Dry Eye Clinic

Dry Eye Care

Dry eye is a common condition that happens when your eyes don’t produce enough tears or when tears evaporate too quickly. This leads to irritation, burning, redness, and a gritty or sandy sensation in the eyes. People with dry eye may notice fluctuating or blurry vision, especially with prolonged screen use or reading. Environmental factors like wind, dry air, and contact lens wear can make symptoms worse. Treatment focuses on improving tear quality, reducing inflammation, and protecting the eye surface for lasting comfort.

Understanding Dry Eye

Imagine your child’s eye as a camera. In a normal eye, light rays focus precisely on the retina, located at the back of the eye, creating a clear image. However, in a myopic eye, the eyeball is slightly elongated, or the cornea (the clear front surface of the eye) is too curved. This causes light rays to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it, resulting in blurry distance vision.

Myopia typically develops during childhood, often between the ages of 6 and 12, and tends to worsen gradually as the child grows. Factors such as genetics, prolonged near work (such as reading or screen time), and limited outdoor activities can contribute to its progression.

Potential Complications of Untreated Myopia:

Untreated Dry Eye can lead to serious eye health issues with increased risk, including:

Chronic eye inflammation and damage: Ongoing dryness can lead to persistent inflammation, harming the cornea and increasing the risk of scarring or ulcers.
Increased risk of eye infections: Tears protect the eye from bacteria, and without adequate tear coverage, infections occur more easily and can be more severe.
Fluctuating or reduced vision: An unstable tear film causes blurred, inconsistent vision that can interfere with reading, driving, and screen use.
Long-term discomfort and reduced quality of life: Untreated dry eye can progress to constant pain, light sensitivity, and difficulty keeping the eyes open, impacting daily activities and sleep.

Dry Eye Treatment

Fortunately, we offer several effective methods to slow down or control myopia progression in children:

Radiofrequency and IPL

Radiofrequency (RF) and intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments help dry eye by improving the function of the meibomian glands, which produce the oil layer of the tear film. RF gently heats the eyelids to loosen clogged oils and enhance gland expression, leading to more stable and longer-lasting tears. IPL reduces inflammation and abnormal blood vessels around the eyelids that contribute to chronic dryness. Together, these treatments address the root cause of evaporative dry eye, improving comfort, tear quality, and long-term symptom control

Outdoor Time: Encourage your child to spend more time outdoors. Studies have shown that spending at least 2 hours per day outdoors can reduce the risk of myopia development by up to 50%. Outdoor activities expose the eyes to natural sunlight, which may play a protective role against myopia.
Screen Time Management: Limit your child's screen time and encourage regular breaks using the "20-20-20" rule. Every 20 minutes, have your child take a 20-second break and focus on something 20 feet away. This helps reduce eye strain associated with prolonged work, such as reading or using digital devices.
Appropriate Reading Distance: Ensure that your child maintains an appropriate reading distance of approximately 16 inches away from books or screens. Sitting too close to the material can strain the eyes and contribute to myopia progression.