Insofar as people would like to take care of themselves, they must recognize the dangers (and potential benefits) of self-reinforcement—both in sickness and in health. Good health corresponds to good habits, and bad health corresponds to bad habits. The good thing is that even bad luck in the health department can be mitigated by good habits, so long as you take time to consider how well you’re getting along. In the same way, good luck can be undone by bad habits.
Thankfully, our bodies tend to communicate with us when it’s time to take a trip to the doctor. But not always.
And as much as this digital age comes with new technology, it also comes with more eye strain. As the hustle and bustle of everyday life takes us from coffee, to Zoom meetings, to workout classes, to more Zoom meetings—with copious amounts of screen time in between—the irritation you feel in your eyes could indicate a problem. Assuringly, if you don’t feel any irritation … you might just as well have a problem.
This was the case for me when I visited Radiant Eye Care to talk with Dr. Horne about the common ophthalmological condition known as dry eye. Roughly two in three people who have it don’t even know, as symptoms can exist for quite some time before they become disruptive.
Dry eye refers to a condition in which the eyes fail to produce or maintain enough quality tears to keep the surface lubricated. Evaporative dry eye is a common form today, with technologies stimulating our attention to the point that we forget to blink, causing tears to evaporate.
Our bodies try to prevent dry eye with the meibomian glands inside our eyelids, which produce an oily substance called meibum that protects tears from evaporation. With eyes locked onto screens and lazy blinking habits, however, those glands are prevented from rubbing properly, decreasing or thickening meibum production as the glands harden.
To make matters worse, chronic dryness and inflammation desensitize nerve endings. Dampened pain signals reduce the brain’s repair signals—and with them our motivation to go to the doctor. While eye drops may provide temporary relief for those feeling inflammation, they will not get at the root causes in accumulated bad habits.
Hence, a self-reinforcing, self-perpetuating problem.
Symptoms of dry eye include blurry vision, burning or stinging eyes, redness, heaviness, and other forms of irritation. Dry eye can also exacerbate underlying conditions such as scarring, infections, and visual disturbances. Left untreated, these symptoms can worsen and turn into more serious complications, so they should not be mistaken as “normal” sensations.
Dr. Horne emphasized the importance of reaching the root cause of dry eye. Modern treatments offered at Radiant Eye Care focus on improving gland health, reducing inflammation, and correcting bad habits by replacing them with good ones. Specifically, Intense Pulse Light (IPL) therapy, thermal treatments, and Dynamic Muscle Stimulation Therapy (DMST) help regenerate tissue, renew gland structure, clear glands, and retrain proper blinking mechanics.
In Dr. Horne’s concentration on dry eye, she reveals her clinic’s distinguished approach to preventative care in the area, and that the best response to self-reinforcing problems are self-reinforcing solutions.
In Dr. Horne’s concentration on dry eye, she reveals her clinic’s distinguished approach to preventative care in the area, and that the best response to self-reinforcing problems are self-reinforcing solutions.