Dry Eye Center of Arizona
3805 E Bell Rd
Suite 1800
Phoenix, AZ 85032
CALL TODAY FOR AN APPOINTMENT
Phone (602) 549-2020
Fax: (602) 325-5536
dryeyecenter@gmail.com
Or use our contact form.
Our office is open during the following hours:
Mon-Friday: 9AM - 6PM
Doctor's Hours: By Appointment Only
Dry eye is usually diagnosed by patient symptoms and complaint. For that reason any quality dry eye work up begins with a thorough medical and eye history. Symptoms of dry eye include:
- A gritty sensation
- A feeling of a foreign body or sand in the eye
- Blur or hazy vision
- Dry eyes
- Tired eyes
- Red irritated eyes
- Blurry of vision
- Pain
A comprehensive eye exam is essential both as a baseline for future examination and to assess any impact of dry eye or ocular surface disease. Careful examination of the external eye, focusing on the ocular surface is performed with a biomicroscope, which is also referred to as a slit lamp. A number of dyes or “stains” are used with special filters to highlight any surface abnormalities. These include fluorescein and lissamine green stains.
Breakup time (BUT) – the time it takes for the tear film to become unstable is an important indicator of tear quality and dry eye. Breakup time is measured in seconds using fluorescein dye with a slit lamp or without fluorescein using special instruments.
Schirmer testing is performed with special strips of filter paper tucked into the lower lids. The length of strip wetting reflects the volume of fluid within the eye and is measured in millimeters over 5 minutes.
Newer approaches to diagnosing dry eye include tear osmolarity – how concentrated or dilute the tears are and interferometry, which provides an incredibly detailed analysis of lipid layer integrity and thickness.
Because meibomian gland dysfunction is so critical to normal tear function, meibomography is a valuable means of evaluating the meibomian glands structure. The Oculus Keratograph 5M provides meibomography, tear menisus height, lipid layer analysis and objective non-invasive tear breakup measurement.
More informaton on dry eye can be found in the sections on The Normal Tear Film, What is Dry Eye?, Diagnosing Dry Eye, and Dry Eye Therapy.