Let us manage your dry eye in Hertfordshire, Essex and London

Discover how dry eye treatment can help you find the relief you seek

Upgrade your eyesight with affordable, top-quality eye treatment in Hertfordshire, Essex and London

You don’t need to travel far or pay a small fortune to get the eye care you deserve

You don’t have to live with dry eye

We have several proven options to help you manage your dry eye

Dry eye treatment suitability criteria

Dry eye is a common problem, but it can lead to severe complications if left untreated.

The type of treatment we recommend will depend on the underlying cause. At your first appointment, we will perform a thorough dry eye assessment to find a treatment that we think would be the most appropriate to help you with your symptoms.

This examination may include:

  • The use of diagnostic dyes
  • Meibomian gland imaging and assessment
  • Tear osmolarity
  • A general assessment of the health of the surface of your eye

Some treatments focus on reversing or managing a condition or factor that’s causing your dry eyes. Other treatments can improve your tear quality or stop your tears from quickly draining away from your eyes.

Treatments include:

  • Drops and medications
  • Artificial tears – The most common treatment is artificial teardrops that help make up for the lack of natural lubricating tears. Artificial tear products come in liquid form, longer-lasting gel form and long-lasting ointment form, which are commonly recommended for nighttime use. Many different brands of artificial tears are available over-the-counter. Some contain preservatives, and some do not.
  • Eye inserts – If you have moderate to severe dry eye symptoms and artificial tears don’t help, another option may be a tiny eye insert that looks like a clear grain of rice. Once a day, you place the insert between your lower eyelid and your eyeball. The insert dissolves slowly, releasing a substance that’s used in eye drops to lubricate your eye.
  • Eye drops – Anti-inflammatory eye drop medications commonly used to treat dry eyes decrease inflammation in the glands and allow more natural tear formation. You can use these medications alone or in conjunction with over the counter artificial tears.
  • Eye drops made from your own blood – These are called autologous blood serum drops. They may be an option if you have severe dry eye symptoms that don’t respond to any other treatment. To make these eye drops, a sample of your blood is processed to remove the red blood cells and then mixed with a salt solution.
  • Tear-stimulating drugs – Drugs called cholinergics (pilocarpine, cevimeline) help increase tear production. These drugs are available as pills, gel or eye drops.

Therapies

  • Lid cleaning – When infection, inflammation of the eyelids, or clogged oil glands contribute to dry eye, we may recommend a special lid cleaning technique (eyelid scrubs) or antibiotics.
  • Lipiflow – Dry eye disease is often due to a blockage of one or more meibomian glands. Simultaneous heat and gentle pressure are applied to the eyelids with the Lipiflow machine; this helps to unblock the glands and encourages better quality secretion.
  • BlephEx – An eyelid condition known as blepharitis can often contribute to dry eye. The BlephEx device cleans and exfoliates irritants from the eyelids and eyelashes to reduce inflammation and improve the overall health and hygiene of the eyelid.
  • IPL and LLLT – Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Low-Level Light Therapy (LLLT) can effectively treat meibomian gland dysfunction and related evaporative dry eye. Brief bursts of light are applied to the delicate eye area by a trained professional. These specific wavelengths of energy reduce the number of abnormal blood vessels involved in inflammation of the eye, brightening the whites of the eyes and leaving them feeling fresher.

Contact lenses

  • Special contact lenses – Some people with severe dry eyes may opt for special contact lenses that protect the surface of the eyes and trap moisture. These are called scleral lenses or bandage lenses.
  • Surgery
  • Punctal occlusion – This is another common way in which we can treat dry eyes. We can perform this treatment in the clinic by placing temporary collagen or long-lasting silicone plug into one of the tear duct drains. The tear duct drains tears away from the eye and into the nose. This is comparable to putting a stopper in a sink, allowing the natural tears on the eye to nourish the eye longer.

Advantages

All our treatments aim to improve your ocular surface, tear film and improve the consequences of dry eye.

Disadvantages

There is no cure for dry eyes. All dry eye treatments require regular ongoing care and attention

There is a risk associated with all eye surgeries including not obtaining the desired result. Your eye surgeon will explain these risks and benefits in your preoperative assessment.

Drops and medications
With drops and medications, the main risks include allergy and intolerance to preservatives and ingredients.

Therapies
Possible side effects include redness, slight burning or stinging, blurred vision, light sensitivity and dryness. These side effects are very rare and not permanent.

Contact lenses
With contact lenses, the main risks are overwear, which can lead to your eyes not getting the rest they need and eye infections caused by a poor eye care regime.

Surgery
As with any surgical procedure there are risks which we will discuss with you at your appointment. Most are minimally invasive and cause few side effects.

We do a thorough dry eye assessment looking at the tear film components, meibomian glands and suggest treatments based on this assessment.

These treatment modalities help the majority of people with their dry eye symptoms. We recommend the treatment that we think would be the most appropriate to help you with your symptoms.

We will explain the steps of each intervention to you in detail at your first appointment.

After dry eye treatment, your symptoms should be greatly improved, resulting in more comfort and improved quality of life.

Give your eyesight a lift to a new level

Don’t let cataracts, glasses or keratoconus get in the way of your life. Instead, contact us today and discover how you can elevate your vision and life to a new standard.

If you can find your challenge below, then we can elevate your vision to a new standard

Choose the option below that sounds most like you

Your vision is yellowing and hazy

Do you have hazy and cloudy vision (even with glasses)? Do colours appear less vibrant? Are you finding it harder to drive or see at night? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s possible that you have a cataract.

Did you know that you can get restored clarity (and the need for glasses?). It’s true, you can have both solutions in one with lifestyle cataract surgery.

You don’t want to live with glasses or contacts

Wish for a life free from glasses or contact lenses? Are they making life inconvenient for you or getting in your way? We appreciate how it feels to have to deal with the constant hassle of visual aids.

Vision correction surgery can help you ditch your specs and discover the freedom you’ve been missing.

You have a troublesome eye condition

Besides decreasing quality of life, eye conditions can cause anxiety. Whatever your particular eye condition, we can help you get an accurate diagnosis and a proven treatment plan.

Let us help you move forward with your life by guiding you towards the right eye treatment for your specific issues.

Trade up your eyes in 3 easy steps

Give your eyes a lift to a whole new level

Get In Touch

The first step to restoring your vision or solving your eye condition is to give our friendly team a call. Get the ball rolling calling on 020 4509 8700 or use our easy online form here.

We’ll Meet Locally

We can see you at one of several convenient locations near you. At your assessment, we’ll listen to your concerns, thoroughly assess your eyes and then recommend the best treatment to solve your visual concern.

Upgrade Your Life

After treatment, patients are often surprised by how much their life changes. Visual improvements often bring a newfound sense of freedom, a restoration of youthful function (like reading again over the age of 45, without glasses!), and a refreshed peace of mind.

★★★★★
Hundreds of happy patients in Hertfordshire, Essex and London

Now they live life with more freedom, comfort and confidence

“Silvana Madi was very professional. She explained everything about the condition of my eyes and how the procedure would go ahead, as well as everything that would happen in the weeks following my procedure. She was very confident in her professional role.”

A.N.,
Loughton

“Ms Madi was excellent with explaining the procedure and being reassuring at all times. Great carer. Her staff explained everything to me clearly and the following morning I had a wonderful clear vision and the colours of everything I saw was amazing.”

W.G.,
London

“Ms Madi was reassuring as I was very nervous. I felt at ease. Ms Madi was reassuring as I was very nervous. I felt at ease.”

C.L.,
Essex

“My surgeon, Miss Silvana Madi, took great care to obtain the optimum result for me which has exceeded my expectations. I was a very nervous patient but Miss Madi and all her staff helped me overcome my anxieties. I couldn’t have asked for more care and attention.”

D.G,
Essex

“Silvana Madi was very professional. She explained everything about the condition of my eyes and how the procedure would go ahead, as well as everything that would happen in the weeks following my procedure. She was very confident in her professional role.”

A. N.,
Loughton

“Ms Madi was excellent with explaining the procedure and being reassuring at all times. Great carer. Her staff explained everything to me clearly and the following morning I had a wonderful clear vision and the colours of everything I saw was amazing.”

W.G.,
London

“Ms Madi was excellent with explaining the procedure and being reassuring at all times. Great carer. Her staff explained everything to me clearly and the following morning I had a wonderful clear vision and the colours of everything I saw was amazing.”

C.L.,
Essex

We have replaced the images of real patients who provided these testimonials to protect their privacy

Find out if you can have LASIK or SMILE

Take 5 minutes to see whether either of these life-changing eye procedures might suit you to free yourself from glasses and contact lenses.

Expert cataract, laser eye surgery and cornea specialist in Hertfordshire, Essex and London

Silvana Madi is here to guide you every step of the way

Silvana Madi
MD, PhD, FRCOphth, CERTLRS

Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon

Silvana Madi is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon specializing in laser eye surgery, corneal disease treatment, and traditional and lifestyle cataract surgery. She has over 10 years of experience in ophthalmology that includes:

  • performing combined cataract surgery and glaucoma treatment (MIGS) to reduce glaucoma eye drop dependency.
  • an abundance of experience in glaucoma management, including high-risk and complex cases.
  • the most up-to-date practices in corneal transplants to improve quality of vision
  • all corneal surgeries including intracorneal rings (INTACs) or PTK to help patients with keratoconus reduce dependence on their glasses
  • over 15000 procedures to restore vision, remove dependency on glasses and optimise visual health.