Dry Eye Symptoms

When left untreated can lead to extreme outcomes including loss of the meibomian glands or scarring of the cornea and surrounding tissue.

If you are one of the people that is experiencing severe dry eye, then you know it can be disabling.
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Additional Eye Conditions Associated with Dry Eye

• Ocular Rosasea – inflammation resulting in redness, burning and itching of the eyes

• Blepharitis - inflammation of the eyelids

• Demodex blepharitis – infestation of mites within the lash follicles

• Styes – inflamed bacterial infection within a gland at the base of a lash
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How Common Is Dry Eye?

• Thirty to forty million Americans are diagnosed with dry eyes, with a projected direct cost of $3.8 billion

• Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) has a prevalence of 35.8% in the global population

• Dry eye has been diagnosed in about 16.4 million adults in the US, and 6 million more experience symptoms without a formal diagnosis
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What is Dry Eye?

There are two main types of Dry Eye:

• Aqueous deficient (Lack of tear production)

• Evaporative (Tears evaporate too quick)

But first you need to understand the
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TEAR LAYERS OF THE HUMAN EYE

• As we blink, a film of tears forms over the eye this keeps the eye’s surface smooth and clear

• Tear film is made of three layers:

  • Mucous layer

  • Watery layer

  • Oily layer

• Each layer of the tear film serves a purpose

• Dry eye occurs due to a breakdown in any of these three tear layers

• If the Lacrimal gland does not produce tears then you have aqueous deficient dry eye.

• Meibomian glands produce meibum or oils that protect the tears from evaporation.

• If oils fail to reach the tear film you will end up with evaporative dry eye. This is typically due to meibomian gland dysfunction.
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What is Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD)?

• A blockage or some other abnormality of the meibomian glands so they don't secrete enough oil into the tears

• Common eye disorders such as meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and dry eyes are chronic and progressive

• MGD is considered to be one of the leading causes of dry eyes1 and its characteristic ocular surface inflammation disrupts tear film homeostasis resulting in the surface of the tear film evaporating too quickly.

• MGD causes oil glands to become clogged resulting in oil congestion and stagnation within the gland causing the glands to dilate, become inflamed and atrophy leading to loss of the oil gland.

• This can then result in chronic and constant eye discomfort
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Expression Of Obstructed
Meibomian Gland

• Heat eyelids to soften oil in obstructed glands

• Express softened plug from meibomian glands