If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already tried eye drops.
Maybe more than one kind.
Maybe they helped at first.
Maybe now they don’t.
Most people who come to my clinic in Hinjewadi or Wakad don’t walk in saying, “I have dry eye.”
They say things like:
“My eyes just don’t feel comfortable anymore.”
“By evening, I can’t keep them open.”
“Some days are fine, some days are terrible.”
If drops were enough, you wouldn’t still be looking for answers.
And no, this isn’t rare around here. The work culture, long screen hours, air-conditioned offices, and stretched days quietly set the stage. Not overnight. Slowly.
This is where many patients get confused.
They’re told, “Your eyes look okay.”
Sometimes, even, “There’s enough tears.”
And yet, the burning. The heaviness. The irritation doesn’t stop.
Here’s what I explain in the room.
Comfort is not about how your eyes look at one moment. It’s about how stable they stay through the day.
That’s why eyes can water and still feel dry. That’s why discomfort doesn’t always match what someone else sees. It doesn’t mean your problem is minor. It means it’s being misunderstood.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: When tears evaporate too quickly, I focus on tear stability. This often means anti-inflammatory treatment to calm the surface and therapies that improve tear quality rather than just tear quantity. |
Almost everyone reaches this stage.
At first, drops give relief. Then the relief gets shorter. So you use them more often. Sometimes you switch brands. Sometimes someone recommends another bottle.
Most people don’t realise what’s happening until months later.
You didn’t “overdo it” out of carelessness. You did what made sense with the information you had.
But when treatment turns into constant adjustment without a clear plan, it often works against you. Relief becomes unpredictable. Confidence drops. Frustration grows.
Dry Eye Treatment is not about adding more. It’s about choosing correctly.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: I reduce drop overload and introduce short, controlled anti-inflammatory cycles when needed. The aim is to restore surface balance so lubrication lasts longer without constant dosing. |
Nearly every patient in Hinjewadi assumes the same thing.
“I work on a computer all day. That’s why this is happening.”
Screens absolutely stress the eyes. I won’t dismiss that. But they usually expose a problem rather than create it alone.
If screen time were the only cause, symptoms would behave in a straight line. They don’t.
Some people with extreme screen use are fine. Others struggle even after cutting back. That difference matters.
Your job is not the villain here. Oversimplifying it only delays proper care.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: I assess meibomian gland function. If oil secretion is poor, I use MGD-focused therapy and gland expression techniques to reduce evaporation, even with continued screen use. |
When someone says this, I listen closely.
Clear when you wake up.
Comfortable for a few hours.
By evening, irritation sets in. Reading feels harder. Lights bother you. Focus slips.
This pattern tells me more than a single eye test ever could.
It tells me about endurance. About stability. About how your eyes cope as the day goes on.
Many patients describe this without realising how important it is. But this daily curve is often the key to understanding what’s really going on.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: This pattern often responds to treatments that improve day-long tear retention, including gland therapies and, in selected cases, punctal support to slow tear loss. |
This is something I say often.
Two people can describe the same symptoms and still need completely different approaches.
That’s why past treatments may have felt disappointing. They weren’t necessarily wrong. They just weren’t matched to your pattern.
Dry Eye Treatment is not one thing. It’s a category. Treating it as interchangeable is why many patients feel stuck.
Individualised care is not about complexity. It’s about accuracy.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: I classify dry eye as evaporative, inflammatory, aqueous-deficient, or mixed. Treatment may combine MGD therapy, surface anti-inflammatory medication, or tear conservation methods based on this profile. |
This question usually comes quietly.
Sometimes people don’t even ask it out loud.
No, dry eye does not automatically worsen year after year. Age can influence it, but it does not decide your future on its own.
What matters more is whether the problem is recognised early and managed consistently. Not aggressively. Consistently.
There are no promises here. But there is room for stability. Often, much more than people expect.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: |
This is one of the most complex parts.
Some days are fine. Other days are not. That makes people doubt themselves. It also makes others minimise the problem.
“Inconsistent” does not mean “mild.”
It means unstable.
And instability is often more disruptive than constant discomfort. Recognising this is part of taking your experience seriously without dramatising it.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: |
The most significant change is not the treatment.
It’s the thinking.
Instead of guessing week to week, we look for patterns over time. Instead of reacting, we plan. Instead of doing more, we often do less, but more precisely.
The goal isn’t to overwhelm you.
The goal is to stop guessing.
For patients seeking treatment of Dry Eye, this shift alone often brings clarity and relief.
How Dr. Nitesh handles this: Care shifts from random lubrication to structured management. Treatments like MGD therapy, anti-inflammatory cycles, or punctal support are used selectively and reviewed over time. |
Not everyone with dry eye needs advanced gland therapy.
But some patterns point strongly in that direction.
I consider it when patients describe discomfort that worsens through the day, especially with screen use, and when lubrication gives only brief relief. It is also relevant when there is visible blockage or poor oil flow from the eyelid glands, or when symptoms keep returning despite consistent basic treatment.
This approach is not about escalation for its own sake.
It is used when evaporation is the primary driver and gland dysfunction is limiting long-term comfort.
For the right patient, addressing the glands directly can change how the eyes feel across the entire day, not just for a few minutes.
Dry eye is manageable. But it isn’t casual.
Ignoring it rarely works. Panicking doesn’t help either.
If your eyes have been bothering you for a while and nothing feels consistent, that’s a signal worth listening to. Not urgently. Thoughtfully.
That’s usually where things start to improve.
