Dry Eye Disease Consultations

Your Home of Comprehensive Dry Eye Relief

If you’re tired of your eyes feeling irritated, watery, and uncomfortable, find out how our team can help.

Dry eye disease is a common issue that many people experience, but there are various ways we can help treat your symptoms. By investing in dry eye technology, we’ve developed a dry eye clinic from the ground up to help Albertans like you find relief.

Book an appointment with our team today.

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What Is Dry Eye Disease?

Dry eye disease develops when your tear film, a thin tear layer that covers your eye’s surface, doesn’t have the ingredients it needs to keep your eyes comfortable.

There are 3 different ingredients in your tears, including:

Mucus, which adheres the tear film evenly across the eye
Water, which keeps the eye hydrated
Oil, which keeps your tear film from evaporating

Several factors can contribute to dry eye disease, including age and overall health. Our team can develop a relief plan based on what’s causing your symptoms using various diagnostic technologies.

Dry Eye Risk
Factors

The risk of developing dry eye disease can increase in several different ways. Some of the most common risk factors include:

Aging
Systemic health disorders
Medications
Contact lens use
Eyelid and skin disorders
Digital eye strain
Laser eye surgery

Dry Eye
Symptoms

Dry eye symptoms can vary from person to person. Over time, severe dry eyes could affect your cornea. The most common dry eye symptoms include:

Grittiness
Scratchiness
Wateriness
Burning
Foriegn body sensations
Redness

What Is Meibomian Gland Dysfunction?

One of the most common causes of dry eye disease is meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

There are 2 types of dry eye: evaporative dry eye and aqueous tear deficiency. Evaporative dry eye is the most common, with MGD being its leading cause.

MGD is a condition characterized by blockages in your meibomian glands, which line your eyelid margins. Your meibomian glands are responsible for producing the oil content used for sealing in your tear film. Without oils, your tear film evaporates more quickly than normal, leading to dry eye symptoms.

Diagnosing Dry Eye Disease

Before we can begin treating your dry eye symptoms, we have to take a thorough look at your eyes and determine what may be causing your symptoms.

Dry eye disease is often chronic, and the issues causing your symptoms may develop again over time without regular treatment. We’re committed to finding the most comprehensive solution for your dry eye symptoms. With the help of our diagnostic technology, we can develop a relief strategy custom to your needs.

**Did you know IPL & RF also treat fine lines and wrinkles? Learn more in our Anti- Aging Treatment page.

Comprehensive Eye Exam

Our first step is always an eye exam.

During an eye exam, we’ll get a complete view of your eye health using technologies that examine your retina, cornea, eyelids, and more.

Ocular Surface Disease Index

The Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) is a 12-item questionnaire designed to help our team get a clear understanding of your symptoms and how they may be affecting your vision.

Schirmer Testing

Schirmer testing is a technique we use to help measure the tears present on your eye surface.

The test involves a thin piece of filter paper being placed on the inside of your lower eyelid. Over a short period, your tears wet the paper, and we measure the moisture content to determine dry eye.

Tear Osmolarity

Measuring your tear osmolarity is a common technique we may use to determine what may be causing your dry eye symptoms.

Osmolarity refers to the salt content in your tears. If your tears have too much salt content, they may not be lubricated enough, or your tears evaporate too quickly.

Meibography

Meibography is an imaging technique that helps us get a clear view of your meibomian glands.

Observing your meibomian gland structure can help us develop treatments for meibomian gland disease.

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy (IPL)

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy is a treatment that uses pulses of light that interact with your skin tissues to help combat the inflammation that can cause dry eye in patients. This intense pulsed light may also improve skin tones.

Radio-Frequency (RF)

Radio frequency therapy is a treatment that will distribute high frequency energy into the tissue to produce heat. This will help with your dry eye disease by promoting the expression of the oil from the oil glands that are along your upper and lower eyelids. This heat will also help to stimulate collagen production, skin regeneration, and promote anti-inflammatory mediators. One side effect of this treatment is the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles!

iLux & Other Common Treatments

The iLux is a handheld device we may use to help treat meibomian gland dysfunction.

The iLux gently heats and melts away blockages that could be preventing the healthy flow of oils to your tear film.

Treatments can take between 8 to 12 minutes per eye, with many people experiencing more comfortable vision following their session.

We also carry a number of pharmaceutical treatments, including eye drops, lid cleansers, and supplements. In some cases, we can pair our dry eye treatments with anti-aging technology, bringing you comfortable vision and more youthful-looking skin at the same time.

Please visit our Pharmaceutical Treatments and Anti-Aging Treatments pages for more information.