Allen 
Watery eyes can actually be dry eyes
Dry eye does not always feel “dry.” It can cause burning, grittiness, stinging, redness, fluctuating vision, contact lens discomfort, and even excessive tearing. Your eyes may water because the surface is irritated and your tear system is trying to compensate. Similar symptoms can also come from allergy, eyelid problems, contact lens issues, medication effects, or other eye conditions, which is why an exam matters when symptoms persist.
Start with the cause, not just the symptom
A dry-eye evaluation looks at your symptoms, eye-health findings, tear-film and eyelid health, contact lens use, medications, environment, and other factors that may be contributing. Treatment recommendations depend on what we find rather than assuming every dry-eye patient needs the same product or procedure.
What treatment may involve
Current treatment options at Park Slope Eye may include prescription eye drops, lid-hygiene cleansers, over-the-counter artificial tears, punctal plugs, and manual meibomian-gland expression when it’s likely to help, depending on what is contributing to your symptoms and what is appropriate for your eyes. We do not perform meibomian-gland expression for children.
We do not currently offer other in-office procedures, such as IPL (intense pulsed light) or heated eyelid-gland treatments. If care outside our current scope would be useful, we can discuss the appropriate next step.
Dry-eye care may use medical insurance
When you are being evaluated or treated for dry-eye symptoms or another eye-health condition, medical insurance may apply if Park Slope Eye is in network with your plan. Vision-plan benefits and medical insurance serve different purposes, and which one applies depends on the reason for the visit and the services performed.
Contact lenses and dry eye
If contact lens comfort is part of the problem, we can evaluate whether lens material, design, fit, wearing schedule, allergy, or the surface of the eye is contributing. Patients who have struggled with conventional lenses may also benefit from a more specialized fitting evaluation.