New Long Term Solutions To Dry Eye
There have been recent significant advances in the successful long term treatment of people who suffer from chronic dry eye.
Currently 30% of the population suffers from frustrating dry eye, and a proportion of these people live with chronic dry eye. The major cause of chronic dry eye is a poor tear surfacing of the cornea due to blockage and wasting away of the of eye lid Meibomian glands. These eyelid changes result in reduced or no Meibomian oil secretion into the tear layer, leading to tear evaporation and dry eye.
The standard treatment options to date have been lubricating eye drops, Omega 3 fish oil and hot towel compress. Unfortunately they only provide temporary relief.
We have new technology that now gives people with dry eye the chance of a long term positive outcome. This new technology has resulted in significant increase in successful long term treatment of dry eye.
This new technology includes:
Blephasteam:
This is an eyelid warming goggle unit that incorporates a heating device chamber that uses localised latent heat up to temperatures high enough to melt solidified Meiboman gland oils and obstructions, resulting in the re-establishment of a protective tear film.
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light)
This device uses the latent heat energy of the intense light pulses to both stimulate the nerves of the Meibomean glands to return them to their normal function, and to melt solidified oils and so creating a thicker protective tear film. This is currently the most effective and successful treatment for dry eye, resulting in up to 86% success rate.
Although the majority of dry eye is associated with Meibomean gland dysfunction, not all can be treated with the above technology. In some people the Meibomean gland dysfunction and wasting has progressed to the point where they are no longer able to secrete oils.
Before any treatment takes place at our practice, we conduct a thorough Dry Eye Assessment to ensure that people who undertake either of the above two treatments have a high likelihood of success.
