Hello everyone, this is Dr. Audrey Tai. I am a board certified and fellowship trained
refractive and cataract surgeon, ophthalmologist and cornea specialist, welcome back to my
channel - Eye channel by eye surgeon. In today's video, I would like to talk to
you about three effective treatments that you can do at home to treat dry eye disease.
You may have heard about many different types of dry eye treatments, such as eyedrops, both
the ones that are available over-the-counter, and the ones available by prescription, and
some other treatments that you can get at a doctor's office. but if you adopt the three
at home treatments I mention in this video, and do them consistently, you should notice
a significant improvement if you have mild to moderate dry eye disease.
If you stay with me until the end of this video, I will go over the single most important
component of any dry eye treatment. This is not a sponsored video, and the treatments
I mention in this video are based on my own clinical experience.
You may have already been using some of the treatments for dry eyes I mention in this
video, but you still feel your eyes get irritated, red, and tired. After watching this video,
you may find the products you have been using, or how you're using them may not be correct
for you.
I will also be posting a more in-depth video about the mechanisms of dry eye disease and
different types of dry eyes. So make sure you subscribe to my channel so you won't miss
any of my new videos.
Treatment number one: artificial tears you may be thinking: I have been using over-the-counter
dry eye drops many times a day, but my eyes are still dry and irritated. But which type
of over-the-counter eyedrops are you using? and how many times a day are you using them?
Because using the right type of over-the-counter artificial tear eyedrops will help to replenish
the tear film on the surface of our eyes, but using the wrong ones can cause damage
to the surface of the eye instead of helping to improve dry eyes.
The tear film contains three different layers- a lipid layer, an aqueous layer, and a mucin
layer. A good dry eye drop can help replenish and improve all three layers of the tear film.
The over-the-counter artificial tear eyedrop I recommend for most people to improve the
health of all three layers of the tear film is refresh digital. refresh digital artificial
tears contain castor oil which is a natural ingredient derived from castor beans. And
it targets the lipid layer of the tear film by reducing evaporation of the tear film and
extending the effectiveness of the artificial tears. In addition to the active ingredients
of CMC and glycerin, an additional active ingredient in refresh digital is polysorbate
. Polysorbate can help blend the oil component and the water-soluble component of the artificial
tears, to make the eye drops more soluble and easily spread across the surface of the
eye. It is very important to use the preservative
free version of refresh digital eyedrops whenever possible. Because there are special cells
on the surface of the eyes, called goblet cells, These special cells can be damaged
when exposed to excessive amounts of preservatives in eyedrops over a long period time, resulting
in less healthy mucin in the tear film. The goblet cells secrete the inner most layer
of the tear film – the mucin layer. The mucin layer of the tear film stabilizes the
tear film and decreases the surface tension. It allows the aqueous layer of the tear film
to spread evenly over the surface of the eye, and protects the surface of the eye from damage.
To learn more about preservatives used in over-the-counter eyedrops you can check out
my video about dry eye drop ingredients.
Typically if you're using artificial teardrops more than four times a day, or if you use
eyedrops while wearing contact lenses, I highly recommend avoiding preservatives in eyedrops
by using preservative free artificial tear eye drops. The preservative free refresh digital
eyedrops come in single use vials, which can be costly and inconvenient. A good alternative
is optase dry eye intense drops. It is preservative free and it comes in a multidose bottle.
It contains sodium hyaluronate and 0.2% glycerin. I have been using the optase eyedrop for the
last few weeks and found the lubrication effect of the drop to be long-lasting.
I have listed links for those two eyedrops below in the description of this video, you
can check them out.
You can also check out my video about my top five over the counter Eyedrops to help you
find the right one for you.
Treatment number two: warm compresses This treatment mainly targets the lipid layer
of the tear film. The lipid layer of the tear film is very important in preventing tears
from evaporating too fast. The lipid layer of the tear film is the outer
most layer. If your eyes feel dry and irritated shortly after applying over-the-counter eyedrops,
or you feel like you need to put in eyedrops over and over again, the lipid layer of your
tear film is likely not very healthy. The lipid layer of the tear film is secreted by
the Meibomian glands located in both upper and lower eyelids. If the meibomian glands
are clogged or not working, or the gland oil contains too many inflammatory particles,
the aqueous layer of the tear film underneath, secreted by the tear glands will not remain
on the cornea for long enough to lubricate or moisturize the eyes. One effective treatment
you can do at home to open up the oil glands is warm compresses.
You may already be doing warm compresses at home but have not found it to be very effective.
You may not have been doing them correctly. The key of getting the benefit of warm compresses
is to keep the heat over you closed eyelids for 5 to 10 minutes. The method of using a
washcloth soaked with hot water often does not provide long enough heat to the eyelids,
and you’ll need to rewarm the wash cloth a few times during each warm compress session.
Heatable eye masks are designed to provide more consistent and longer-lasting heat to
the meibomian glands to help release the oil from the glands into the tear film. I typically
recommend doing warm compresses once or twice a day, depending on the severity of your dry
eye symptoms. I’ve listed the heat mask that I have been using myself in the description
below. You can microwave the Bruder mask for 20 seconds and it will stay hot for 20 minutes.
Treatment three: omega-3 oil supplements the lipid layer of the tear film can also
be affected by unhealthy gland oil secreted by the meibomian glands. This is typically
due to increased inflammatory particles in the tear film. In this case it is important
to modulate and restore the health of the meibomian glands and their oil. This is where
omega-3 supplements can come in to play. Because omega-3 supplements are not a prescription
medication and are not regulated by the FDA, their dosage and composition may vary greatly.
Stay tuned for an upcoming video, where I will take a more in-depth look for you into
omega-3 oil supplements for dry eye disease. I put a link in the description below for
one brand of Omega-3 oil for dye eyes if you would like to check it out. Please remember
to always consult with your doctor before taking any high dose omega-3 supplements,
to make sure that they are safe and right for you.
In this video, I have mentioned three easy to do dry eye treatments that you can do at
home. There are also other, more invasive and advanced treatment options that require
prescriptions, and are typically reserved for more severe dry eye cases. To learn more
those treatment options, you can check out my video: what to do when eyedrops are just
not enough.
It is important to remember there is no one size fits all treatment protocol for everyone.
In my clinical practice, I prescribe an individualized treatment protocol for each patient, based
on their individual situation, and I tailor their treatment plan based on their response
to each treatment. You can follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn at Dr. Audrey Tai to learn more
about my practice.
Thank you for staying with me throughout this video. As I promised at the beginning of the
video, I would like to share with you the single most important component of any dry
eye treatment. The most important thing you can do to ensure that your dry eye treatment
is effective is to Be Consistent. If you only apply eye drops or do dry eye treatments when
you are experiencing symptoms, such as redness, soreness or irritation, the treatment effect
will not be long lasting. When you adopt any or all of the three treatments, and do them
consistently on a daily basis, the treatments will act as preventive measures to help prevent
you from getting dry eye symptoms. I often recommend that my patients with dry eye disease
use artificial tear eye drops 3 to 4 times a day on a regular basis, and do warm compresses
and take omega-3 oil supplements daily.
If you feel your eyes are still irritated or sometimes have blurry vision, despite using
over-the-counter eyedrops and other at home treatments I mentioned in this video, it is
important to have a full eye exam and talk to your eye doctor about what other treatment
options might be right for you.
Let me know in the comments below, what dry eye treatments you are currently using, and
what your experience has been.
I hope you find this video helpful, if you have learned anything new from this video
please don’t forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel to help me bring
you more videos about eye health and Eye surgery. Thank you again for watching and I will see
you in my next video.