Best cure for dry eyes after LASIK

A common complaint after LASIK surgery is dry eyes.

You may already have dry eyes, and your eye doctor performed LASIK to correct your vision anyway. Now your vision is blurry, red, and you have eye pain. 

Is there anything you can do now? 

The answer is yes. TheraLife can help.  

Post LASIK dry eye treatment

TheraLife has the complete dry eye solution. 

Addressing the fundamental causes of dry eyes like underactive tear secretion, TheraLife® goes right to the source of the problem. TheraLife® addresses promote the body’s healing tears ending the reliance on artificial tears, drugs, or additional surgery.

End your reliance on measures for your chronic dry eyes that don’t heal but only mask the problem.

Dry eyes from LASIK surgery may be unavoidable, but living with chronic dry eyes is not. TheraLife® goes a long way to help those who want to live with healthy eyes.

Try TheraLife® today and find relief for your chronic dry eyes.

Click here to learn more.

Introduction to dry eyes LASIK

For those with near-sighted vision, the ability to see without glasses or contacts can be a freeing experience. 

Laser-assister in situ keratomileuses (LASIK) surgery has provided this freedom for millions of people with this simple surgery. Key issues to consider before LASIK surgery as follows:   

• The most common complication of LASIK surgery is dry eyes.
• Many people report dry eye symptoms before surgery.
• Damage to the corneal nerves and conjunctival goblet cells often proceeds to dry eye syndrome.
• Dry eyes are the number one complaint about people not satisfied with the outcome of LASIK surgery.
• It takes six months to 1 year after LASIK to return to normal for signs of dry eye and corneal sensation.
• There are several treatment options for post-LASIK patients, including medications, teardrops, and TheraLife® treatment.

Diagnosis of Dry Eye Disease

Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface. Dry eye symptoms include eye pain, blurry vision, red, irritation, tired and lots of inflammation.

Those who have this type of discomfort before can almost assure LASIK surgery of an increase in the severity of symptoms related to dry eye disease. Up to 95% of patients who have LASIK report experiencing symptoms of dry eyes. Luckily, we can treat dry eyes.

Post-dry eye LASIK Problems

Research studies showed that LASIK decreases tear quality and production. Most people report an improvement within six months to a year after surgery. The overall conclusions of these research studies are inconclusive. All of the studies identified some recovery within nine months of surgery.

The corneal sensation is another common problem after LASIK surgery. Since LASIK damages the nerve fibers of the cornea, the lack of sensory feelings in the corneal region leads to irritation of the eye.

Corneal sensitivity studies differ in their findings. Some studies place pre-operative levels of sensation at one month. In contrast, others found that even at 16 months, not all abnormalities of corneal sensation have returned to pre-LASIK normal levels.

The corneal nerves and sub-basal nerve plexus of the eye are affected by LASIK. However, these nerves have shown to grow additional unconnected nerve fibers approximately three months after surgery. These nerves not only grow but attach between the segments causing an increase in sensitivity over time.

Due to the conflicting and sometimes confusing results of studies, more in-depth analyses of the effects of surgery on the ocular region will help.

Dry Eye LASIK Treatments post surgery

Quality of life can be significantly affected by chronic dry eyes. Burning, itching, irritation, and overall discomfort can cause people to regret LASIK surgery. However, there is hope.

There are several types of treatment for dry eyes, including artificial tears, additional surgery, lid massage or scrubbing, warm moist compresses, drugs, and all-natural therapies like TheraLife®.  

While artificial tears show initial promise, the continued use presents problems for patients in the long term. Drugs to decrease inflammation are also beneficial, but many patients are looking for a natural way to find relief for their dry eyes.

TheraLife® is an all-natural product for dry eye relief.

References

1. The definition and classification of dry eye disease: report of the Definition and Classification Subcommittee of the International Dry Eye WorkShop. Ocul Surf. 2007;5(2):75–92.
2. Sutton GL, Kim P. Laser in situkeratomileusis in 2010 – a review. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2010;38(2):192–210.
3. Yu EY, Leung A, Rao S, Lam DS. Effect of laser in situkeratomileusis on tear stability. Ophthalmology. 2000;107(12):2131–2135.
4. McGhee CN, Orr D, Kidd B, Stark C, Bryce IG, Anastas CN. Psychological aspects of excimer laser surgery for myopia: reasons for seeking treatment and patient satisfaction. Br J Ophthalmol. 1996;80(10):874–879.
5. De Paiva C, Chen Z, Koch D, et al. The incidence and risk factors for developing dry eye after myopic LASIK. Am J Ophthalmol. 2006;141(3):438–445.
6. Melki SA, Azar DT. LASIK complications: etiology, management, and prevention. Surv Ophthalmol. 2001;46(2):95–116.
7. Hovanesian JA, Shah SS, Maloney RK. Symptoms of dry eye and recurrent erosion syndrome after refractive surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001;27(4):577–584
8. Battat L, Macri A, Dursun D, Pflugfelder SC. Effects of laser in situkeratomileusis on tear production, clearance, and the ocular surface. Ophthalmology. 2001;108(7):1230–1235. [
9. Toda I, Asano-Kato N, Komai-Hori Y, Tsubota K. Dry eye after laser in situkeratomileusis. Am J Ophthalmol. 2001;132(1):1–7.
10. Solomon KD, Holzer MP, Sandoval HP, et al. Refractive Surgery Survey 2001. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2002;28(2):346–355.
11. Schiffman RM, Walt JG, Jacobsen G, Doyle JJ, Lebovics G, Sumner W. Utility assessment among patients with dry eye disease. Ophthalmology. 2003;110(7):1412–1419.
12. Buchholz P, Steeds CS, Stern LS, et al. Utility assessment to measure the impact of dry eye disease. Ocul Surf. 2006;4(3):155–161.
13. Brown MM, Brown GC, Brown HC, Peet J, Roth Z. Value-based medicine, comparative effectiveness, and cost–effectiveness analysis of topical cyclosporine for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(2):146–152.
14. Levinson BA, Rapuano CJ, Cohen EJ, Hammersmith KM, Ayres BD, Laibson PR. Referrals to the Wills Eye Institute Cornea Service after laser in situkeratomileusis: reasons for patient dissatisfaction. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2008;34(1):32–39.
15. Jabbur NS, Sakatani K, O’Brien TP. Survey of complications and recommendations for management in dissatisfied patients seeking a consultation after refractive surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2004;30(9):1867–1874.
16. Stern ME, Beuerman RW, Fox RI, Gao J, Mircheff AK, Pflugfelder SC. The pathology of dry eye: the interaction between the ocular surface and lacrimal glands. Cornea. 1998;17(6):584–589.
17. Shin SY, Lee YJ. Conjunctival changes induced by LASIK suction ring in a rabbit model. Ophthalmic Res. 2006;38(6):343–349.
18. Rodriguez AE, Rodriguez-Prats JL, Hamdi IM, Galal A, Awadalla M, Alio JL. Comparison of goblet cell density after femtosecond laser and mechanical microkeratome in LASIK. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007;48(6):2570–2575.
19. Rodriguez-Prats JL, Hamdi IM, Rodriguez AE, Galal A, Alio JL. Effect of suction ring application during LASIK on goblet cell density. J Refract Surg. 2007;23(6):559–562.
20. Konomi K, Chen LL, Tarko RS, et al. Preoperative characteristics and a potential mechanism of chronic dry eye after LASIK. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008;49(1):168–174.
21. Solomon R, Donnenfeld ED, Perry HD. The effects of LASIK on the ocular surface. Ocul Surf. 2004;2(1):34–44.
22. Lee JB, Ryu CH, Kim J, Kim EK, Kim HB. Comparison of tear secretion and tear film instability after photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situkeratomileusis. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2000;26(9):1326–1331.
23. Vongthongsri A, Chuck RS, Pepose JS. Corneal iron deposits after laser in situkeratomileusis. Am J Ophthalmol. 1999;127(1):85–86.
24. Sullivan BD, Whitmer D, Nichols KK, et al. An objective approach to dry eye disease severity. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010;51(12):6125–6130.
25. Suzuki M, Massingale ML, Ye F, et al. Tear osmolarity as a biomarker for dry eye disease severity. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010;51(9):4557–4561.
26. Albietz JM, McLennan SG, Lenton LM. Ocular surface management of photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situkeratomileusis. J Refract Surg. 2003;19(6):636–644.
27. Pflugfelder SC, Maskin SL, Anderson B, et al. A randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, multicenter comparison of loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic suspension, 0.5%, and placebo for treatment of keratoconjunctivitis sicca in patients with delayed tear clearance. Am J Ophthalmol. 2004;138(3):444–457.
28. Toda I, Asano-Kato N, Hori-Komai Y, Tsubota K. Laser-assisted in situkeratomileusis for patients with dry eye. Arch Ophthalmol. 2002;120(8):1024–1028.
29. Toda I, Kato-Asano N, Hori-Komai Y, Tsubota K. Dry eye after LASIK enhancement by flap lifting. J Refract Surg. 2006;22(4):358–362.
30. Albietz J, Lenton L, McLennan S. The effect of tear film and ocular surface management on myopic LASIK outcomes. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2002;506(Pt A):711–717.