About

Dry Eye Disease is a condition in which the eye does not produce tears properly, or when the tears are not of the correct consistency and evaporate too rapidly. If left untreated, this condition can lead to inflammation and pain, ulcers, scarring of the cornea, and some loss of vision.

For individuals who are suffering from with condition, seeking the expertise of dry eye specialists is essential to identify the main cause of symptoms and the specific type of dry eye disease to get appropriate treatment. 

 Dry Eye disease can affect the quality of life of the sufferer; dry eye can make it more difficult to perform some everyday activities, such as using a computer or reading for an extended period of time, and it can also reduce tolerance to dry environments, such as an aeroplane cabin. There are many factors involved in DED, which is a chronic and progressive disease that produces a range of symptoms and can potentially lead to damaging the eyes.


Symptoms

DED does not present a specific set of symptoms and can affect different people with different symptoms and different levels of severity, but there may be no symptoms present in the early stages of the disease.

  • Stinging or burning of the eye
  • A sandy or gritty feeling as if something is in the eye
  • Episodes of excess tears following very dry eye periods
  • A stringy discharge from the eye
  • Pain and redness of the eye
  • Episodes of blurred vision
  • Heavy eyelids
  • Inability to cry when emotionally stressed
  • Discomfort when wearing contact lenses
  • Decreased tolerance of reading, working on the computer, or any activity that requires sustained visual attention

Causes

The causes of dry eye include a wide range of possible contributing factors, including hormonal changes, ageing, environmental factors (hot dry climate, lots of reading, computer work when people tend to blink less), certain medications, laser eye surgery, contact lenses, and medical conditions, from allergic conjunctivitis to rheumatoid arthritis.

Diagnosis

We use cutting-edge diagnostics to pinpoint the root cause of your symptoms and determine the specific dry eye condition you may have. This includes but is not limited to anterior and posterior Blepharitis, Demodex, evaporative dry eye, aqueous deficient dry eye, and conditions such as Sjogren’s disease.

Our state-of-the-art diagnostic tools include:

  • Meibography for assessing meibomian gland dysfunction
  • Non-invasive evaluations of tear break-up time
  • Lipid layer thickness gauging
  • Tear meniscus height measurements
  • Osmolarity tests
  • MMP 9 assessments for inflammation detection.

Treatments

Although there is no cure for Dry Eye Disease, treatment can help manage the chronic condition and improve patients’ quality of life.

  • Specialised eye drops
  • Oral medication treatment
  • Good eye hygiene
  • Dietary supplements
  • Manual Meibomian Gland Expression
  • Minor surgical procedures
  • Tear duct plugs (permanent, semi-permanent, dissolvable)
  • Intense Pulsed Light Sessions
  • Lipiflow (heat treatment for Meibomian Gland dysfunction) 

At Moorfields Eye Hospitals UAE, our treatment plans are tailored to the individual need of our patients based on thorough diagnosis.  If you feel you are experiencing dry eye symptoms, we recommend you visit our dry eye specialist in Dubai or Abu Dhabi to get a professional diagnosis and treatment if required.