Allergy season is among us!
It is hard to believe that Spring officially started this past Thursday, March 21st! With the 70 degree weather Washingtonians had last Saturday and then the 4 to 8 inches of snow on the ground last Monday! What is going on? Regardless, I know we are all ready for Spring. Sunshine, freshly blooming daffodils and Cherry Blossoms will be a sight to see this year for us since we have had such a long, gray winter. But with the Spring comes pollen. Pollen is a common cause for dry, itchy, red eyes. When your eyes are itchy you rub them which is not a good idea, especially for those of you who are considering LASIK or PRK. So how can your avoid rubbing your eyes during this allergy season?
We suggest patients use Restasis which is an eye drop that helps increase your eyes’ natural ability to produce more tears, which may be reduced by inflammation due to chronic dry eyes. We also suggest that if your eyes are chronically dry you take an omega three fish oil supplement and use eye lubricants like Refresh Optive Advanced pre-op to help moisten the eyes and provide temporary relief of dry eyes. Artificial tears help but they do not increase the eyes’ ability to produce their own tears. We suggest using the artificial tears frequently throughout the day. It is known that patients who use medications like anti-histamines for their seasonal allergies such contribute to there eyes feeling dry so we want to do everything we can to help alleviate your discomfort and dry eyes.
