Dry Eye Relief

If you wanted to keep water in a sink, you’d cover the drain. Simple - and effective. That’s exactly what we do with Tear Savers, except the “sink” is your eye - actually tiny openings in the eyelids called the puncta, that drain moisture (tears) from the eye into the drainage canal.

This drainage is normal, and in most people a constant balance between tear production, evaporation, and drainage keeps the eyes and eyelids comfortably lubricated.

Tear Savers may be used when an imbalance in this system causes a persistent, uncomfortable dry eye condition. Common symptoms of dry eyes are redness, irritation, burning, itching, watering and often tired eyes.

Applying Tear Savers is a two step procedure. First, we use a dissolvable Tear Saver made of collagen. The collagen will dissolve in about four to seven days. During this time, we’ll have you complete a symptoms checklist. We expect that initially you should notice a decrease in your symptoms and then, as the Tear Saver dissolves, your symptoms should return. If this is the case, as it usually is, we would then use a non-dissolvable (but removable) Tear Saver.

Non-dissolvable Tear Savers are made of soft, flexible silicone rubber, similar to the material used to make contact lenses. And it’s tiny - so small that most patients don’t even remember it’s there. We can easily remove a Tear Saver at any time, but this is seldom necessary.

The placement of a Tear Saver is simple, quick and painless. It is done in the office and no anesthesia is necessary. Tear Savers do not affect your vision so you can drive yourself home from your Tear Saver office visit.

Most people begin to feel relief within the first day of using Tear Savers although for others it may take longer.

Using Tear Savers with contact lenses or after Laser Vision Correction is very common and not a problem. In fact, after using Tear Savers, many contact lens wearers report increased comfort and the ability to wear their lenses longer.

You may still need to use lubricating eye drops after Tear Savers but if you do, they should be more effective than without the Tear Savers.

Since Dry Eyes are considered a medical condition and not a vision problem, many insurance companies may reimburse you for a portion of the fees.

To schedule an appointment, click here. or call 770-300-0559.