Broadband light applied along the lower lids improves the function of the oil glands behind most dry eye. It is the same Sciton platform we use for brown and red spots — here it is a medical treatment. Self-pay. About BBL
Prescription therapy
Medications that address the inflammation driving the cycle, rather than lubricating over the top of it.
Punctal plugs
Tiny inserts that slow tear drainage, keeping what you produce on the eye for longer. Placed in minutes in the office.
Lid care and the boring things
Warm compresses, lid hygiene, omega-3, screen habits, and the humidity of the room you sleep in. Unglamorous, and they matter.
The right drop, from our dispensary
Instead of guessing at an aisle of forty bottles, you leave with the one we recommend, in your hand. Our dispensary
Before surgery, it matters more
An unstable tear film distorts the measurements that determine your cataract lens, and it decides whether LASIK is safe for you. We treat it first for a reason.
Bring in what you have already tried.
Every bottle, every prescription. It tells us more in a minute than the exam does.