A person must undergo tests and imaging to determine what’s causing their dry eyes. Each case can be different and may require custom treatment.

A comprehensive eye exam notes a patient’s complete health history and lifestyle, which may be the underlying cause of dry eyes. It also involves a dry eye survey (OSDI) and an examination of the eyelids and the surface of the eye. If the dry eye is severe enough, a specialized medical dry eye evaluation will be scheduled.

A medical dry eye evaluation will assess the tear volume, how quickly the tears break up on the front surface of the eye, and image your Meibomian glands with our Antares imaging system. This analysis helps us determine if your dry eye disease is caused by aqueous deficiency (lack of tear volume/production), Meibomian gland dysfunction MGD (lack of the oily layer of the tear film), or a combination of both. Once the diagnosis is made, a customized treatment plan will be presented to you. Since a majority of dry eye disease is caused by meibomian gland dysfunction, our analysis will let you know what stage of loss you have, treatment options for maximizing current gland function, and preventative measures for gland preservation.