Connecticut’s Leading Dry Eye Center

Home of the Dry Eye Treatment Center of Connecticut

For health-based solutions for uncomfortable and irritating dry eye symptoms, visit the Dry Eye Treatment Center of Connecticut at Higgins Brothers’ Vision Care.

You don’t need to live with uncomfortable vision. Simply book an appointment with our team in Plainville and discover a new definition of eye comfort today.

We also take referrals! If you’re an eye care professional and have a patient who could use our help, please visit our referral page to get in touch with us. We’re ready to provide comfortable, hydrated vision for patients from all over Connecticut!

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Dry Eye Affects Millions

Dry eye is becoming one of the most common eye conditions in the country. Research has shown that 6.8% of adults have dry eye disease—that’s over 16 million people struggling with chronic irritation and discomfort.

Several factors can contribute to dry eye symptoms, like digital eye strain, eye makeup, lifestyle choices, and medications, but you can find meaningful solutions for maintaining your eye comfort. Higgins Brothers’ Vision Care is committed to using the latest diagnostic and treatment technology to help bring soothing relief to your eyes.

Our Dry Eye Center customizes treatment plans using medical evidence and health-focused approaches. By getting to the root of your symptoms, we can help you enjoy long-lasting, meaningful eye comfort.

What Is Dry Eye Syndrome?

Dry eye syndrome, also known as dry eye disease or simply dry eye, is a condition that affects your tear film. Your tear film is responsible for keeping your eyes hydrated and comfortable, but various issues can compromise your tear film and lead to uncomfortable symptoms.

Several factors can increase your risk of developing dry eye syndrome, like:

Aging
Being female
Vitamin A deficiency
Laser eye surgery
Certain medications
Certain health conditions

Depending on what’s causing your symptoms, dry eye can affect different layers of your tear film and cause irritating symptoms. Click each title to learn more about the layers of your tear film.

The Mucus Layer

The innermost layer, mucus, is produced by the conjunctiva and is responsible for adhering the tear film to your eye and spreading it evenly across its surface.

The Water Layer

The middle water layer, produced by your lacrimal glands, helps keep your eye hydrated while washing away small particles like dust and dirt.

The Oil Layer

The oil layer, the outermost layer of your tear film, is produced by your meibomian glands. It’s responsible for sealing in your tear film and preventing it from evaporating. It also helps your eyelid glide smoothly across your eye’s surface.

Types of Dry Eye

Depending on the issue affecting your eyes, you may develop either evaporative dry eye or aqueous tear deficiency. While these two issues are different, they can cause similar symptoms like:

Irritation
Eye redness
Wateriness
Gritty sensations
Light sensitivity
Contact lens problems
Blurry vision

You may have a higher risk of experiencing eye infections, inflammation, corneal damage, or corneal ulcers in more severe cases.

Evaporative Dry Eye

Evaporative dry eye occurs when your tear film isn’t getting the oil content it needs to prevent it from evaporating.

Your meibomian glands, located around the edges of your eyelids, produce the oil your tear film uses. Issues affecting the meibomian glands, for the most part, fall under a condition called meibomian gland dysfunction.

Learn more about meibomian gland dysfunction.

Aqueous Tear Deficiency

Aqueous tear deficiency occurs when your eye’s lacrimal glands don’t produce enough water content to keep your eyes hydrated. This version of dry eye isn’t as common as evaporative dry eye, but it still affects about 1 in 10 dry eye patients.

Aging can increase the risk of developing aqueous tear deficiency, but health conditions like Sjogren’s syndrome can also lead to symptoms. Doctors can determine if you have aqueous tear deficiency by using tear osmolarity tests.

Determining Your Dry Eye Severity

Diagnosing dry eye syndrome is a detailed process that requires us to take a look at your eye health, health history, and lifestyle.

We may perform several tests during your dry eye exam to better understand what may be causing your symptoms. These tests can include:

Oculus/Crystal Report
Tear break-up time: Measures how quickly your tears evaporate
Tear osmolarity tests: Measures the water quality in your tear film

We may take a few different steps to determine how severe your symptoms may be and what we can do to treat them. We can individualize each treatment plan to meet your unique needs by potentially following the 4 steps outlined from the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society Dry Eye Workshop II (TFOS DEWS II) Report.

Step 1

The first step of the TFOS DEWS II Report uses common strategies to help educate patients and manage dry eye symptoms:

Educating the patients on dry eye symptoms, treatments, and prognosis
Local environmental changes (like using a humidifier)
Recommending dietary changes
Medication assessment
Modifying oral and topical medications
Using lid hygiene and warm compress treatments

Step 2

If the first step doesn’t provide results, the next step is to:

Recommend non-preservative eye lubricants
Conserve tears using punctal plugs or tear-saving glasses or goggles
Recommend overnight treatments (like ointments or moisture chamber devices)
In-office eyelid heating and expression
In-office intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy for the eyelids
Prescribe medications to manage dry eye symptoms

Step 3

If the second step doesn’t provide results, the next step is to:

Recommend VitalTears eye drops
Prescribe therapeutic contact lenses
Recommend soft bandage lenses
Prescribe rigid scleral lenses

Step 4

The final step includes more involved procedures and treatments, like:

Using topical corticosteroids
Recommending amniotic membrane grafts
Recommending surgical punctal plugs
Recommending other surgical approaches

Meibomian Gland Dysfunction: A Leading Cause of Dry Eye

One of the leading causes of dry eye is meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), an issue that affects the oil content in your tear film.

Meibomian glands, located around the edges of your eyelid, are responsible for producing the oils that keep your tear film from evaporating too quickly. However, various factors can affect your meibomian glands and decrease oil production, like:

Aging
Wearing eye makeup
Wearing contact lenses
Having an eye injury
Certain medications
Environmental stress
Various health conditions
Eyelash mites
Blepharitis

Oil can also build up on your eyelid, collecting bacteria over time. Eventually, you may also develop flaky eyelids, styes, abnormal eyelash growth, and various dry eye symptoms.

There are various ways we can help manage MGD at the Dry Eye Treatment Center of Connecticut. These options can range from in-office treatments to simple eyelid hygiene practices you can do at home.

Equinox LLLT

During an Equinox Low-Level Light Treatment (LLLT) session, we use a wearable device to warm your oil-producing meibomian glands gently using light. The heat can help melt away or loosen blockages in your meibomian glands and relieve evaporative dry eye symptoms.

Learn more on our Equinox LLLT page.

LipiFlow

LipiFlow is an in-office treatment we offer to help bring relief to patients with meibomian gland dysfunction.

Using small activators that connect to your eyelids, LipiFlow gently pulsates heat to your meibomian glands, loosening blockages and providing dry eye relief.

Learn more about this treatment on our LipiFlow page.

Lumenis OptiLight IPL

We’re proud to offer Lumenis OptiLight Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatments for patients struggling with meibomian gland dysfunction.

Our OptiLight IPL treatment gently heats the meibomian glands using light pulsations, which can help loosen blockages along the eyelid margin.

Learn more about this treatment on our Lumenis Optilight IPL page.

NuEra Radiofrequency Treatment

NuEra radiofrequency energy penetrates deep into the tissues of the eyelids and helps to restore the natural balance of oils and tears that keep the surface of the eye healthy and lubricated.

It releases clogged oil while also targeting the inflammation that makes dry eye symptoms worse.

Learn more about this treatment on our NuEra page.

Meibomian Gland Expression

We can help clear blockages in your meibomian glands by gently massaging your eyelids using various techniques. Clearing these blockages will help your tear film get the oil it needs.

BlepharoExfoliation

BlepharoExfoliation is an in-office process that cleans away dirt, debris, bacteria, and other blockages from the edges of your eyelid. BlepharoExfoliation can help manage symptoms of meibomian gland dysfunction and blepharitis.

Intraductal Probing (Maskin Probing)

For patients with severe dry eye, we may recommend intraductal meibomian gland probing. This is an advanced procedure performed in our office that can effectively clear obstructions in the meibomian glands.

Autologous Serum Eye Drops (ASEDs) and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Eye Drops

Autologous serum eye drops (ASEDs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) eye drops are drops custom-made from your own blood. Studies have shown they can provide better relief of symptoms for some patients.

You’ll have a small amount of blood drawn, from which we will make a supply of drops for you.

We may recommend ASEDs or PRP drops for patients with Sjögrens Syndrome, neuropathic corneal pain, or severe dry eye due to other causes.

Punctal Plugs

Punctal plugs can offer effective relief for various types of dry eye, including:

Aqueous tear deficiency, which occurs when the lacrimal glands don’t produce enough water content.
Evaporative dry eye, which occurs when tears evaporate too quickly from the eye’s surface.

Punctal plugs can help by preventing existing moisture from draining too quickly, helping to keep your eyes comfortable with longer-lasting surface moisture.

Nutritional & Lifestyle Counselling

Even your diet and environment can affect your tear film. We can recommend several strategies you can use to help maintain your eye comfort, like taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements, changing aspects of your office or home, or eating foods rich in certain vitamins and minerals.

Our Dry Eye Store

Our extensive online Dry Eye Store is packed to the brim with leading dry eye products that could help you restore your eye comfort. Click the link below to visit our store or give us a call to book an appointment.

Dry Eye Store

Finding Comprehensive Relief

Before treating your dry eye symptoms, we first have to perform a comprehensive eye exam to understand what’s causing your symptoms and which treatment would be best for you.

Treatments range from in-office procedures to at-home strategies like dietary supplements or eyelid hygiene practices. The first step to finding relief, though, is having an eye exam.

Book your appointment today.

The Path to Quality Eye Comfort Starts Here

Your eyes deserve quality comfort and care, both of which you can find at Higgins Brothers’ Vision Care in Plainville. Simply book an appointment and get back to enjoying your sight today.

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Our Location

Conveniently located a short drive from the I-72 on East Main Street and Crown Street. You’ll recognize our inviting building immediately—it looks like a cozy home.