UPMC Eye Center

Dry Eye

Dry eye occurs when tears do not keep the eye wet. Symptoms of dry eyes include a burning feeling, a feeling of a foreign object in the eye, redness, blurred vision, and irritation from contact lenses.  Dry eye can have many different causes, including age-related hormonal changes, eye shape, eye diseases, and poor tear production.  Many medicines such as birth control pills and antihistamines can worsen dry eye conditions, so it is important to discuss medications that you are taking with your eye doctor.

Diagnosis
In order to understand why you are experiencing dry eyes, your eye doctor will analyze your tears.  There are three ingredients in all tears:  the mucous layer, the aqueous (water) layer, and the oil (lipid) layer. A problem with any of these three parts can result in dry eye.

Your doctor will observe the surface of your eye through a microscope. Most tests for dry eye are non-invasive and involve the use of special dyes that temporarily stain the tears and the surface of the eye. 

Treatment Options
Traditionally, people with dry eye have relied on artificial tears (eye drops) to relieve their symptoms, but artificial tears are not as effective as real tears. Dry eye irritation may be avoided by using a humidifier to add moisture to the air, applying warm compresses to the eye area, avoiding placing a fan near you, and by wearing glasses instead of contact lenses. 

New treatments are being developed for dry eye. These include:

• better artificial tears that stay on the surface of the eye longer but do not cause blurred vision
• punctual plugs – tiny silicone plugs inserted into the the puncta, the part of the eye that drains tears; the plugs keep more tears in the eye
• oral antibiotics
• eye drops made from the patient’s own blood constituents (plasma)
• cyclosporine eye drops (Restasis)

For more information, or to make an appointment with an eye doctor, please contact the UPMC Eye Center at 412-647-2200.

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