How to Tell if You Will Suffer from Lasik Dry Eyes after Lasik Eye Surgery

Lasik Dry Eyes, also known as “chronic dry eye syndrome” can be one of the more unpleasant side-effects of Lasik eye surgery.
While the problem does not affect your vision, it can be painful and certainly makes for a lower quality of life.
Scientists at the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston have found a way to predict whether a surgery candidate is more likely to suffer from lasik dry eyes syndrome.
This information allows the surgeon to decide whether treatment is necessary before the operation, or even whether there should be surgery at all.

Lasik Dry Eyes Affects 10 million

Lasik dry eyes affects about 10 million Americans, and is one of the most common problems treated by eye specialists. It is caused by a low level of tear production; in other words, the tear duct does not produce a tear film that will properly lubricate the eye.

The findings are sort of “wisdom in hindsight”. Logically enough the study found that people who produced plentiful tears before the operation were less likely to suffer from Lasik dry eyes after surgery.
What is important, though, is that the team has been able to quantify the desirable level of tear production, and so help surgeons make a more accurate prediction of how severe the lasik dry eyes symptoms were likely to be after the procedure.
The study team was led by Dr. Darlene Dartt, director of the Military Vision Research Program at Schepens.
Lasik surgery is of particular interest to the armed forces. In recent years thousands of military personnel have chosen Lasik surgery in order to help them in combat. They can obviously identify objects and people more easily in the field, and also don’t have to worry about lost or damaged glasses.

Lasik dry eyes is normal, happens to many people who after lasik eye surgery, and is usually a temporary condition.
But that doesn’t make the burning, itching, scratchiness that sufferers feel any easier to bear, or help the problems they have with contact lenses.

Lasik Dry Eyes Common Even Before Surgery

In fact, dry eyes is quite common, even where there has no been no laser or Lasik treatment. It can be a natural by-product of aging. It often affects women who are approaching, or have experienced menopause. It can can also be caused by some systemic diseases.
But in the case of Lasik surgery, why is there a link between refractive surgery and lasik dry eyes? (Refractive surgery is a general category of procedures that includes Lasik surgery.)
The answer lies in the actual creation of the flap during the Lasik process. When the flap is created some of the corneal nerves may be cut (a quite normal part of the procedure).
Unfortunately, these nerves are the ones that signal the gland in the eye (called the Lacrimal Gland) to produce tears. If the signal level or frequency is reduced, the result can be fewer tears to lubricate the eye – and the condition know as Lasik dry eyes.
It’s important to let the surgeon know beforehand if you suffer from dry eyes. Your chances of more severe lasik dry eyes symptoms as a side effect are increased if you have a pre-existing condition.

In fact, one of the conditions needed for a successful Lasik eye surgery procedure is the existence of a sufficiently healthy tearfilm, the layer of liquid that normally covers the eye. This tearfilm is quite a complex, with three layers – an oily outer layer, a watery middle layer and an inner mucous layer.

Three Ways to Handle Lasik Dry Eyes

Your surgeon could handle potential problems in several ways.

One is through the use of prescription medicines.
Another is through dietary supplements.
And a third is by putting in Tear Duct Plugs. These will reduces the amount of tears that flow from your eyes to your nose – sort of like putting a plug in a sink to hold back the water!

The plugs are placed quite easily, and can just as easily be removed months later once they have done their job.
In addition, your surgeon may recommend somewhat different custom procedures if he/she knows that you have a dry eye problem, or if the tearfilm is inadequate.
Instead of Lasik and IntraLasik, for instance, other surgical options options such as PRK, LASEK or Epi-Lasik might be better choices. Discuss these options carefully with your surgeon before making your final choice.
As always, making informed decisions is the best and only real way to go with any form of lasik eye surgery. In this particular case, it could help you reduce any Lasik dry eyes problems.

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