Dry Eye Treatment

Dry Eye can have a major impact on your quality of life. You may find your eyes get tired faster or you have difficulty reading. Not to mention the discomfort of a burning sensation or blurry vision. Let’s take a look at dry eye treatments – from simple self-care to innovative prescriptions and therapies – to help you see clearly and comfortably.
 

Treat Dry Eye at the Source - with EnVision by InMode

Eye Clinics of Seattle offers a non-surgical, non-drug therapy alternative that treats dry eye symptoms at the root cause. Using IPL (Intense Pulse Light) and RF (Radiofrequency), this device treats the symptoms of dry eye by safely warming clogged oil glands, tightening collagen and stimulating new collagen production to control the inflammatory process that perpetuates dry eye symptoms.

Learn more about this treatment below and contact our office today to schedule a consultation!

What is Dry Eye?

Understanding dry eye will help you determine the best treatment option. Dry eye occurs when a person doesn't have enough quality tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. Tears reduce eye infections, wash away foreign matter, and keep the eye’s surface smooth and clear. People with dry eyes either do not produce enough tears or their tears are poor quality. It’s a common and often chronic problem, especially in older adults.
 

Preventive Self-Care

Before we delve into more serious dry eye treatment options, here are a few simple self-care options that can manage minor cases of dry eye.

• Blink regularly when reading or staring at a computer screen for a long time.

• Make sure there’s adequate humidity in the air at work and at home.

• Wear sunglasses outside to reduce sun and wind exposure. Wraparound glasses are best.

• Take supplements with essential fatty acids as these may decrease dry eye symptoms.

• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water each day to avoid dehydration.

• Find out if any of your prescriptions have dry eye as a side effect and if so, see if you can take an alternative.
   

Artificial Tears

For mild cases of dry eyes, the best option is over-the-counter eye drops. Here are a few tips for selecting the right one:

• Low viscosity – These artificial tears are watery. They often provide quick relief with little or no blurring of your vision, but their effect can be brief, and sometimes you must use these drops frequently to get adequate relief.

• High viscosity – These are more gel-like and provide longer-lasting lubrication. However, these drops can cause significant blurring of your vision for several minutes. For this reason, high-viscosity artificial tears are recommended at bedtime.
   

Prescription Dry Eye Treatments

There are several prescriptions that treat dry eye differently. Your eye doctor can advise the best option for your situation.

• Contact Lenses – There are specialty contact lenses that deliver moisture to the surface of the eye. They’re called scleral lenses or bandage lenses.

• Antibiotics– If your eyelids are inflamed, this can prevent oil glands from secreting oil into your tears. Your doctor may recommend antibiotics to reduce inflammation.

• Anti-inflammatory drugs – These are eye drops to control inflammation on the surface of your eyes (cornea) using the immune-suppressing medication cyclosporine (Restasis) or corticosteroids.

• Eye Inserts – If artificial tears don't help, another option may be a tiny eye insert. Once a day, you place the hydroxypropyl cellulose (Lacrisert) insert between your lower eyelid and your eyeball. It dissolves slowly, releasing a substance to lubricate your eye.

• Tear-stimulating drugs – Available as pills, gel or eye drops, cholinergic (pilocarpine, cevimeline), these help to increase tear production.

• Autologous blood serum drops – For serious dry eye that’s not responding to other treatment, these eyedrops are made with a sample of your blood. It’s processed to remove the red blood cells and then mixed with a salt solution.

Dry Eye Procedures

• Punctal Plugs – Tear ducts can be plugged with tiny silicone plugs to reduce tear loss. By partially or completely closing your tear ducts, it can keep your tears from leaving your eye too quickly.

• RadioFrequency - This treatment feels like a hot stone massage and safely warms clogged meibomian glands to increase tear production and secretion 

• Intense-Pulsed Therapy – This utilizes pulses of light to liquefy and release hardened oils that have clogged glands in the eyelids.

EnVision by InMode 

Envision is the new in-office standard revolutionizing procedures in delicate areas. This ground breaking, nonsurgical device, deploys multiple programmable modalities which work synergistically to deliver precision treatments: 

• Forma-I: bipolar radiofrequency (RF)  

• Lumecca-I: intense pulsed light (IPL)  
 

Envision's small-size applicators and precise depth control allow for safe and highly efficacious procedures in the small, more delicate subdermal layers of the periorbital region. With Envision, practitioners deliver non-drug therapies to improve patient quality of life. 
 

INMODE Lumecca Intense Pulse Light treatment (IPL)  

INMODE Lumecca Intense Pulse Light treatment (IPL) works to control the inflammatory process and to stop the vicious cycle of inflammation and to reduce the need for medications. IPL treats ocular rosacea, Meibomian Gland Dysfunction, and Inflammatory dry eye. It has been shown to decrease demodex and bacteria around the eyelids. The powerful bursts of light also close off blood vessels that release inflammation in ocular rosacea.  

INMODE Forma Radiofrequency treatment (RF) 

INMODE Forma Radiofrequency treatment (RF) uses Radio-Frequency energy to generate heat which is applied to the skin around the eyes. This heat stimulates collagen formation, bringing white blood cells, and stem cells to the skin around your eyes while reducing inflammation. This treatment aids in opening up clogged meibomian glands, allowing for improved tear production and secretion. RF is usually followed by a Meibomian Gland expression. 

IPL and RF reverse the signs of ageing by stimulating collagen production by smoothing wrinkles and eliminate dark spots for younger looking eyes. 

HOW MANY SESSIONS ARE RECOMMENDED?  

Your provider will recommend the ideal number of sessions to be performed based on your personal condition. Treatment times and frequency will be specifically tailored to obtain the optimal results. 

WHAT KIND OF POST-PROCEDURE CARE IS REQUIRED?

Most patients do not experience any side effects and any skin reaction typically resolves within a few hours. There is no recovery period or downtime associated with these procedures. 

WHAT IS FORMA-I?  

This is an innovative nonsurgical procedure that delivers bipolar radiofrequency (RF) technology to smaller, more delicate subdermal layers. Designed with unprecedented safety, the small size applicator, precision RF depth control, and intelligent temperature monitoring, ensure a safe non-drug alternative. 

HOW DOES FORMA-I WORK?  

Forma-I feels like a warm massage in the eye area, improving blood circulation. The small size applicator and precision RF depth control allow for treatment in small and delicate areas. 

WHAT IS LUMECCA-I?  

Lumecca is the most powerful intense pulsed light (IPL) designed to treat pigmented and vascular lesions. Lumecca-I uses photothermolysis, which provides a photofacial through the delivery of a comfortable light treatment. IPL has been FDA approved for more than 15 years to remove superficial skin lesions.  

HOW DOES LUMECCA-I WORK?  

Lumecca-I creates tissue heating which helps to reduce inflammation. During treatment there will be a bright flash of light and a sensation on your skin that feels like a light snap from an elastic band. Redness and a slight warming of the skin are normal after treatment and usually subside within an hour. 

WHAT CAN I EXPECT?  

All treatments are performed right in your physician’s office. As a result, there is no general anesthesia, no incisions, or downtime that is associated with excisional interventions. Most clients find the treatments very comfortable. Your provider will discuss in detail with you the specifics of your customized treatment plan and how it will address your individual condition.  

HOW SAFE ARE THESE TREATMENTS?  

These treatments are recommended for patients who are seeking non-invasive procedures to address their symptoms. The small size applicators allow for treatment in small and delicate areas. These are very safe and effective procedures that can be used on all skin types and skin tones. 

You don’t have to suffer from the symptoms of dry eye. Talk to your optometrist about dry eye treatment options designed to address the underlying cause of your condition.