Inflammation of the surface of the eye may occur along with dry eye. This can lead to pain, ulcers, or scars on the cornea, and some loss of vision.

Thankfully, permanent loss of vision from dry eye is uncommon.

Many modern tasks can be adversely affected by Dry-Eye; computers and other electronic devices with backlit screens and reading for an extended period of time may become difficult and painful. Dry-Eye can decrease tolerance to dry environments, such as the air inside an aeroplane or air-conditioning in general.

The technical terms for Dry-Eye include

• Dry-Eye Syndrome,
• Keratoconjunctivitis sicca,
• Dysfunctional tear syndrome,
• Lacrimal keratoconjunctivitis,
• Evaporative tear deficiency,
• Aqueous tear deficiency,
• LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy.

What are the types of Dry-Eye?

1) Aqueous tear-deficient Dry-Eye is a disorder in which the lacrimal glands fail to produce enough of the watery component of tears to maintain a healthy eye surface.

2) Evaporative Dry-Eye may result from inflammation of the meibomian glands, also located in the eyelids. These glands make the lipid or oily part of tears that slows evaporation and keeps tears stable.

Dry-Eye can be associated with:

• inflammation of the surface of the eye, the lacrimal gland, or the conjunctiva,
• any disease process that alters the components of the tears,
• an increase in the surface of the eye, as in thyroid disease when the eye protrudes forward;
• cosmetic surgery, if the eyelids are opened too widely.

Dry-Eye Syndrome is a chronic condition mainly caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and affects as much as 20% of our patients with symptoms increasing with age.

Many aspects of our modern lifestyle like computer screens, artificial lighting and even air conditioning can further the condition, causing irritation, headaches and various other symptoms.

In a first for the region, Gulf & Ranges is proud to offer the E-Eye IRPL dry eye treatment. This exciting non-invasive technology offers sufferers of Dry-Eye syndrome long term relief – more than 86% of patients see improvement after just 3 sessions. More than treating dry eyes, the IRPL technology also helps to prevent the disease getting worse and treat it at a very early stage.