Find Relief from Itchy, Dry Eyes

The itchy, burning, red eyes and blurry vision caused by dry eye disease isn’t just uncomfortable — it can lower your quality of life. But you can look ahead to a future with fresher feeling eyes with dry eye therapy from Old South Optometry.

We believe in an approach to dry eye management that combines patient education with innovative treatment. By diagnosing the cause of your dry eyes with specialized equipment, and answering all your questions, we’ll work together to find you relief. Book your appointment today.

What is Dry Eye?

“Dry eye” isn’t just an apt description of that gritty feeling in your eyes. Dry eyes happen when you don’t produce enough tears, or the tears you do have are not high-quality or evaporate too quickly.

What Causes Dry Eye?

Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD)

The most common culprit behind dry eye disease is meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Your meibomian glands line the edges of your eyelids and are responsible for releasing meibum, an oil, as part of your tears.

When your meibomian glands are blocked, your tear quality decreases, and dry eyes are often the result.

Digital Eye Strain

When you work at a computer for long stretches, your eyes work hard while blinking differently. All this effort can result in several symptoms of digital eye strain, including headaches and dry eyes.

Other Dry Eye Causes

Dry eye can be a result of hormonal changes, including natural changes with aging or in pregnancy or using hormonal birth control.

Environmental factors, like dry air, dust, and contaminants, can also exacerbate dry eye symptoms. Many systemic conditions are also associated with an increase risk of developing dry eye.

A close up image of a woman's bloodshot and dry eye.

Dry Eye Symptoms

You probably already know about the gritty, uncomfortable feeling that accompanies dry eyes. Here are some other eye symptoms:

Stinging
Feeling like there’s something in your eye
Itchiness
Redness
Extra tears
Blurry vision

Treatments for Dry Eye

Our comprehensive eye exams are one of the best ways to diagnose the cause of your dry eye. We rely on the thorough diagnostics provided by our MYAH device, plus a detailed conversation about your symptoms with you.

We use all that data to devise a treatment plan to find the best relief for your symptoms. Our treatments include:

Prescription or Over-the-Counter Eye Drops

Depending on how much relief you need from your symptoms, we might suggest over-the-counter eye drops (artificial tears), or prescribe medicated anti-inflammatory drops.

We particularly recommend Hylo Eye Drops and I-MED Pharma’s I-Drops for our dry eye patients.

Omega-3 Supplements

Research has found that the omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in coldwater fish like salmon, cod, and tuna, may help preserve healthy vision. An omega-3 supplement such as NutraSea Omega-3s can be part of healthy eye nutrition.

Therapeutic Masks

Using a moist heat therapy mask regularly can help to loosen and release meibomian glands and increase the quality of your tears. We may suggest the I-Relief Eye Mask and the TranquilEyes sleep mask to our dry eye patients.

A therapeutic mask can also be combined with a lid hygiene program, including tea tree oil lid wipes or cleansers such as I-Lid’n Lash.

Moisture Release Eyewear

This innovative eyewear releases moisture throughout the day to provide relief for dry eye symptoms. Eye Eco is one excellent provider of moisture relief glasses we recommend.