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Dry Eye Clinic
Dry eye is a common condition that may develop because your eyes do not produce enough tears, or because the tears that you have evaporate too quickly or do not spread evenly across the front of your eye.
Dry eye is a chronic (long term) condition. This means that once you have had it, dry eye disease can come back even after it has cleared up, but with care it can be halted. Dry eye often affects both eyes, but one eye may be worse than the other.
What Does Dry Eyes Feel Like?
Dry eye can make your eyes feel scratchy or irritated. In severe cases it may temporarily make your vision blurry. It can be uncomfortable, but rarely causes serious eye damage. Ironically ‘dry eyes’ tend to be ‘more watery’ than average.
Dry eye does not necessarily mean lack of tears, it frequently means poor quality tears.
Tear Film Stability
The normal time for your tear film to remain stable between blinks is over 12 seconds. If the tear film breaks up too soon, the sensitive corneal nerves on the surface of the eye may be exposed and then you will cry, so your eyes become excessively watery*. This is common in cold weather, the wind or if you forget to blink when concentrating on a computer, TV or when driving.
* The excess watering will dilute the oily layer meant to reduce evaporation of the tears, making it less effective. The result is more evaporation of your tears leading to more dry, irritable areas on the cornea. Your body responds by trying to wash away the irritation, so further watering - and so the cycle goes on. This is called ‘Evaporative Dry Eye’
For more information, or to arrange a Specialist Dry Eye Management appointment, please call us on
01844 212048
Ask about DryPlan – Exclusively for Eyeplan Members DryPlan is a ‘top-up’ fee which covers your Specialist Dry Eye appointments (assessments and 6 monthly aftercare), including 6 monthly supplies for the ongoing treatment of Blepharitis and MGD. DryPlan T&Cs here.