Dry Eye Care
When tears stop doing their job.
Dry eye isn’t a nuisance — it’s a chronic, progressive medical condition. We diagnose the actual cause (it’s almost never what you think), then build a treatment plan that matches the severity, not a one-size-fits-all drop.
Type
Chronic, progressive
Root cause
Often gland-related
Relief
Within weeks
Performed by
Licensed optometrists
The Reframe
Dry eye is medical, not a nuisance
The feeling is familiar: gritty, burning, tired by mid-afternoon. A drop from the pharmacy helps for an hour. Back to grit. Most people accept this as the cost of screens or age and keep reaching for drops.
Chronic dry eye is a progressive disease. The meibomian glands that produce the oil layer of your tears can atrophy permanently if the underlying dysfunction isn’t addressed. Inflammation damages the ocular surface. Contact lens comfort goes first, then reading stamina, then screen tolerance.
The good news: when the actual cause is identified, dry eye responds well to targeted treatment. Most patients feel a real difference within four to six weeks — and the earlier gland-focused care begins, the more of the glands we preserve.
The Assessment
Three parts, one answer
A dry eye assessment has three parts: what you’re feeling, what’s driving it, and what the ocular surface shows. Treatment only works when all three line up.
What you might feel
- Burning, stinging, or a gritty “something-in-my-eye” feeling
- Blurry vision that clears when you blink
- Eyes that water uncontrollably (paradoxical tearing)
- Sensitivity to wind, screens, or air conditioning
- Contacts that have quietly become uncomfortable
- Tired eyes by the end of the day
Why it happens
- Meibomian gland dysfunction — blocked oil glands on the eyelid margins
- Aqueous deficiency — the eye isn’t producing enough tear volume
- Evaporative dry eye — tears break down too quickly (often linked to screens and aging)
- Autoimmune conditions — Sjögren’s, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis
- Medications — antihistamines, antidepressants, hormonal therapies
- Hormonal shifts — pregnancy, menopause, thyroid changes
What we look for
- Tear quality and tear break-up time
- Meibomian gland structure and function
- Ocular-surface inflammation
- Eyelid and lash health — blepharitis is commonly missed
- Tear volume and stability
The Plan
A treatment plan that escalates — only as needed
We start with the least invasive option that has a realistic chance of working, and move up only if needed. Most patients stabilize within the first three steps.
Step
01
Home and lifestyle
Warm compresses, lid-margin cleaning, screen-break habits, omega-3 supplementation, humidifiers, and hydration. For mild cases, this is often enough — and it’s the foundation every other step builds on.
Step
02
Tear supplements
Preservative-free artificial tears, gels, or nighttime ointments chosen to match the type of deficiency. Not all drops are equal — we’ll specify the formulation that targets your pattern, not whatever’s on sale.
Step
03
Prescription therapy
When inflammation is the driver, topical prescriptions (cyclosporine, lifitegrast, short-course steroids) calm the ocular surface so natural tear production can recover.
Step
04
In-office treatments
For meibomian gland dysfunction, we offer professional gland expression, thermal treatments, and advanced in-office procedures to restore the oil layer of the tear film. The exact options are matched to the cause — not every dry eye needs the same procedure.
Step
05
Punctal plugs
Tiny, reversible inserts placed in the tear drainage ducts to keep natural and supplemental tears on the eye longer. Reserved for moderate-to-severe cases where other steps haven’t been enough.
Coverage & Cost
What’s covered, what isn’t
The assessment itself is OHIP-covered for patients who qualify — 19 and under, 65 and older, or with a qualifying medical condition. Everyone else pays privately for the exam, and most extended health plans reimburse a portion.
Most in-office dry eye procedures and advanced therapies are paid privately and are not OHIP-covered. We’ll walk through exactly what your plan covers before any treatment begins — no surprises at checkout.
What Our Patients Say
From our patients
Before You Come In
What to bring
The more context we have, the faster we can land on the right plan.
- OHIP card and any extended health insurance details
- A list of every drop, ointment, or supplement you’ve tried — and what helped or didn’t
- Current prescription medications (several common ones worsen dry eye)
- Your glasses and, if applicable, your contact lens prescription
- Notes on when symptoms are worst — morning, evening, after screens, on windy days
- Name and contact of your family doctor or specialist, if a systemic condition is involved
Questions
Frequently asked
Ready?
Book a dry eye assessment
If drops have stopped working — or if you’ve been dealing with this for months and quietly assumed it was just screens — there’s almost always a better plan. Let’s find yours.
Book an Assessment