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Posted by: Georgia Eye Partners in News and Updates, Patient Education

Dry Eye Treatment Options from Our Dry Eye Center of Excellence

Dry eye disease continues to be one of the largest unmet needs and challenges faced by our patients. It’s a chronic disease that is too often under diagnosed and left untreated by eye doctors. In fact, dry eye disease (DED) affects an estimated 33 million people in the United States. This number is expected to grow by 10% in the next decade, creating an even larger gap for patients needing care. Given these facts and realizing this tremendous need, Georgia Eye Partners created a Dry Eye Treatment Center Of Excellence.

Dry eye is a complex disease with multiple symptoms, and no single cure or treatment. Common dry eye symptoms include dryness, burning, stinging, foreign body sensation, grittiness, blurred or fluctuating vision, redness, fatigue, itching and poor comfort with contact lenses. To help us identify our patient’s exact cause of dry eye, we invested in the latest diagnostic technology. Using a variety of diagnostics, we develop personalized treatment plans for each patient. “Because dry eye disease is multifactorial, oftentimes, we need multiple “shots on goal” to get symptomatic breakthroughs,” said Georgia Eye Partners’ Dr. Josh Johnston. “A vital part of our success in achieving these breakthroughs is offering in-office treatments.”

Georgia Eye Partners In-Office Dry Eye Diagnostics

• Using dyes such as Fluorescein and/or lissamine green on the cornea
• Tear osmolarity testing with TearLab
• Lipid layer analysis using interferometry via LipiView
• Meibomian gland evaluation with meibography via LipiView
• Inflammatory enzymes MMP-9 and inflammation detection
• Blink evaluation (blink rate and blink quality)
• Tear quantity tests, such as Shirmer’s and Phenol Red Thread test

In-Office Dry Eye Treatment Options

• Amniotic membranes (such as Prokera) can help reduce pain from dry eye while promoting healing and nerve regeneration.
• Punctal plug occlusion can help increase the tear reservoir, thereby offering relief.
• Lid debridement can remove the bacterial biofilm that contributes to inflammation and decreased meibomian gland function.
• Manual lid expression can reduce meibomian gland obstructions and improve gland secretions.
• Autologous serum tears offer tear quality similar to natural tears in patients suffering from severe DED.
• Intense pulsed light (also known as BBL and IPL) provides thermal heating of the glands, which stimulates healthy gland function.
• Scleral contact lenses offer patients a reservoir of aqueous solution, which bathes the cornea throughout the day and relieves symptoms.

The key to patients finding relief from chronic dry eye is seeking diagnosis and treatment. Georgia Eye Partners has more diagnostic and treatment options than anywhere in the Southeast, and we are proud to offer this unique service to our patients.

Georgia Eye Partners is a group practice of ophthalmologists and optometrists dedicated to providing our patients in Metro Atlanta and North Georgia with the highest quality medical and surgical specialty eye care. Learn more about our practice locations and book appointments online here.