The Eye Gallery

Dry Eye Therapy in Wichita

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Symptoms of Dry Eyes

Dry eye symptoms usually affect both eyes and can include:

  • Stinging, burning, or scratchy eyes
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Blurry vision
  • Eye fatigue
  • Redness
  • Stringy mucus in the eyes
  • Excessive eye watering (a response to the irritation of dry eyes)
  • Difficulty driving at night
  • Discomfort while wearing contact lenses

What Causes Dry Eyes?

Ultimately, dry eyes occur when your tears don’t provide sufficient lubrication for your eyes, although there are many reasons why dry eyes initially develop:

How Our Tears Work

You may not think about them all that often, but our tears are essential for maintaining our ocular health and helping us see clearly. Not only do they help focus the light that enters our eyes, but they also protect our eyes from infection, keep them clean of dirt and debris, and nourish them.

Our tears are made of 3 layers:

  • The lipid (oily) layer keeps the tears from evaporating too quickly and keeps the surface of the eyes smooth.
  • The aqueous (watery) layer keeps the eyes wet and comfortable and nourishes the eye tissue.
  • The mucin (mucus) layer helps the tears stick to the surface of the eyes.

Tears are produced in the tear glands above your eyes, are spread across the eyes’ surfaces every time you blink, and then drain into your tear ducts or down your nose and face. Dry eyes occur when there’s an imbalance in the makeup of your tears, if they evaporate too quickly, or there’s a decrease in tear production.

Diagnosing & Treating Dry Eyes

Dry eyes are easily diagnosed during a comprehensive eye exam. Because treatment depends entirely on the kind of dry eyes you have, we focus on a thorough understanding of the root cause of your dry eyes. The results of these tests will allow us to determine the source of your dry eyes and put together a fully customized treatment plan and provide you with the relief you so need.

A dry eye evaluation includes:

  • A self-evaluation called the Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness Questionnaire (SPEED). It’s a subjective evaluation by the patient of their own dry eye symptoms. This questionnaire assigns a score between 0 to 28 based on 8 items that assess frequency and severity of symptoms.
  • A comprehensive eye exam, including a complete family and ocular history and discussion of lifestyle or environmental factors contributing to your dry eyes.
  • A measurement of the volume of your tears using the Schirmer test. This test involves placing blotting strips under your lower eyelids to determine your tear production. Although this test won’t tell us why you have dry eyes, it will confirm that you do indeed have dry eyes.
  • A test to determine the quality of your tears using a specialized dye test. This dye stains your eye’s surface and highlights gaps in your tear film and allows us to detect abnormal tear production.
Treatment Options

Treatment depends on the underlying cause of your dry eyes. If your symptoms are caused by medication or a health condition, for example, changing the medication and treating the health condition may likely address your dry eye symptoms.

There are many treatments and therapies available, including:

We will be able to determine the cause of your dry eyes during your next appointment. Let us develop a personalized treatment plan for you and help you find comfort and clarity today!

Our Services

Our Location

Our Address

12330 E. 21st St. N.
Wichita, KS 67206

Contact Information

Phone: (316) 315-0321
info@eyegalleryks.com

Our Hours

Monday
9 AM5 PM
Tuesday
9 AM5 PM
Wednesday
9 AM6 PM
Thursday
9 AM6 PM
Friday
9 AM5 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

Testimonials

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