What dry eye is
Every blink spreads a thin tear film over the eye: a watery middle, a mucus layer that holds it to the surface and an oil layer on top that slows evaporation. Dry eye means that film no longer does its job. It can feel like burning, grit or sand, tired eyes by afternoon, blur that clears with a blink or, oddly, watering, as the eye floods itself in response.
Screens, air conditioning, contact lenses, LASIK, hormonal change and many common medications all play a part. Conventional care steps up from artificial tears and warm compresses to prescription anti-inflammatory drops, punctal plugs and in-office gland treatments.
Oil glands and Sjögren's
Most dry eye is evaporative. Along the lid margins sit the meibomian glands, which make the oil layer. In meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) that oil thickens and the openings clog, so the lids look red or crusty and the tears evaporate early. Warm compresses and lid hygiene are the daily groundwork, and your eye doctor may add more.
Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune condition that targets the glands making tears and saliva, so dry eyes arrive with a dry mouth and often with fatigue and joint aches. Your physician and rheumatologist diagnose and manage it. We read it as part of a whole-body pattern, see autoimmune conditions. Severe pain, a very red eye or a change in vision needs your eye doctor first.
How we work with it
A visit starts by reading the eye through the Five Wheels, then pulse and tongue. M48 micro acupuncture is combined with traditional systems: Master Tung's points, body points for the pattern and electro-stimulation when appropriate, with scalp acupuncture added where light sensitivity or headaches come along. Herbs differ sharply by type: for Lung dryness a practitioner might consider a moistening formula such as Sha Shen Mai Dong Tang (Glehnia and Ophiopogon Decoction); when the lids are hot and clogged, a clearing formula instead. See herbal medicine and dietary therapy.
We follow comfort through the day, how often you reach for drops and how the lids look.
Formulas here illustrate how pattern diagnosis shapes treatment. They are not recommendations; a practitioner selects and adjusts formulas for the individual.
Questions people ask
Can acupuncture help dry eyes?
Acupuncture and electro-acupuncture have been studied for dry eye symptoms, and research is ongoing. We use them as supportive care alongside your eye doctor's treatment, chosen from the type of dry eye and the pattern behind it.
Why do my dry eyes water so much?
When the surface dries and gets irritated, the eye can flood itself with reflex tears. Those tears are mostly water and wash away quickly, so the dryness comes back.
I have Sjögren's. Can you help?
We work alongside your rheumatologist and eye doctor, reading the dry eyes, dry mouth and fatigue as one whole-body pattern. Your prescribed medicines stay as they are, and herbs are checked against them.
Should I keep using my prescription drops?
Yes. Keep every drop, ointment and lid routine your eye doctor has given you unless they change it.
This is general wellness information, not medical advice.
