Dry Eye Clinic Heckmondwike
Specialist dry eye treatment at Armitage Opticians — part of Abra & Co, independent opticians since 2017.
What Is Dry Eye — and Why Won't It Go Away?
Dry eye is not a single condition. It is an umbrella term for a group of related problems that all lead to the same outcome: your tear film cannot keep your eyes comfortable, protected, or seeing clearly.
The most common cause is Meibomian Gland Dysfunction, where the tiny oil glands inside your eyelids become blocked. Without that oil layer sealing in your tears, moisture evaporates within seconds of each blink. Your eyes burn, sting, water, and your vision fluctuates — even though your prescription is correct. This accounts for roughly 85% of the dry eye cases we treat at our Heckmondwike clinic.
The second type is aqueous deficient dry eye, where the lacrimal glands do not produce enough of the watery layer. This can be linked to autoimmune conditions, hormonal changes during menopause, or certain medications including antihistamines and antidepressants.
Many patients have elements of both. Identifying which type is driving your symptoms is the first thing we establish at your assessment — because the treatment is entirely different.
600+
Patients
treated
90%
Report lasting relief
2017
Pioneers
since
Symptoms Checklist — Do Any of These Sound Familiar?
- Gritty, sandy feeling in your eyes, especially in the morning
- Burning or stinging that gets worse through the day
- Blurred or fluctuating vision after reading, screens, or driving
- Eyes that water constantly for no obvious reason
- Crusty or sticky eyelids when you wake up
- Sensitivity to air conditioning, wind, or bright screens
- Eye drops several times a day with barely any relief
- Contact lenses that have become uncomfortable or impossible to wear
If three or more of these describe you, drops alone are unlikely to resolve this. The blocked glands need to be physically cleared — and that is exactly what we specialise in at Armitage Opticians.
The EyeClean Programme — Our 3-Visit Treatment Plan
The EyeClean Programme is our complete clinical response to dry eye. It was developed in-house by our clinical directors, standardised across all five Abra & Co practices, and built around one principle: treat the cause, not just the symptoms.
Visit 1 — Specialist Assessment (£95)
A dedicated 45 to 60-minute appointment entirely focused on your dry eye. We use advanced diagnostic imaging to examine your meibomian glands on screen, assess your tear film quality, and establish a precise diagnosis. You will see exactly what is happening inside your eyelids and understand, in plain language, why your eyes feel the way they do. If you proceed to the full programme, £50 of your assessment fee is credited towards treatment.
Visit 2 — First Treatment Session
BlephEx professional deep-clean of your eyelid margins, medical-grade heat therapy to soften hardened oil, and careful manual meibomian gland expression to clear blocked glands and restore natural oil flow.
Visit 3 — Second Treatment Session
A repeat of the full treatment protocol to ensure lasting results, plus a personalised home care plan to maintain gland health long-term. A full home care kit is included with your programme.
Assessment: £95 (£50 credited if you proceed)
EyeClean 3-Visit Programme: £450 — includes all treatments and home care kit.
Why Nothing Else Has Worked
Most conventional treatments address only a single aspect of dry eye disease. Without targeting all three stages of gland dysfunction, symptoms inevitably return.
Eye Drops
While eye drops provide short-term moisture relief, they do not address the meibomian glands responsible for oil secretion. Once the drops wear off, the underlying blockage remains entirely untreated.
Warm Flannel
A warm flannel cools rapidly and cannot sustain the clinical temperature required to liquefy meibomian secretions. As soon as heat is lost, the oil re-hardens and no therapeutic benefit is maintained.
BlephEx Only
BlephEx effectively removes debris from the lid margin, but does not apply heat or expression to the meibomian glands. Lid hygiene alone leaves gland dysfunction — the primary driver of evaporative dry eye completely unaddressed.
New Glasses
When blurry vision stems from an unstable tear film rather than a refractive error, updated lenses offer no clinical benefit. A new prescription cannot resolve what is fundamentally a surface disease of the eye.
Complete Clinical Pathway
EyeClean Programme
The EyeClean Programme is the only approach that integrates all three essential stages clean, heat, and express into a single, structured protocol. By treating the full cycle of meibomian gland dysfunction, it leaves nothing unaddressed and provides a genuine clinical solution.
What Our Patients Say
“I had been suffering with dry, gritty eyes for over two years and tried every drop on the market. After three sessions at Armitage Opticians my eyes feel completely different. I wish I had found them sooner.”
— Sarah T., Heckmondwike
“The assessment was unlike anything I had experienced at another optician. They showed me exactly what was wrong on screen and explained everything clearly. No rush, no pressure — just proper care.”
— James P., Cleckheaton
“I was told by my GP to just use drops and live with it. Abra & Co actually fixed the problem. The EyeClean programme was worth every penny.”
— Karen D., Batley
Now you can see why nothing else worked
Once you understand the three stages, the pattern becomes obvious:
What you tried | Which stage it covers | What it misses |
| Eye Drops | ❌ None | Replaces tears only. Doesn’t touch the glands at all. |
| Warm Flannel | ⚠️ Partial Stage 2 | Can’t reach 180°C consistently. Without Stage 3, oil re-hardens. |
| BlephEx only | 🔍 Stage 1 only | Cleans the surface but doesn’t heat or express the glands. |
| IPL or LipiFlow | ✅ Stages 1 & 2 | No thorough manual expression; glands aren’t fully cleared. |
| New Glasses | ❌ None | Blurry vision is a tear film problem, not a prescription issue. |
| Our EyeClean Programme | ⭐ All Three Stages | Nothing. This is the complete clinical pathway. |
If three or more of these describe you, drops alone won’t solve this. The glands need to be cleared. That’s exactly what we specialise in.
Why Abra & Co
We didn’t start offering dry eye treatment because it became fashionable. We started because our patients kept coming back with the same unresolved symptoms, and we refused to accept that drops and warm flannels were the best we could offer them.
Our co-founder Sohail Khan began developing our approach in 2017, learning from ophthalmologists and attending specialist conferences across Europe — Silmo, Mido, and ophthalmology forums — driven by a straightforward belief: that our patients deserved a real solution, not a temporary one. He has personally treated over 500 dry eye patients.
Co-founder and Clinical Director Arbra Khan then built the diagnostic protocols, introduced standardised OSDI assessments and symptom scoring across all five practices, sourced the clinical equipment, and personally trained and mentored every optometrist who delivers our dry eye treatments today.
Seven trained optometrists. Five practices. Over 600 patients treated through the EyeClean Programme. 90% reporting lasting relief.
We’re independent. We’re family-run. And we take this personally — because our patients are our community, and their comfort matters to us long after they leave the chair.
“My eyes feel incredible. So much more comfortable — no comparison.” — Abra & Co patient, under ongoing care since 2022
Your investment
What's included — and what it costs
Specialist Dry Eye Assessment — £95
A dedicated 45–60 minute consultation focused entirely on understanding your dry eye. This is not a standard eye test with dry eye mentioned in passing — it’s a thorough, specialist assessment.
- Standardised symptom scoring
- Lifestyle, screen use, and environmental assessment
- Advanced imaging of your oil glands
- Tear film quality mapping
- Manual gland function testing
- Severity grading — mild, moderate, or severe
- Personalised written treatment plan, in plain English
- Home care recommendations
- All your questions answered — unhurried
You leave with a complete understanding of why your eyes are dry — and exactly what to do about it.
The EyeClean Programme — £450
If treatment is recommended following your assessment:
Three treatment sessions over six to eight weeks
BlephEx deep-clean at every visit
Medical-grade heat therapy at every visit
Manual gland expression at every visit
Progress imaging and symptom tracking
Home care kit — heat mask, lid wipes, drops
Ongoing support between visits
When you proceed with treatment
We credit £50 from your assessment towards your programme
Your assessment effectively costs £45 — less than a month’s supply of premium eye drops.
For comparison: automated treatments like IPL or LipiFlow elsewhere cost £800–£1,500.
Our programme: £450. Comparable results. Greater precision. A fraction of the price.
Your specialists
Co-Founder & Dry Eye Specialist
Sohail has been at the forefront of dry eye treatment since 2017, when he recognised that patients were suffering unnecessarily because the standard advice simply wasn’t working. He’s since trained extensively across Europe and has personally treated over 500 dry eye patients.
Co-Founder & Clinical Director
Arbra designed the diagnostic protocols and training systems behind the EyeClean Programme. She personally trains and mentors every optometrist who delivers dry eye treatment, ensuring the same exacting standard at every practice.
Plus seven trained optometrists across all five locations — every one personally mentored by Arbra, with regular case reviews and clinical audits.
Five clinics across Greater Manchester & West Yorkshire
- Abra & Co — Cheadle
19 Wilmslow Road, SK8 1DW · 0161 527 7355
HD Firefly imaging · Serving Stockport, Wilmslow, Bramhall
- Abra & Co - Middleton
36 Long Street, M24 6UQ · 0161 653 0771
Ocufy diagnostic imaging · Serving North Manchester, Rochdale, Oldham
- Ashworth Opticians - Heald Green
214 Finney Lane, SK8 3QA · 0161 527 7356
Serving Heald Green, Wythenshawe, Gatley
- Winsford Eyecare - Winsford
27 Delamere Street, CW7 2LX · 01606 599030
Serving Winsford, Northwich, Middlewich, Mid-Cheshire
- Armitage Opticians - Heckmondwike
14 Market Street, WF16 0JU · 01924 669649
Serving Dewsbury, Batley, Cleckheaton, Spen Valley
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No. You can book directly with Armitage Opticians by calling 01924 403617. No GP referral is needed. Our specialist assessment is a dedicated 45 to 60-minute appointment focused entirely on diagnosing and explaining your dry eye condition.
That is exactly what your specialist assessment establishes. You do not need to know before you arrive. We use diagnostic imaging and symptom scoring to identify which type of dry eye is driving your symptoms and build your treatment plan accordingly.
Most patients describe the treatment as mildly uncomfortable rather than painful. The BlephEx cleaning feels like a gentle tickling sensation along the eyelid margins. The manual gland expression involves light pressure on the eyelids. Any minor discomfort passes quickly and is far outweighed by the lasting relief that follows.
Ninety percent of our patients report lasting relief after completing the three-visit programme. The home care kit we provide helps maintain gland health between visits. Some patients benefit from a maintenance session once or twice a year, which we can discuss after your treatment is complete.
Ready to Find Out What Is Actually Causing Your Dry Eyes?
Book your specialist dry eye assessment at Armitage Opticians in Heckmondwike. A dedicated 45 to 60-minute appointment — no rush, no guesswork, just answers.
Call us on 01924 403617
Ready to find out what's causing your dry eyes?
Book your £95 specialist assessment. 45–60 minutes, dedicated entirely to you.
£50 credited to your treatment if you proceed.
Cheadle: 0161 527 7355 · Middleton: 0161 653 0771 ·
Heald Green: 0161 527 7356 Winsford: 01606 599030
· Heckmondwike: 01924 669649
GOC Registered · College of Optometrists · Association of Optometrists
· BlephEx Certified Abra & Co — Independent, Family-Owned Eye Care Since 2017