The Rochester Eye & Laser Team

Dry Eyes

Your eyes produce tears containing natural infection-fighting antibiotics every second. Blinking spreads the tears over the eyes’ surface before being drained through two small holes in the nasal corner of your eyelids. These tear ducts are known as puncta and drain tears to the nose and throat.

If your tear glands make insufficient tears, or they drain away too quickly, the tear film is spread too thinly over the eyes’ surface. If your tear glands produce enough tears but are of poor quality, they evaporate too quickly before the next blink comes along, which can cause irritation.

If untreated, damage to the outer protective tissue of the cornea opens a route of infection with the risk of permanent scarring and sight loss.

Choosing an eye care provider is an important health care decision. After all, you will be trusting your eye doctor to safeguard your precious sense of sight and help you maintain a lifetime of good vision.

The first step in your decision is to understand that there are two types of eye doctors: optometrists and ophthalmologists. And there is a third "O" among eye care providers: the optician.