Dry Eye Treatment in Vadodara

Every blink spreads a thin tear film over the front of the eye. It has a watery layer and, on top, an oily layer made by tiny glands along the eyelid margins — the meibomian glands — that stops the tears evaporating. Dry eye happens when this film becomes unstable: either too few tears are made, or, far more commonly, the oil layer is poor and the tears evaporate too quickly.

At ShivAnuj Eye Hospital & Diagnostic Center on Harni–Warasiya Ring Road, dry eye is assessed using a structured approach based on the international TFOS DEWS II framework, and treated step by step according to the cause.

Symptoms

• Burning, stinging or a gritty, sandy feeling (aankhon mein jalan)
• Redness, especially by the evening
• Watering — the eye over-produces reflex tears when the surface is irritated
• Vision that blurs and clears with blinking
• Tired, heavy eyes after screen work or reading
• Discomfort with contact lenses, air-conditioning or wind

Common causes

• Screens. We blink far less when concentrating on a phone or computer, so the tear film breaks up.
• Meibomian gland dysfunction — blocked or poorly working oil glands, the most frequent underlying cause.
• Environment: air-conditioning, fans, dust and dry weather.
• Age and hormones, including after menopause.
• Contact lens wear.
• Medicines such as some antihistamines, antidepressants, blood-pressure tablets and acne treatment (isotretinoin).
• General health conditions including diabetes, thyroid disease and autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or Sjögren’s syndrome.
• Eyelid problems that stop the lids closing or blinking fully.

How dry eye is evaluated

Symptoms alone do not tell us which type of dry eye you have, and the treatment differs. The assessment usually includes:

• A detailed history — screen habits, environment, medicines and general health
• Slit-lamp examination of the tear film, the cornea and the eyelid margins
• Tear film stability (how quickly the tears break up after a blink) and special dye staining of the eye surface
• Assessment of the meibomian glands and the quality of the oil they produce

Treatment

Treatment is built up in steps, matched to the cause and severity:

1. Habits and environment — screen breaks, conscious blinking, positioning screens slightly below eye level, and avoiding fans or AC blowing on the face.
2. Lubricating eye drops — preservative-free drops are preferred if you need them frequently.
3. Lid hygiene and warm compresses to help the oil glands work.
4. Thermal meibomian gland therapy — an in-clinic treatment that applies controlled warmth to the eyelids to melt and clear thickened oil from blocked glands.
5. Anti-inflammatory treatment where inflammation of the eye surface is part of the problem.
6. Managing the underlying cause — for example reviewing a medicine or treating an eyelid condition (see oculoplasty).

Dry eye is often a long-term condition, so the goal is lasting comfort with a routine you can keep up, rather than a one-time cure.

Screen strain: the 20-20-20 habit

Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away for 20 seconds, and blink fully a few times. Keep the screen an arm’s length away and slightly below eye level. Small habits like these make a real difference for people who work on screens all day, including students.

Questions patients ask

This page is general health information, not a substitute for a clinical examination. Suitability for any procedure is decided only after an in-person assessment. Individual results vary.

This page is general health information, not a substitute for a clinical examination. Suitability for any test or treatment is decided only after your eyes have been examined.