Do You have Dry Eyes?
Dry eye disease occurs when your eyes do not produce enough tears or produce poor quality tears.
Common Dry Eye Symptoms
Excessive watering
Discomfort and Itchiness
Redness
Burning sensation
Feeling like there’s something in the eye
Dry eye disease is a common condition and relief is available!
Dry eye disease is a complex disease and our understanding of it continues to evolve. While the disease is not curable, there are many ways to manage it depending on the severity.
Dry Eye Evaluation Steps
With our TearLab instrument we can now take a sample of your tears and measure osmolarity (the saltiness of your tears). As osmolarity increases, the ocular surface cells become inflamed and damaged. To measure this, your ocular hygienist will need an amount of tear fluid no larger than the period at the end of this sentence.
The Oculus Keratograph 5M allows our optometrists to see your tear film in different ways and analyze your meibomian glands. The meibomian glands are responsible for the tear lipid (oil) layer. The white stripes in the images below show these meibomian glands. Knowing the health of your glands is important when choosing the proper treatment. Longer glands produce more oil while shorter glands are considered dormant.
Home Treatments
The goal of this treatment is to melt and express any thickened oil clogging the openings of meibomian glands. Depending on the severity of the condition, warm compresses and eyelid massage may not be enough in relieving MGD symptoms.
The eyelids play a crucial role in keeping the eyes moist and comfortable. Debris along the eyelashes and the margin of the eyelid can impede the eyes natural oil production from the meibomian glands. Keeping this area clean goes a long way to keeping your eyes moist and comfortable.
Eye drops vary in the type of lubricating agent they contain, how thick or viscous that are, and if they have preservatives or not. Our doctors have done their research and selected several types and brands of drops that help to provide the relief you are looking for.
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Oral supplementation of Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce the inflammatory impacts for dry eye disease and help boost the natural oil layer on the surface of the eye.
Professional In-Office Treatments
BlephEx is an in-office medical device used to exfoliate the eyelid at the lash line and remove the inflammatory biofilm that leads to chronic lid disease and discomfort.
The Systane® iLux 2® uses an LED-based heat source to warm the inner and outer surface of the eyelids to melt and express the waxy secretions trapped inside the meibomian glands. Most patients can be treated in less than ten minutes. Studies have shown that iLux treatment resulted in significant improvements in the signs and symptoms of MGD and dry eyes at two to four weeks after the treatment.
Low-level light therapy utilizes long-wavelength red LED light to stimulate the meibomian glands on both the upper and lower eyelids.
IPL, a standard treatment for skin rosacea, effective in treating dry eye disease by shrinking inflamed blood vessels on the skin and reducing inflammatory chemical factors on the eye and in the tear film. High-intensity light energy warms the meibomian glands’ oil, allowing them to be expressed and improve their function. IPL can also provide collagen tightening and some aesthetic improvement to the skin around the eyes. IPL is effective in killing Demodex, a mite commonly found around hair follicles.
Zocular eyelid system treatment (ZEST) is an okra infused product with restorative and healing properties. It gently lifts and clears the oil, debris, and residue on your eyelid margins.
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