![]() Give us a call for a dry eye consultation. Please let us know if you are having dry eye symptoms so that we can select the right treatment plan for your individual needs. Receiving proper treatment for dry eye can be life-changing. We are thrilled with how happy our patients are with the results of their Lipiflow treatments. Lipiflow can be repeated as needed, and many patients choose to have touch up treatments once a year. The analogy is that you may be brushing your teeth every day, but still want to go to the dentist for a deep cleaning. This procedure is perfect for patients who are symptomatic with dry eye disease, with Meibomian gland dysfunction that are doing all the correct treatments daily, but looking for something a little stronger to help with their symptoms. ![]() There is no downtime, and patients start to feel an improvement in symptoms within 4-6 weeks. Most patients say that it’s not only comfortable, but feels good, just like an extended warm compress in a spa-like environment. The system’s activators, which are single use and sterile, are placed on the eye, after numbing drops have been instilled. Lipiflow uses a novel device to heat and massage the blocked glands in a 12-minute procedure as part of the exam in the doctor’s office. Lipiflow thermal pulsation technology is available at the Rand Eye Institute. ![]() We are very excited to offer our patients who have MGD an additional therapy that is in addition to the traditional dry eye therapies that can be used at home. At the Rand Eye Institute, we have the ability to use state of the art imaging technology called Lipiview, which can directly produce an image of the glands, so that our doctors and patients can see the health of the oil glands and decide on the appropriate treatment plan. This is used at least twice daily to maintain healthy Meibomian glands. When we treat blepharitis, we focus on warm compresses which help to “melt the butter” and improve the flow of oil out of the glands by using heat to liquefy the oil. Inflammation leads to oil that looks like toothpaste, or butter straight out of the refrigerator. Normal oil from the Meibomian glands is free flowing, like olive oil. If the Meibomian glands are inflamed from blepharitis or Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) – inflammation of the eyelids, the oil becomes thick and clogs the glands, preventing healthy oil from being released onto the surface of the eye. These oils come from the Meibomian glands, tiny glands along the edge of the eyelids that release beads of oil with the force of each blink. The reason for this is that there is another important part of a healthy tear film – the oil component– which helps the tears stick to the eye. ![]() These individuals have tears that evaporate too quickly, or perhaps they have excessive tearing – meaning that the tears that are supposed to coat the eye instead run down the cheek. For some people this is true, but for most people, they might make enough water for the tears, but the tears do not stay on the eye long enough to coat the surface well. Most people think that dry eye is just not having enough tears. These symptoms can occur in isolation or in any combination. Some patients may have difficulty wearing contact lenses, or notice eye fatigue after reading of watching television. These symptoms may include blurry vision, glare or light sensitivity, eye pain or foreign body sensation, itching, redness, burning, and tearing. About one-third of all the patients I see have complaints that relate to dryness. Many more patients may suffer from these symptoms without a diagnosis, and it has been suggested that one out of every two American adults may experience symptoms of dry eye. December 22nd, 2020 by Rand Eye Institute 0 0ĭry eye diseaseis more common than you might realize, with over 16 million Americans carrying the diagnosis.
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