Dry Eye & Evaluation

Physician-Led, Comprehensive

Dry Eye Evaluation

Your eyes and the tear film that lubricates them are a beautiful, yet complex, system and the diagnosis and treatment of dry eye is equally complex.

When something goes wrong within this system, your symptoms might include:

A gritty feeling in the eyes
Eye pain, or feeling like there’s something in your eye
Red eyes
Trouble wearing contact lenses
Blurred vision or light sensitivity
Crusty or red eyelids
Styes or chalazion

These symptoms may all be related to dry eye disease, also known as meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) or blepharitis. For most people, the solution isn’t one single treatment tool, but rather a combination of approaches to address the core issues causing dry eye symptoms.

In your dry eye evaluation, Dr. Neal will work with you to thoroughly uncover the cause of your dry eyes and build a plan for relief. Book your dry eye evaluation today or learn more about our diagnostic process.

Book a Dry Eye Evaluation

Learn About Our Treatments

Diagnosing Dry Eye Is Complex

When you’re living with dry eyes, it can be extremely frustrating to try to find relief. We regularly care for patients who have tried and failed to treat their dry eyes in the past.

That’s why Dr. Neal has created a comprehensive, customized dry eye evaluation process. During this appointment, she will work to identify each factor that is contributing to your chronic dry eye.

Your appointment will include a comprehensive management plan and an explanation of what you can expect at every step of the journey.

What Your Dry Eye Evaluation

Includes

Your dry eye evaluation begins with:

A complete health history and medication review
A conversation about your lifestyle as it relates to your eyes
A complete eye exam, including dilation, to assess your visual acuity, eyelid function, eye health, and any eye function issues

Next, Dr. Neal will customize her diagnostic approach based on your symptoms, health history, lifestyle, and what each prior test tells her throughout your time together.

How We Diagnose

Dry Eye Disease

What you’re experiencing is unique to you, so Dr. Neal will select specific diagnostic techniques based on her findings throughout the exam.

This intensive dry eye assessment typically includes:

Testing tear osmolarity (the salt content of your tears)
Testing tear breakup time (how long it takes your tears to evaporate)
Meibography (detailed photos of the meibomian glands)
Photos of the external parts of your eyes, including your lids and lashes

We use a specialized keratometer called the Oculus 5M to learn an incredible amount of knowledge about your eyes as we take this journey together.

Advanced Diagnostics,

Elevated Results

We pride ourselves on being able to solve frustrating dry eye problems for our patients.

Dr. Neal may use the following techniques during your evaluation to gain a deeper understanding of your condition as she creates a personalized treatment plan. Please don’t hesitate to ask her for more information throughout your appointment.

TearLab

TearLab is an osmolarity test, which measures the salt concentration in your tears. Hyperosmolarity in your tear film leads to inflammation and may be responsible for some of the stinging and burning you feel.

TearLab may not be covered by your insurance. Learn how we strive to make eye care accessible to all our patients.

Schirmer’s Test

The Schirmer’s test is one of the ways we assess tear production. We’ll place a test strip against the inside of the lower eyelid of each eye and ask you to keep your eyes gently closed for 5 minutes.

After the time has elapsed, your Schirmer test score will be determined based on the length of moistened area on the strips.

InflammaDry

InflammaDry is a quick test of your tear film that detects the presence of MMP-9. MMP-9 is a biomarker of dry eye that is higher in people with dry eye disease. While other tests look at tear production and tear stability, InflammaDry allows us to detect dry eye in patients who don’t have typical symptoms.

InflammaDry may not be covered by your insurance. Learn how we strive to make eye care accessible to all our patients.

Diagnostic Dyes

We use diagnostic dyes to detect and evaluate conditions on the surface of your eye that contribute to your dry eye symptoms. We may use rose bengal, fluorescein, or lissamine green, all of which can pick up on different aspects of dry eye.

A Holistic Approach for

Impactful Results

Your dry eyes shouldn’t stop you from living your life.

Book your one-on-one appointment with Dr. Neal and get one step closer to restoring the delicately balanced system of your tear film. Visit our dry eye management & treatment page to learn more about finding relief.

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