Dry eye clinic · for Wakefield, at Heckmondwike
Dry eye clinic for Wakefield
Twenty minutes down the M62 from Wakefield, the glands in your eyelids can be photographed, shown to you, and cleared if they are blocked. That is where most dry eye starts, and why the drops from Pinderfields only ever bought ten minutes.
Does this sound like your eyes?
Three of these sound like you? Twenty minutes up the M62, we can show you why.
- “Pinderfields gave me drops and a leaflet and I have not heard since.”
- “The wind across Wakefield bus station has my eyes pouring.”
- “Fine at my desk in the morning, sandpaper by the afternoon.”
- “Drops last about as long as it takes to put the bottle away.”
- “I gave my lenses up on holiday and never went back to them.”
- “Nights are the worst: burning, then stuck shut by morning.”
- “I have done the warm compress religiously and it has changed nothing.”
- “Someone said it is the menopause and left it there.”
Every one of those has a cause you can see. Twenty minutes from Wakefield, we photograph it, show you, and treat what we find, usually within a week or two of you ringing.
“Looked after very well, keeping a check on the health of my eyes. Checking blepharitis and dry eye, nothing too much trouble.”
What is actually happening
Your tears are not short. They are evaporating, and here is why.
The short version. The two types, blepharitis and the full explanation are on our main dry eye page.
- Dry eye is usually an oil problem, not a water problem. The oil that should hold your tears in place has stopped flowing, so they evaporate.
- That oil comes from tiny glands inside the eyelids, and each blink is meant to press a little of it out.
- Once the oil thickens and a gland blocks, the tear film breaks up between blinks: grit, sting, blur, and eyes that water in protest.
- Bottles put water on the eye. They cannot reach a gland. That is the whole reason years of drops changed nothing.
Types of dry eye
The three types of dry eye, and what we do for each
Most people are told “you’ve got dry eyes” and handed drops. But there are three different causes, and each needs something different. Most people have a mix.
Blocked oil glands: meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)
About 8 in 10 people with dry eye have this. Along the edge of each eyelid are about 30 tiny glands that put a thin layer of oil on your tears. When they block, your tears dry up in seconds, however much water your eyes make. It feels gritty, burning and tired, often worse on screens or by evening. Drops help for an hour, because they don’t unblock the glands.
What we do: photograph your glands so you can see them, warm and clear them in clinic, clean the lid edge, and use IPL or light therapy where it helps (IPL at our Cheadle and Middleton clinics). Then we give you a simple routine for home.
Not enough tears
Your eyes don’t make enough of the watery part of tears. This is more common with age, some medicines, the menopause, and conditions like Sjögren’s.
What we do: measure your tear level, choose the right drops for you, and use tiny plugs to keep your own tears in where they help. We’ll write to your GP if something needs checking.
Inflamed eyelids: blepharitis, often with tiny mites called Demodex
Crusty, itchy, red lid edges, often worse in the morning.
What we do: deep-clean the lid edge in clinic, treat the mites, and show you how to keep the lids clean at home.
Not sure which one you have? That’s what the assessment is for. We look at your glands, tears and lids, and tell you which type, or which mix.
Three ways to start
Three ways to start, from Wakefield
It is a twenty-minute drive, so most people from Wakefield book the full assessment and have everything done in one visit. If you are unsure, start with the Dry Eye Assessment, and treatment can start the same day where we can.
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You know the treatment you wantBook it onlineEyeClean £480 · EyeRelief £900 · EyeRelief Max £1,495. We check your eyes at the first visit before anything starts.
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You want to know what is wrong firstDry Eye Assessment, £145 · 30 minThirty minutes, measured properly, plan in your hand
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You have questionsA call-back from your optometristLeave your number and your optometrist rings you back, usually the same day. No fee, no commitment.
Inflamed lids or blepharitis? Book the Full Dry Eye Assessment, £225. Started with the £145 assessment? It upgrades on the day.
Treatment available within the week. Have your assessment and start treatment the same day, where we can.
Gland Scan: £15 with any eye examination (included in our Gold eye examination). Book either assessment and £50 of it is held against treatment. What is in each appointment, itemised → · Or check your symptoms first.
Arrange a call-back with your optometrist
Leave your number. Your optometrist rings you, usually the same day. No fee, no commitment.
Inside the assessment
What the assessment measures, in brief
One visit, everything measured, a written plan to take home to Wakefield.
- You, first: six symptom questions scored, your day and your screen hours, your lids and eye surface under magnification.
- Then the tears: volume in millimetres, stability in seconds, and dye to show where the surface is marked.
- Then the cause: the lid edge and lashes checked and your blink watched; the full assessment adds gland photographs and the inflammation test. Your type and a written plan.
£145 for the assessment, £225 if the inflammation test is included; £50 of either is credited to treatment. The assessment, measurement by measurement →
The first appointment
Your first visit from Wakefield
M62 west to junction 26, two minutes into Heckmondwike, parking outside. Nothing to decide on the day.
- The Dry Eye Assessment. Thirty minutes: questionnaire, tear stability with and without dye, tear volume, staining, lashes.
- Every result against healthy, and a written plan with the options. £50 of the assessment is credited to treatment.
- Begin within the week, or on the same visit if you are ready and the diary has room.
Treatment
What treatment costs, from Wakefield
Everything except light happens at Heckmondwike; light is arranged with your results sent ahead. Courses are spaced so the drives are few, and £50 of your assessment comes off whichever you choose.
Treatment available within the week. Have your assessment and start treatment the same day, where we can.
- EyeClean £480 the three-session course that clears the glands
- EyeRelief (most recommended) £900 IPL and red light with EyeClean: the one most people choose
- EyeRelief Max £1,495 the complete course when blepharitis is part of it
- Plugs · Lacrifill £320 · £520 for tears that drain away too fast
Single sessions: EyeClean £195 · IPL £295. IPL is at our Middleton and Cheadle practices. The other practices refer to them.
Each level, and what the visits involve → · Our full price list →
Getting here from Wakefield, and who this clinic is for
From Wakefield
Twenty minutes: the M62 west to junction 26, then two minutes into Heckmondwike, with parking on Market Street outside the door. From Ossett and Horbury it is closer still, up the A638 through Dewsbury. The 126 and 127 buses run from Wakefield bus station to Dewsbury, then the 229 to Heckmondwike; allow forty minutes.
If you are under the eye department at Pinderfields, tell us who you are under. We will write to them, and many patients use us while they wait.
Who makes the drive from Wakefield
- People who have used drops for years and are tired of ten-minute relief.
- Office and hospital staff whose eyes are ruined by four o’clock.
- Former contact lens wearers who never found out why the lenses stopped working.
- Women in the menopause whose eyes changed with everything else, and were told to expect it.
- CPAP users who wake sore and sticky.
- Anyone told it is blepharitis and handed a routine with no end date.
Reviews
What people in Heckmondwike say
4.9★★★★★
G 133 Google reviews of the Heckmondwike practice
“Great service with really friendly and helpful staff.”Josh · Google review · October 2021 · Cheadle
“Very professional but friendly and helpful. I was able to buy the make of lens I prefer rather than what the larger companies wanted to sell me.”Brenda Archer · Google review · October 2021 · Heald Green
“I have been a customer of Ashworth Opticians for more than 15 years and I wouldn’t consider going anywhere else. First rate service and there’s something reassuring when your always met with a smile.”Tom Perks · Google review · October 2021 · Heald Green
Book
Book at Armitage Opticians — Heckmondwike
The Book buttons on this page book Heckmondwike, twenty minutes from Wakefield; the number rings the desk there.
Coming from Wakefield or Ossett? Say so, and the assessment and the first treatment go into one visit.
Frequently asked questions
How far is the dry eye clinic from Wakefield?
Twenty minutes by car: the M62 to junction 26, then two minutes into Heckmondwike. Parking is on Market Street outside the practice.
I’m under Pinderfields for my eyes. Can I still come?
Yes. Tell us who you are under so we can write to them. Many patients use us while they wait, and some are discharged back to us for ongoing care.
Which assessment should I book from Wakefield?
The Full Dry Eye Assessment, if you already know your eyes are a problem: one journey, every measurement, the photographs, your results against healthy and a plan on paper, with £50 credited to treatment. Not sure? Start with the Dry Eye Assessment, £145.
Is this an NHS clinic?
No. NHS sight tests check vision and eye health and do not fund gland imaging or dry eye treatment. Every price is shown before you decide, and treatment is available within the week.
Can I get it all done in one trip from Wakefield?
Usually. Say you are coming from Wakefield and we book the assessment and the first treatment together, and space any EyeClean visits so you travel as little as possible.
Can I get there without a car from Wakefield?
Yes. The 126 or 127 to Dewsbury, then the 229 to Market Street, Heckmondwike. Allow about forty minutes.