Dry Eye Common with Psoriasis Diagnosis

Autoimmune conditions are now among the most common health diagnoses. Current estimates from the National Institutes of Health suggest that more than 7% of the U.S. population has an autoimmune disease — up to 23.5 million — and that figure continues to rise. Accompanying ocular issues are not uncommon for many who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Research has identified dry eye as one of the most common ocular complications in patients with psoriasis. Psoriasis and dry eye Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease that triggers the skin to speed up its cellular growth cycle and causes raised, red, scaly patches on the skin. The severity of the disease, as well as involvement of other organ systems, varies for each individual. The eyes are one organ that can be adversely affected, which may result in permanent complications or irreversible vision loss if not treated. According to recent research, psoriasis may affect the lid, conjunctiva, or cornea resulting in the development of ocular manifestations, including corneal dryness. The study the found prevalence of ocular manifestations in psoriasis patients to be about 70%. Working with your providers At BostonSight, we can help many patients whose autoimmune diagnoses adversely affect their ocular surface. The pain, photophobia, and loss of visual acuity that are the hallmarks of dry eye can significantly impact quality of life. With BostonSight PROSE™ treatment, 77% of patients with dry eye reported significant success. Because of the serious eye complications that can occur with psoriasis or other autoimmune diseases, it is recommended [...]

2024-04-04T13:41:27-04:00March 29, 2021|Blog Posts|
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Airline Cabin Air Negatively Impacts Dry Eye: Strategies for Coping

Many of us travel by plane for business or pleasure. With COVID vaccines ramping up, it’s expected we’ll see airline travel begin to increase soon. If you have dry eye or use BostonSight PROSE devices or scleral lenses, air travel can be challenging due to the recirculated dry cabin air. A little extra planning and preparation before catching a flight can help ensure a safe and comfortable vacation without interruption from eye health concerns. Impact on your dry eye symptoms If you have dry eye and have traveled by plane, you probably noticed an impact on your symptoms. A March 2013 study in the Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science journal took a close look at the impact of in-flight cabin air on dry eye disease. Researchers developed a controlled environment to simulate airline cabin conditions (23°C, 5% relative humidity, localized airflow, and 750 mb of barometric pressure) as well as a standard controlled environment for comparison (23°C, 45% relative humidity, and 930 mb). Study subjects with diagnosed dry eye disease spent time in these environments. Before and after the exposures, subjects answered dry eye symptom questionnaires and underwent diagnostic tests to determine the environmental impact on their eyes. After exposure to the airline cabin environment, dry eye patients were more symptomatic and experienced a decrease in tear stability and volume. Based on these findings, researchers advise dry eye patients to use therapeutic strategies to minimize the impact of air travel on their eyes. Simple strategies Some suggestions for more comfortable [...]

2024-04-03T14:17:59-04:00March 8, 2021|PROSE, Blog Posts|
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Medications and Dry Eye Side Effects

New pharmaceuticals and their generic counterparts are approved every week by the FDA. In 2020, 50 novel drugs were approved by the FDA.  While this is great news for those whose health conditions can be better treated and managed with these new drugs or medication costs reduced with the approval of generic formulations, all medications can produce side effects. For people with chronic or serious illnesses that require multiple daily prescription medications, the side effects can be compounded. What you may not realize, is that some of these side effects can significantly impact the eyes, including contributing to dry eye. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control show that “… during 2015–2016, almost one-half of the U.S. population used one or more prescription drugs in the past 30 days (45.8%). Prescription drug use increased with age*, and a higher percentage of females (50.0%) than males (41.5%) used prescription drugs, but the pattern varied by age.” *Prescription drug use increased with age, from 18.0% of children under age 12 years to 85.0% of adults aged 60 and over. Polypharmacy, the term to describe the use of multiple pharmaceuticals, can create very complex interactions and complications for patients. These interactions can be difficult to predict. The authors of this study note that oral polypharmacy is the most common cause of dry mouth but has not been investigated as a cause of dry eye. The nervous system mechanism that causes dry mouth as a side effect is the same one that also causes dry [...]

2022-10-12T14:35:07-04:00February 9, 2021|Blog Posts|
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Blinking Promotes a Healthy Ocular Surface

This post is part of BostonSight's archival content and was originally authored by Janice M. Epstein in October 2015. Content has been updated to be current.  This content is informational in nature and should not be considered medical advice. Please reach out to your medical professional for questions about your vision.  Why Blinking is so Important Is there such a thing as blinking correctly? Throughout the day, the average person blinks about 15 times per minute. Blinking promotes a healthy ocular surface by distributing lubricating fluid over the surface of the eye. This action also helps to provide essential nutrients to the eye surface. When eyes are irritated, extra tears are produced by the lacrimal glands, and the additional fluid and blinking action help to flush out irritants. Research shows us that variations in blink rates, patterns, and strengths can have a significant impact on overall eye health and might even serve as an indicator of an underlying eye condition. A study from 2012 looking at the action of blinking uncovered a previously unknown function. Scientists wondered why we blink as much as we do when the rate of approximately 15 blinks per minute is more than necessary for eye health. It was discovered that blinking patterns are not entirely random, but tend to occur at predictable moments during reading, conversation, or watching television. Blinks tended to occur at the end of a thought or action. Brain imaging of study participants watching a television program showed that during a blink, brain [...]

2022-10-12T14:35:32-04:00November 16, 2020|Blog Posts|
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Vitamin D and Your Eyes

This post is part of BostonSight's archival content and was originally authored by Janice M. Epstein in June 2015. Content has been updated to be current.  This content is informational in nature and should not be considered medical advice. Please reach out to your medical professional for questions about Vitamin D and how it may impact your vision.  The Vitamin D Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing reliable and evidence-based information about vitamin D, notes that researchers consider the lack of sufficient vitamin D to be pandemic. You’ve no doubt heard about many potential health benefits of vitamin D as well as negative effects that may occur with inadequate levels of this vitamin. Research has even revealed some interesting discoveries correlating vitamin D and eye health. As the days become shorter and the weather becomes colder, we head indoors and naturally receive less vitamin D from the sun.  Patients with ocular surface disease may be interested in the anti-inflammatory properties of vitamin D and the research findings that it is involved in tear fluids and the corneal epithelial cells that help regulate tear film. Here’s a primer on vitamin D along with a brief review of research on vitamin D and eye health. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient that is necessary for human health. This vitamin is critical for bone health and also plays an important role in cell growth, neuromuscular function, the immune system, endothelial cells, and reduction of inflammation. The human body makes vitamin D by synthesizing [...]

2024-04-04T14:08:36-04:00November 4, 2020|Blog Posts|
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Dry Eye Severity Directly Linked with Decreased Reading Rates

This post is part of BostonSight's archival content and was originally authored by Janice M. Epstein in April 2015. Some content has been updated to be current.  Reading is a critical life skill, essential for communicating with others, keeping up with the news, understanding instructions, succeeding at work, using a computer, or simply for enjoyment. Vision problems can seriously impede reading and make these necessary tasks extremely difficult and, in some cases, impossible. BostonSight PROSETM patients with moderate to severe dry eye disease know firsthand the impact of their symptoms on their ability to read the printed word. In fact, a 2010 survey conducted by BostonSight found that 81% of survey respondents with severe dry eye reported difficulty reading regular print newspapers, magazines, or websites. Dry eye contributes to problems with visual acuity but until recently most data with regard to the impact on reading has been self-reported by patients. In addition, the pain and photophobia (light-sensitivity) that result from dry eye also make reading a challenge.  A study confirms what those who suffer from moderate to severe dry eye already experience:  a direct correlation between reading speed and dry eye. These findings, published in the January 2013 issue of Optometry and Vision Science, showed that people with diagnosed dry eye disease read at slower rates than those without dry eye. In addition, reading speed decreased in direct relationship to the degree of dry eye disease severity. These study findings suggest that evaluations of reading speed may serve as indicators of dry [...]

2024-04-04T13:42:26-04:00October 29, 2020|Blog Posts|
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