Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) is a chronic condition that can develop when your eyes do not produce and maintain enough tears to keep the eyes surface lubricated. This can lead to multiple symptoms that range from person to person. DES affects different parts of the eye, but mainly the cornea, which is the covering over the colored part of the eye. The cornea is a delicate tissue which must be kept moist by the tears at all times. Dry eyes have many causes with aging being the most common. Women tend to suffer from dry eyes more often than men due to hormonal differences.
Recently Dr. Laura Ashe at Complete Eye Care in Belmont, NC saw Peggy. Peggy suffers from dry eyes which caused her eyes to hurt, burn, and tear. Peggy was often bothered by this tearing and sometimes felt like there was something in her eyes, all which was due to her dry eyes. Dr. Ashe diagnosed Peggy with DES and prescribed special preservative free artificial tear drops. Peggy was also given punctal plugs, called Tear Savers, which are an easy, painless way to keep the natural tears in the eye instead of letting them drain out, keeping the cornea moist. If the cornea does not stay moist then the delicate corneal tissue dies off. Since the cornea has several nerve endings, when the delicate tissue is injured due to dryness, the eye hurts, burns, tears, and feels like something is in it.
Peggy was seen again at Complete Eye Care after treatment and there was a noted improvement in the appearance in the health of her cornea. There was still some dryness issues, so to ensure the best possible health and comfort for Peggy, Dr. Ashe recommended an amniotic membrane. An amniotic membrane is a small membrane the size of a contact lens made up of amniotic membrane tissue which can be placed on the eye just like a contact lens. This membrane then slowly dissolves into the cornea and heals any corneal damage that is present. Peggy was treated with an amniotic membrane and then seen a week later and found to have a completely healthy cornea with absolutely no corneal tissue damage.
Peggy is very pleased with how comfortable her eyes are now and all her dry eye symptoms have been resolved. Peggy had put up with dry eye symptoms for years before she went to Complete Eye Care and finally got relief from her dry eye symptoms after treatment. Peggy is so glad to know there are solutions to dry eyes and appreciates how comfortable her eyes feel now.
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