Effective Relief for Dry Eye in Ft. Lauderdale

As dry eye becomes an increasingly common complaint, there is a strong push to find effective treatments to relieve the pain and irritating symptoms of this condition. Scleral lenses are a relatively new method of restoring comfortable vision to people with severe dry eye. Our optometrists in Ft. Lauderdale are skilled in fitting scleral lenses; if you suffer from dry eye and cannot find relief, contact us to book an eye exam and consultation.

Basics of Dry Eye

Estimates place the number of dry eye sufferers in America at close to five million people! There are a number of possible causes, and therefore the same treatment doesn’t work for everyone. Dry eye also ranges in severity from mild discomfort to extreme inflammation and scarring on the eye’s surface. Typical symptoms in include burning, scratchiness, sensation of a foreign body in your eye, light sensitivity, itching, and sometimes watery eyes. In order to figure out the best dry eye treatment for you, our Ft. Lauderdale eye care specialist will check your eyes thoroughly.

Scleral Lenses for Dry Eye Treatment

When patients are unsuccessful with conventional dry eye treatment, such as lubricating eye drops and prescription medications, scleral lenses may be a viable alternative. Studies show that scleral lenses can benefit both patient comfort and visual function. How do scleral lenses help?

Compared to standard contact lenses, scleral lenses have an extra-large diameter that vaults over the cornea and comes to rest on your sclera (white of your eye). This shape creates a gap between the back surface of the lens and your eye, and tears will naturally fill the space. This pocket of liquid keeps your sensitive corneal tissues lubricated constantly.

Scleral lenses also enable crisp vision, which makes them an ideal dry eye treatment for people who require vision correction and cannot obtain comfortable sight with glasses or regular contacts. The liquid layer of sclerals can provide sharper vision than other eyewear, because it smooths out visual defects that may be caused by dry eyes.

Our Eye Doctors Fit Scleral Lenses in Ft. Lauderdale

Sclerals generally fall into the category of specialty contact lenses, and recently, the FDA included dry eye syndrome as an ocular surface condition that scleral lenses are approved to manage. This new standard brings sclerals into the spotlight.

Complications from wearing scleral lenses have been reported to be infrequent and minor. With proper care, disinfecting, and handling, these contacts are regarded to be very safe.

If you’re interested in learning more about scleral lenses and whether they can help your severe dry eye, you need an experienced, trained eye doctor to fit them. The good news is that our Ft. Lauderdale optometrists specialize in fitting scleral lenses. Contact our office to schedule an eye exam for dry eye syndrome.