30 Aug TEAR LAB COLLECTS IMPORTANT TEAR DATA TO DETERMINE IF YOU HAVE DRY EYE DISEASE
The initial tests that we’ll use to determine if our patient has Dry Eye Disease (DED) is the use of Tear Lab. This device checks the osmolarity or the salt content of a tear sample. The amount of salt in a tear has been shown to have the excellent predictive value for diagnosing DED. As osmolarity in a tear increase, the likely hood that ocular surface cells become damage also increase. If left untreated, this damage could lead to more serious issues like chronic ocular surface disease which causes serious harm to eyes, while greatly affecting your vision.
Tear Lab’s simple and painless procedure involves taking a tear sample no larger than the size of the period at the end of this sentence. After the samples have been taken from both eyes, the ophthalmologists will determine the level of osmolarity in the tear samples. Salt levels are then charted which help to further diagnose your dry eye problem. As indicated in the previous blog, DED is not a symptom but a disease that must be taken seriously. Only early diagnosis and treatment of this disease can prevent more immediate and severe problems.
If you have any of the following signs, call us to book an appointment so that we can give you a full workup to check your eyes for Dry Eye Disease.
• Blurry vision
• Redness
• Burning
• Itching
• Light sensitivity
• Excessive tearing / watery eyes
• Tired eyes / eye fatigue
• Stringy mucous in or around the eyes
• Foreign body sensation
• Contact lens discomfort
• Scratchy, feeling of sand or grit in eye
• Our location at St. Clair is fully equipped to check for Dry Eye Disease. Contact us before this becomes a problem that could have been prevented.
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