Advanced Relief for Severe Dry Eye with Serum Tears
When over-the-counter drops and prescription medications aren’t enough, serum tears may be the next step toward long-term comfort and healing. At Custom Eye Care, we offer serum eye drops through Vital Tears®—a third-line treatment designed for patients with moderate to severe dry eye syndrome.
What Are Serum Tears?
Serum tears, also known as autologous serum eye drops, are biologic drops made from a small sample of your own blood. These drops contain growth factors, vitamins, and other nutrients naturally found in your tears, making them more effective than artificial tears in healing and hydrating the ocular surface.
Serum tears are carefully formulated and diluted to match the composition of your natural tears. Unlike standard eye drops, they contain no preservatives and are uniquely biocompatible—ideal for treating persistent dry eye that hasn’t responded to other therapies.
Who Might Benefit from Serum Eye Drops?
At Custom Eye Care, we typically recommend serum tears for patients with:
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Sjögren’s syndrome
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Graft-versus-host disease
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Severe evaporative or aqueous-deficient dry eye
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Chronic ocular surface disease
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Post-LASIK dry eye symptoms
If you’ve tried first-line solutions like artificial tears, and second-line options such as punctal plugs or prescription drops like cyclosporine (Restasis®) and lifitegrast (Xiidra®), serum tears may offer the relief you’ve been searching for.
Why We Partner with Vital Tears®
Vital Tears® is a national provider specializing in the production and delivery of custom serum eye drops. Their system simplifies the entire process—from blood draw to delivery—making it easy and convenient for patients to receive ongoing care.
Vital Tears offers:
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Physician-led coordination to ensure treatment is customized and clinically appropriate
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Standardized lab protocols to guarantee sterility, consistency, and safety
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Cold-chain shipping of multi-week supplies of frozen vials directly to your home
All of this allows us to focus on your care, while Vital Tears handles the logistics.
What to Expect During the Process
Getting started with serum tears involves a few straightforward steps:
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Assessment – We’ll evaluate your symptoms and history to determine whether serum tears are appropriate.
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Prescription & Coordination – If suitable, our team will write a prescription and coordinate a blood draw with Vital Tears.
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Lab Preparation – Your blood is processed in a certified lab to extract the healing serum, which is then mixed into eye drop form.
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Delivery – Your drops are shipped frozen to your home in clearly labeled vials for safe storage and regular use.
You’ll use the drops multiple times a day, based on the treatment plan we customize for you. Since they contain no preservatives, unused vials must be kept frozen, and opened vials refrigerated.
Is This the Right Treatment for You?
Serum tears aren’t for everyone—but for patients with advanced dry eye who haven’t found relief through conventional methods, they can be transformative. These biologic drops do more than soothe—they promote real healing at the cellular level.
If you’re unsure whether you qualify or are ready to explore advanced options, our dry eye experts will guide you through every step. At Custom Eye Care, your comfort and long-term vision health are our priority.
