If your eyes can’t produce adequate tears for lubrication, you may be experiencing a condition known as dry eye disease. This condition makes your eyes uncomfortable and comes with symptoms such as a burning sensation, blurred vision, watery eyes, light sensitivity, and redness. At Collins Eye Center, we provide customized treatment for dry eyes to help individuals. Here are three dry eye treatments your optometrist can perform:
1. Blephex Treatment
When your tear film is imbalanced, it may not produce enough tears for eye lubrication. This imbalance usually occurs due to a buildup of bacteria, biofilm, debris, and other contaminants on your eyelids. Blephex offers a painless and effective treatment that helps restore tear film balance and improves the symptoms of dry eye disease.
This treatment can use a hand-held device with a micro-sponge tip. The optometrist helps rotate the device on the edge of your eyelids to remove dirt, biofilm, and bacterial toxins. This action may also exfoliate the eyelid edges. The result is a cleaner and healthier eye that produces more tears. Blephex is short, gentle, and doesn’t require downtime for recovery. It’s also pain-free and non-invasive, and you notice improvements almost immediately.
2. LipiFlow
Various conditions can cause dry eye disease, including meibomian gland dysfunction. This occurs when the oil-producing glands in your eyelids secrete low-quality or inadequate oil, mainly due to a blockage. The tears produced evaporate quickly, making your eyes dry. Our treatment at Collins Eye Center, LipiFlow, includes a device that applies pulsations and pressure on the meibomian glands to help restore natural tear production.
The optometrist starts the process by relaxing you on a reclined chair and applying anesthetic drops to your eyes. They then place the device on your eyes and start the treatment. You will feel warmth, pulsations, and pressure intermittently during the process. The heat helps melt the blockage while the pressure encourages the gland to secret the necessary oily lipids. LipiFlow is painless and effective for dry eye treatment, and our optometrist can help you determine whether it’s suitable for your situation.
3. IPL (Intense Pulsed Light)
Optometrists also use intense pulsed light to treat dry eyes. This treatment uses gentle light pulses to target buildups of debris, bacteria toxins, and other irritants blocking the tear glands. It also helps reduce inflammation. The result is better-performing glands that secrete more and better-quality oils on the eye surface.
The treatment starts with an evaluation to determine whether this option is ideal. Our optometrist then provides goggles to protect your eyes and applies a cooling gel on the area. The next step is using light from the IPL device to treat the eye and unclog any blocked glands.
Find a Reputable Optometrist for Dry Eye Treatment
Dry eye symptoms can make your eyes uncomfortable, and even the simplest tasks can be challenging due to burning sensations, blurred vision, and light sensitivity. Visit us at Collins Eye Center for a comprehensive evaluation to determine the cause of your dry eyes and get a personalized treatment plan. Our optometrist offers quality Blephex, Lipiflow, and Intense Pulsed Light treatments. They can also prescribe prescription eye drops to help reduce the dry eye symptoms. Contact us today to book an appointment.
