Ep. 002: All About Dry Eyes - with Kenneth Beckman, MD

In this episode Dr. Suh interviews Dr. Ken Beckman about all aspects of dry eye disease. They first delve into the common signs and symptoms. Dr. Beckman then discusses the special tests that can be performed at your eye doctor’s office to confirm which type of dry eye disease you may have.  Lastly, he does a comprehensive review of the wide-ranging treatments that are available today. 

Below are links to some more information about topics that are discussed on this episode.

• Tear osmolarity measures the salt concentration of human tears to aid in the diagnosis of dry eye disease.
• InflammaDry detects high levels of MMP-9, an inflammatory marker that is consistently elevated in the tears of patients with chronic dry eyes.
• Lipiscan is a high-definition oil gland imager that allows eye care professionals to assess meibomian gland structure
• This is one of the brands of moist heat eye compresses that Dr. Beckman recommends in his office to help patients with evaporative dry eyes – the most common cause of dry eye disease. 
• Lipiflow is a procedure performed in the office that heats and massages the eyelids to improve outflow of the natural oil from the glands that are so vital for a stable tear film layer.
• This is a nice summary article about the three prescription dry eye medications – cyclosporine-A (Cequa and Restasis) and lifitegrast (Xiidra).
• Punctal plugs, a quick, in-office procedure covered by insurance, are a nice adjunct to combat dry eyes. 
• Autologous serum drops are eye drops made from a patient’s own blood plasma and serum. 
• Scleral contact lenses can be worn to treat severe dry eyes. This is an old article but still relevant.
• This is a nice summary article on dry eyes from the American Academy of Ophthalmology 
• Dr. Beckman was one of the lead authors in this landmark, peer-reviewed journal article that changed paradigms about dry eyes.

You can find out more about Dr. Beckman and Suh's practice at their website and on Facebook.

This is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing in this podcast/blog is to be considered as recommending or rendering medical advice or treatment to a specific patient. Please consult your eye care specialist for proper diagnosis and treatment of any eye conditions that you may have.