Dry Eye Treatments

BOOK IN FOR YOUR DRY EYE CONSULTATION AT WISE EYES OPTICAL TODAY!  PHONE: (02) 4227 3330

Dry Eye Disease

Dry eye disease is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface, and can cause grittiness, burning, stinging, watery eyes, itchiness, and sore or red eyes.  People with dry eyes commonly find discomfort when exposed to certain environmental conditions, such as dry climates, windy conditions, air conditioning, or when performing certain tasks such as computer use, reading, and watching TV. These symptoms can be debilitating and can impact on quality of life, and also pose a threat to the long- term health of our eyes.

Meibomian Gland Dysfunction

In many cases, Dry Eye Syndrome is caused by a blockage of the meibomian glands. These blockages inhibit the natural production of the lipids (oils) into the tear film layer. The oils are important as they act as a barrier and keep the tears onto the eye, and without these oils, your tears evaporate off the eye and become dry.

 


HEALTHY MEIBOMIAN GLANDS

BLOCKED MEIBOMIAN GLANDS (MGD)

                                                                                    

ANTERIOR BLEPHARITIS

Dry Eye Syndrome can also be further aggrevated by a common condition known as Anterior Blepharitis. Anterior Blepharitis involves an inflammation and crustiness of the eyelid margins, commonly caused by a bacteria called demodex. This in turn can release exotoxins into your tear film, which creates a sensation similar to getting soap in the eyes!

 

 

Dry Eye Treatment

Proper treatment of Dry Eye Syndrome involves more then just artificial tears to provide temporary relief. At Wise Eyes Optical, our goal is to detect and treat the underlying causes of your dry eyes. After a comprehensive dry , eye assessment, we will create your dry eye treatment action plan. This may include one or more of the following treatment options utilising the latest treatment options in dry eye care: Specific eyedrop recommendations, Blephasteam goggles, BlephEx Lid scrub procedure, dietary/ lifestyle advise, and the consistent use of at-home warm compress products such as Bruder Eye Hydrating Compress, which are available to purchase in our clinic.  We may also perform meibomian gland expression to unblock your glands in order to bring the flow of natural oils back to proper consistency.

 

Blephasteam® is an eyelid warming device which is used in office to heat the meibomian glands before manual expression of the meibomian glands is performed by the optometrist.

 

BlephEx® is a hand-held electro-machanical device that is applied to the eyelids to treat Anterior Blepharitis. By applying a spinning surgical- grade sponge tip (which is soaked with a gentle exfoliating solution) along the eyelid margins, demodex bacteria is instantly killed, which is the bacteria that is responsible for creating inflammed, crusty eyelid margins.

 

BOOK IN FOR YOUR DRY EYE CONSULTATION AT WISE EYES OPTICAL TODAY!  PHONE: (02) 4227 3330

 

References:

  1. Lemp MA, et al. Distribution of aqueous deficient and evaporative dry eye in a clinic- based patient population. Cornea. 2012 May;31(5):472-8.
  1. Kelly et al. The International Workshop on Meibomian Gland Dysfunction: Executive Summary. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2011: 52(4)1922-1929, available at http://www.iovs.org/content/52/4/1922.full