Is summer making your eyes feel like a desert? 

Summer is Northeast Wisconsin is beautiful, but between the blasting air conditioning, breezy days near Lake Winnebago, and extra hours spent staring at screens planning summer road trips, your eyes might be feeling the heat.

If you frequently deal with a gritty, burning, or stinging sensation in your eyes, you aren’t alone. July is National Dry Eye Awareness Month, an observance dedicated to a chronic condition that impacts roughly 16 million Americans. At Valley Eye Associates, we believe that clear vision should always come with total comfort. Let’s take a moment to learn about what causes dry eye, how summer triggers it, and the advanced ways we can help you find lasting relief. We invite you to take our online self-evaluation quiz, so our specialized team can help design a personalized care plan just for you.

Dry eye syndrome occurs when your eyes either don’t produce enough tears, or the tears they do produce evaporate too quickly to keep the front surface of your eye properly lubricated. While it can happen year-round, summer brings a unique set of triggers.

1. Air conditioning units remove moisture from the air, creating a dry indoor climate that accelerates tear evaporation
2. Sitting directly under a ceiling fan or enjoying a breezy day outdoors can dry out the ocular surface quickly
3. Whether you are working in the office or catching up on shows, we tend to blink significantly less when staring at digital devices, leading to rapid tear loss

Dry eye doesn’t just mean your eyes feel dry, it can manifest in several different ways, including:

• A stinging, burning, or “scratchy” sensation
• Persistent redness or eye fatigue
• Sensitivity to light
• Blurred vision, especially when reading or looking at a screen
• Watery eyes – When your eyes become severely irritated from dryness, your nervous system reflexively floods them with low-quality, watery tears that don’t lubricate well

For mild or occasional dryness, a few simple lifestyle adjustments can make a world of difference.

• 20-20-20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, look away from your computer or phone screen at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This will encourage your eyes to have a full, natural blink.
• Stay hydrated: Drinking plenty of water helps maintain the moisture balance throughout your entire body, including your eyes.
• Adjust your airflow: Direct car vents, office fans, and home AC units away from your face. Sunglasses that wrap around the sides of your face can also shield your eyes from air, wind, or debris.

If over-the-counter artificial tears aren’t cutting it, you don’t have to just live with the discomfort. Dry eye is a complex condition, and effective treatment depends on addressing the root cause. At Valley Eye Associates, we offer a range of diagnostic tools and specialized treatments to target the underlying source of your symptoms.

LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation: If your dry eye is caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD)—where the oil glands in your eyelids become blocked—LipiFlow uses gentle heat and adaptive pressure to safely remove blockages and restore healthy oil flow to your tear film.

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Therapy: This innovative light-based treatment targets inflammation around the eyes, helps open clogged eyelid glands, and reduces the abnormal blood vessels associated with ocular rosacea, a frequent contributor to dry eye.

VitalTears® Serum Eye Drops: For patients requiring highly personalized care for severe dry eye, VitalTears utilizes your own biology. These custom-made eye drops are derived from your own blood serum, containing natural growth factors, healing nutrients, and vitamins that match your body’s unique biochemistry to replicate real tears.

Punctal Plugs: For patients who need help retaining their natural moisture, we can insert tiny, biocompatible plugs into the tear ducts. This simple, comfortable step slows down tear drainage, keeping your eyes lubricated longer.

Prokera® Corneal Healing: For patients experiencing severe dry eye or corneal surface damage, we offer Prokera. This advanced, therapeutic biologic device utilizes amniotic membrane tissue to actively reduce inflammation and promote rapid, natural healing of the eye’s surface.

Blephex®: A painless, in-office procedure that precisely cleans and exfoliates the edges of your eyelids and lashes. It effectively removes biofilm and bacterial buildup, which are primary causes of eyelid inflammation and blepharitis.

Your eyes shouldn’t stop you from enjoying a beautiful Wisconsin summer. Give Valley Eye Associates a call or visit our website to schedule your dry eye examination today!