MANAGEMENT OF DRY EYE SYNDROME
by Beverly Hills Optometry
310-659-2020
Quality tears are essential in maintaining the health of the surface of our eyes as well as keeping our vision clear and crisp. When our eyes don't have enough quality tears to properly lubricate our eyes, Dry Eye Syndrome may develop.
There are two reasons why the amount of quality tears in our eyes may become inadequate:
1) Inadequate amount of tears.: Tears are produced by several glands in and around the eyelids. Tear production may become diminished with age, medical conditions like clogged glands, and side effects from medication. Environmental conditions can also decrease the amount of tears in our eyes due to evaporation.
2) Poor quality of tears: Tears are made up of three components: oil, water and mucus. Each component is vital to protect and nourish the surface of our eyes. The oil helps prevent evaporation, the mucin spreads the tears evenly over the surface of our eyes, and the water hydrates the tissues of our eyes. If the amount of any of the three components are reduced for any reason, this is when our eyes become dry and irritated.
Symptoms
Symptoms of dry eye syndrome include: irritation, scratchy and burning sensation, the feeling that something is in the eye, blurred vision and excess watering.
Treatment
Often times, dry eyes can be a chronic but manageable condition. The typical treatment for dry eye syndrome would be over the counter artificial tear solutions or prescription medicated drops such as Restasis or Xiidra. However, this treatment is not always effective for patients and can sometimes be inconvenient to the pace of their daily activities.
The Eye Massage featuring the Mibo Thermoflo Treatment aims to improve the secretion of meibum, the oily component of our tears, by expressing the meibomian glands along the rim of our eyelids. This treatment clears away any debris or clogged oil that may be keeping our glands from producing the adequate amount of oil to keep our tears from evaporating too quickly leaving our eyes dry.
The Eye Massage featuring the Mibo Thermoflo system is a state of the art device that is not just treating the symptoms of dry eyes, but the very cause of them. This technology is new and revolutionary and we are proud to be the only optometry office in the area to offer this service. Unfortunately, because this technology is so advanced, it is not yet currently being covered by vision or medical insurances. The medical office visit to diagnose your dry eye issues will be billed to any applicable insurances, but the procedure, itself, will be an out of pocket expense.
Pre-Treatment
Please make sure to comply to the following requirements for successful treatment with The Eye Massage featuring the Mibo Thermoflo System:
a) Do not wear eye makeup such as mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow or concealer.
b) Contact lens wearers will be asked to remove lenses before treatment.
c) Refrain from using any creams or lotions in the immediate eye area an hour before the appointment.
The Eye Massage featuring the Mibo Thermoflo Treatment System
The treatment will begin with cleansing of the eyelashes and eyelids with a gentle and non-irritating eyelid wash. This will allow us to be able to have a clean slate to allow The Eye Massage featuring the Mibo Thermoflo system to work directly with the surface of your eyelids.
The doctor or technician will prep The Eye Massage and begin the treatment directly to the eyelids. The doctor or technician will be using ultrasound gel (water-soluble and completely harmless to eyes), which helps to conduct the heat of the Mibo Themoflo system across the surface of the eyelids in a sweeping motion repeated along the length of the eyes. The sensation will be a warm and relaxing sensation across your eyes. While giving your eyes a much needed rest, the heat conducted is also expressing the meibomian glands along the eyelid line clearing out debris and promoting healthy oil production.
Post Treatment
Following the treatment, you should feel immediate relief of some of your dry eye symptoms. The eyes should feel moist and well rested and your vision should be clear. Many patients have expressed immediate relief of dry eye symptoms, sharper vision, and decreased eye fatigue throughout the day.
We suggest that you follow up the initial treatment with two more treatments, one at week 2 and another at week 3 or 4 after the initial treatment. Treatment regimen will be modified and customized depending on patient signs and symptoms.
As with all treatment of chronic conditions, positive results can be prolonged if accompanied by good home management in between treatments. We suggest the following:
1) Hot compresses; two times a day
2) Daily intake of Omega-3 Fish Oils
3) Washing eyes with a gentle eyelid cleanser at least once a day.
