Each patient is given a different treatment plan. The balance of treating the root cause with supplementation as well as pharmaceuticals is catered towards the patient’s needs and goals. The Dry Eye world is evolving with traditional and holistic options allowing you and the doctor to create a treatment plan that works with your lifestyle and needs.

 

Pharmaceuticals

---

Prescription eye drops used to help control inflammation. Most commonly classified into long term and short-term therapies.

Long term therapy will be utilized daily, seeing results in weeks-months. Some common brands of long-term therapy drops are Restasis, Xiidra and Cequa. All 3 drugs have the same goal of continued inflammation reduction and need to be used consistently to obtain results. Each drug has a different formulation which works in different ways to achieve the same outcome. New to dry eye drug therapy is Tyrvaya, a dry eye nasal spray. How does the nose have anything to do with the tears? Something called neurostimulation- the process turns certain nerves on with stimulation. Our body already uses neurostimulation to produce tears and Tyrvaya, stimulates certain nerves causing a response to the air in your nose to produce all 3 layers of the tear film.

Short term therapies for inflammation control include steroids such as LotemaxSM, Alrex, Eyesuvis, and Flarex. They will provide faster relief of symptoms but are not intended for long term use.

 

 

Nutraceuticals

---

If you are interested in a more natural way to combat dry eye, nutraceuticals are where to start. This can include reducing screentime and changes to your activities and diet. The most well know is adding Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oils) to your diet. This can be in the form of consuming more salmon, herring, tuna, menhaden, or cod liver or available in capsule form. Not all supplements are created equal, so be sure to speak with Dr. Flaherty about which one is best for you.