Dry eye disease is a chronic condition, caused by inflammation, that results in your eyes producing either poor quality or not enough tears to adequately lubricate and protect your eyes. A stable tear film is essential for maintaining clear vision, for providing an interface for oxygen exchange, and for flushing away harmful biproducts and allergens.
Dry eyes can occur due to a variety of reasons. We will work with you to determine the cause of your symptoms to manage your condition better.
The most common causes of dry eye disease are:
Blepharitis is one of the most common causes of dry eye. It is defined as a chronic, inflammatory disease of the eyelids caused by an overgrowth of bacteria living on the eyelid margins and the base of the eyelashes.
This bacteria results in crusting and inflammation along the eyelid margins and oil glands known as meibomian glands. The damaged glands are unable to secrete sufficient oils to keep the tears from evaporating off the surface of the eye. Untreated blepharitis leads to eye irritation, a foreign body’s feeling in the eye, and chronic dry eye.
Treatments include a combination of lubricating eye drops and gels, nutraceuticals, eyelid care, short- and long-term prescription eye drops, and in-office blepharitis therapies.
Lubricating eye drops, gels, and ointments are important to help regenerate injured and inflamed superficial eye tissues. Preservative-free and phosphate-free drops reduce both the risk of damage to the cells on the eye’s front surface and an imbalance of the natural tear film.
Short-term and long-term prescription eye drop treatments are available to combat eye infections, inflammation, and to produce enhanced quality and quantity of tears.
BlephEx™ is an in-office treatment designed to clean the eyelids’ margins and lash line to combat blepharitis.
Using a small, spinning medical-grade sponge, BlephEx™ gently exfoliates the upper and lower lids, removing bacterial debris and biofilm. This treatment helps maintain healthy gland function which alleviates the chronic symptoms of blepharitis, dry eyes, and chronic infections.
I-Lux is a treatment performed in-office that targets meibomian gland dysfunction, a major contributor of dry eye disease. The procedure administers therapeutic heat to the eyelids and then expresses the oil directly from the blocked glands. Once the glands are unblocked, oil easily flows through those glands with every natural blink to hydrate and oxygenate the surface of the cornea. This helps to relieve symptoms of dry eye including tearing, redness and irritation.
Nutritional supplements, including omega-3 fatty acids EPA, DHA, and omega-6 GLA, are recommended long-term management strategies for chronic dry eye disease. They are associated with improving blood flow, reducing inflammation, and increasing the production of tears.
Management of Styes, Chalazia & Blepharitis, & MGD
LLLT is a noninvasive therapy that uses red to near-infrared LED light energy to help stimulate the proper functioning of oil glands and decrease inflammation of the upper and lower eyelids. Endogenous heat produced within the cells of the meibomian glands can warm and deflate styes and chalazia by breaking down blockages within the oil glands.
The technology can also reduce the load of ocular bacteria and mites along the lid margins, which are key contributors to the progression of blepharitis and dry eye disease.
LLLT treatment can be used either as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with IPL therapy.
Blepharitis, Demodex, & Rosacea
Blue light energy penetrates and destroys bacterial cell membranes, leading to cell death.
Styes, Chalazion, & Meibomian Gland Dysfunction
The red light mask targets inflammation of the meibomian glands by stimulating the production of cellular energy, elastin, and collagen.
Management of Ocular Rosacea & Moderate to Advanced Meibomian Gland Dysfunction
IPL is a short-pulse light therapy that uses specific wavelengths of light to help minimize abnormal inflamed blood vessels around the eyelid margins. IPL’s interaction with the tissues of the eyelids can result in increased blood flow and secretion of anti-inflammatory mediators, thereby helping to reduce swelling and discomfort associated with blepharitis and ocular rosacea.
IPL can warm the meibomian glands to increase oil expression. It can also reduce the microbial load along the lid margin surface, often resulting in infection and inflammation.
Specifically, the EyeLight device adjusts energy levels for optimum effects based on the patient’s level of MGD and the Fitzpatrick skin scale score. Further, no gel is required due to a built-in cooling system of forced air that maintains the temperature of the crystal at a non-traumatic level for the patient’s skin type.
IPL can be used either as a standalone treatment or in conjunction with LLLT.
So, you have dry eyes? The great news is we have lots of treatment options available for you and we are dedicated to helping you make those irritating symptoms more manageable!
Humber Bay Eye Care can provide dry eye therapy for cases ranging from mild to severe. By addressing the underlying issue – inflamed or blocked glands or insufficient tear production – we can find a really effective solution.
Humber Bay Eye Care
