Dry Eye

In his second installment for his Optometry Times blog, The Schachter Factor, Dr. Scott Schachter discusses his protocol for diagnosing and treating dry eye patients in his practice.

TearLab recently reported interim results of a multi-center dry eye disease (DED) prevalence study carried out in the UK at four National Health Service (NHS) hospitals.

Everything from our high-tech lifestyles outdoor environmental factors, and the general aging of the population can lead to blepharitis, dry eye disease (DED) and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Sustained tasks, such as reading, can reduce the blink rate to as low as five blinks per minute. This slow blink rate can cause additional stress on an ocular surface that is already compromised due to one of the aforementioned disorders.

Lupus, dry mouth, and arthritis aren’t usually associated with optometry, but it may well need to become a necessary part of any optometrist's knowledge base as awareness of Sjögren's syndrome becomes more prevalent, reported Dr. Milton M. Hom, OD, FAAO, at his most recent seminar at Vision Expo West.

In an ongoing effort to ameliorate the discomfort and blurred vision that stems from dry eye, tear substitutes have undergone numerous improvements to enhance their efficacy and safety to the ocular surface.

In this video, Dr. Scott Schachter discusses creating a dry eye center.

Every optometrist who fits contact lenses knows what a problem many patients have with contact lens discomfort. It is likewise a significant clinical challenge.

Approaching dry eye from a systemic standpoint can potentially benefit patients in the long term and improve the quality of care we provide. Here are a few key considerations that should be made when assessing dry eye as a potential systemic symptom.

Office workers with prolonged digital device use may have a change in the makeup of their tear film, which is similar to that of an individual with dry eye disease (DED), according to a Japanese study recently published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Two new therapies are aiming to treat dry eye disease by targeting dry eye-related inflammation.

A healthy ocular surface is critical for the visual acuity and comfort of soft contact lenses. Despite this, treating dry eye is often an afterthought. Instead, contact lens practitioners may make multiple changes to the lens material, lens modality, and/or cleaning solution in an attempt to improve comfortable wear time and avoid dropout.

Shire recently announced its plans to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for lifitegrast for the treatment of dry eye disease in adults in first-quarter 2015.

Today, the surgical correction of refractive error is most commonly performed on the cornea. LASIK surgery is the most popular form of refractive surgery in the U.S. with more than 16.5 million procedures performed to date.1 For many of our patients, LASIK may be the best surgical option, but sometimes removing tissue from the cornea may not be the best surgical option.

During the During the Global Contact Lens Forum, a partnership between Vision Expo East and the British Contact Lens Association, Milton Hom, OD, FAAO; Nick Rumney, MScO, FCO, FAAO; and Michael Ward, MMSC, FAAO; discussed how the interaction between the contact lens and the ocular system affects contact lens success.

I am myopic, and I’ve been seeing an optometrist since I was in fourth grade. When I was in college and deciding among dentistry, medicine, and optometry, my dad said I should talk to my great uncle. His name is Oley Olson and he practiced for 30+ years in Charlotte, NC. He not only influenced me to go into optometry and what a great field it was but to come to North Carolina to practice as well. And that’s where I am today.

Although the Demodex mite is not a recent discovery, you might not realize that by the rapid rise of demodex in the ophthalmic professional sphere. From peer-reviewed journal articles to lectures at professional meetings to chatter on the exhibit hall floor to thought-leader informational videos, Demodex has been a popular topic for the past 12-18 months.

Digital eye strain is caused by the overuse of digital devices such as computers and smartphones. Because these electronic devices are designed to be used and held within close range of the eyes, after a while, the eyes become strained as they continue to refocus to process the images on the digital screen.

Lacrivera launched a dry eye line.

We have talked about dropouts in contact lens practice since we started fitting lenses. Jason Nichols, OD, said 16% of contact lens wearers permanently drop out of lens wear each year.1 Many others quote 15-30% of lens wearers drop out each year.

Sjö is a proprietary laboratory test developed by Immco Diagnostics Inc. which combines traditional markers with three novel, proprietary biomarkers, allowing earlier detection of the disease.

Preventing CL dropouts can be a challenge with patients suffering from CLIDE. A number of factors, including the patient’s overall general health, the type of contact lens worn and solution interaction, among others, can influence the condition. Predicting which CL patients are more likely to develop dry eye helps you tailor management to the individual patient needs and set realistic patient goals for successful lens wear.

In the fifth video of our series on Demodex, Dr. Milton Hom provides additional insight about his experiences with diagnosing, treating and managing this clinical presentation.

In the fourth of our video series on Demodex, Dr. Mario Gutierrez offers practice management suggestions in treating patients with the mite. Plus, he gets into a mite-killing mood.

In the third of our video series on Demodex, Dr. Scott Schachter discusses how to best treat overabundance of this mite.