Do you suffer from dry, itchy and/or red eyes? Has your eye care professional told you that you have Chronic Dry Eye? If you’ve already been diagnosed with Dry Eye, the spring and summer months can be especially troubling.
There are several reasons Dry Eye can be affecting you worse in the hot spring and summer months than in the colder winter months.
Below are a few reasons Dry Eye increases:
Exposure to Sunlight – For those who are active, dry eyes can be especially troubling in the spring and summer due to excessive exposure to sunlight without the proper eye protection. Continued exposure to sunlight can cause more difficulty with vision because the tear film can evaporate more quickly.
Environmental Exposures – With warmer weather, often we go outside more. Outside elements can also cause more problems in the spring and summer months because of decreased tear film.
Less Blinking – When we blink we essentially help the tear film cover the eyes. If we blink less, we have less tears covering the eyes.
There are new treatment options available to help those with chronic Dry Eye.
One such treatment for dry eyes is LipiFlow®.
What is Lipiflow®?
The new treatment LipiFlow® uses specialized goggles and heat to help unclog the Meibomian glands within the eyelids. Typically there are between 30-40 Meibomian glands that produce oils which help tears from evaporating off the eyes. Depending on how many are clogged upon evaluation will help determine if you are a good candidate for the LipiFlow® procedure.
