If your eyes burn, sting, feel gritty, or blur by the afternoon, and eye drops only help for a few minutes, you are not imagining it and you are not alone. Dry eye is one of the most common reasons people see an eye doctor, and in a warm, often dry climate with a lot of screen time, the Austin metro sees plenty of it. The encouraging part is that dry eye is very treatable once you understand what is actually driving it.
What is dry eye?
Dry eye happens when your eyes do not make enough tears, or the tears they make evaporate too quickly to keep the surface comfortable and clear. Most dry eye is the second kind, called evaporative dry eye. It usually traces back to the small oil glands in your eyelids, called meibomian glands, which are supposed to coat each tear with a thin layer of oil so it does not dry up too fast. When those glands get blocked or inflamed, the tears evaporate, and the surface of the eye becomes irritated.
The symptoms people notice most
- Burning or stinging, often worse late in the day.
- A gritty, sandy, or foreign-body feeling.
- Fluctuating or blurry vision that clears when you blink.
- Watery eyes. Yes, watering is a classic dry eye sign. An irritated surface triggers a flood of reflex tears that drain away without fixing the dryness.
- Redness and tired eyes, especially after screens or reading.
- Contact lenses that feel less comfortable than they used to.
What causes dry eye
Dry eye usually has more than one cause working together. Common contributors include:
- Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), blocked eyelid oil glands, the most common driver.
- Screen time. We blink less than half as often when we focus on a screen, which lets tears evaporate.
- Demodex and blepharitis. Eyelid mites and inflammation damage the glands. See our guide on demodex blepharitis treatment.
- Ocular rosacea. The same inflammation behind facial rosacea can affect the eyelids. See ocular rosacea.
- Age and hormones. Tear production changes over time, and often around menopause.
- Environment. Dry air, wind, ceiling fans, and car vents all speed up evaporation.
- Medications. Antihistamines and some others reduce tears.
How dry eye is diagnosed
A proper dry eye evaluation looks at more than whether your eyes feel dry. At Aura, that means examining the eyelid glands and how well they express, checking the tear film and how fast it breaks up, looking at the eye surface, and ruling out related conditions like demodex or allergies. This is the step that tells us which treatment will actually help, rather than guessing. Our dedicated dry eye assessment is a good first step, and you can start with our online dry eye assessment.
Dry eye treatment options
Home care and lid hygiene
Warm compresses, gentle lid cleansing, and preservative-free artificial tears help many people and support in-office treatment. On their own they often manage mild symptoms but do not fix blocked glands, which is why persistent dry eye usually needs more.
In-office treatment for the oil glands
When meibomian glands are the problem, treating them directly is what brings lasting relief. At our dry eye clinic that includes intense pulsed light (IPL) and radiofrequency (RF) therapy, which reduce inflammation and help the glands release oil normally again, along with gland expression to clear blockages. These are done as a short series of comfortable in-office sessions.
Treating what is behind it
If demodex mites, blepharitis, or ocular rosacea are contributing, treating those at the same time is what makes results hold. Dry eye rarely has a single cause, so the plan usually addresses a few things together.
What it costs at Aura: a dedicated dry eye assessment is $75, and that fee is applied in full toward treatment if you move forward. We review any treatment costs with you before starting, and we accept FSA, HSA, and CareCredit.
What to expect
Dry eye is usually a chronic condition, which means the goal is lasting management rather than a one-time cure. Most people notice meaningful improvement over a series of treatments, with a simple maintenance routine afterward to keep it that way. Starting earlier generally means easier management and less long-term damage to the glands.
When to see a dry eye specialist
See an eye doctor if your symptoms are constant, keep coming back, affect your work or driving, or do not improve with over-the-counter drops. Get care promptly if you have eye pain, light sensitivity, or a sudden change in vision, since those can signal something beyond dry eye.
A note for the Austin area
Central Texas gives dry eye a few extra pushes: long allergy seasons including cedar fever in winter, plenty of warm dry air and wind, and a lot of screen-heavy work. Allergies and dry eye can feel similar but need different care, which is one more reason a real evaluation beats guessing. We see patients from Pflugerville, Round Rock, North Austin, Hutto, Georgetown, Manor, and Cedar Park.
How Aura Eye Center can help
Dry eye is a core focus of our practice. Dr. Haley Tran evaluates what is actually driving your symptoms, then builds a plan that may combine in-office gland treatment, care for any demodex or rosacea, and a simple home routine. The aim is real, lasting comfort, not a lifetime of drops that only help for a minute.
Visit the Aura Dry Eye Clinic Take the free dry eye assessment Read about demodex and blepharitis