00:03Hi, I'm Dr. Ashley Brissett. I'm a board-certified ophthalmologist in New York City, and this July
00:09is Dry Eye Awareness Month, which is why I have partnered with Refresh Brand, which is the number
00:14one doctor-recommended brand for artificial tears in the US. And we're here to talk about dry eye
00:20disease and options for treatment. So dry eye disease is a very common condition that affects
00:26over 35 million Americans every year. And there are so many things that can contribute to our eyes
00:31feeling dry. Dry eye can also feel like irritated eyes, and even sometimes blurry vision. Things
00:37like our environment, certain temperature in the air, humidity, screen time can also contribute to
00:44that. And I know we're all on our screens now at all hours of the day. And also aging changes
00:49and
00:49hormonal changes, which is why dry eye disease is so common, especially in women over the age of 50.
00:54So there's so many things that can contribute to eyes feeling dry. So there's lots of great
00:59treatment options available, and it really has to do with the type of dry eye that you have and also
01:04the severity. But one thing that I recommend to all of my patients is to start with what we call
01:09artificial tears to help temporarily lubricate the surface of the eye. And one of my favorite drops
01:14that I recommend for my patients is the Refresh Optive Mega 3 Preservative-Free Multi-Dose. And why I love
01:21this is that with it being preservative-free, it's especially gentle on the surface, which can be
01:25great for people who have sensitive and dry eyes. And the multi-dose bottle is very easy to use, very
01:32effective for treating dry eye symptoms. And some patients can even get more than 10 hours of relief
01:39from using this drop. So other things we can do to keep our eyes healthy, especially this time of year,
01:43are UV protection. So always having sunglasses on whenever you're outside in the bright sunlight,
01:49making sure that the sunglasses have 100% UV. Healthy diet is important. So we speak about omega-3s
01:56in the diet as being beneficial for dry eyes, staying well hydrated as well this time of year. And then
02:01taking breaks from screen time, which I know is difficult to do. But what I speak about with my
02:05patients is the 20-20-20 rule. So every 20 minutes, looking 20 feet away for 20 seconds. And that
02:12can give
02:12your eyes a nice break from the screens. So for more information about dry eye disease, or to purchase
02:17the drops, I usually direct my patients to RefreshEyeDrops.com. It's a great resource with lots of
02:24information there.
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