New Dry Eye Treatments

Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry Eye Syndrome is an eye disease that  unfortunately affects an estimated 20 million people in America. Dry eye symptoms such as light sensitivity, blurred vision, red eyes, itchy eyes, and dryness can affect a person’s quality of life and their vision. There are many causes of dry eye and the they type of dry eye should be determined by your eye doctor. Once diagnosed ,the proper course of dry eye treatment plan can be tailored to fit a patient’s symptoms. At the Dry Eye Center of Maryland, Dr. Azman has a dedicated dry eye team and the most up to date dry eye instrumentation for diagnosing and treatment.

Dry Eye Defined

 

New Dry Eye Treatment: A diagram showing the lacrimal apparatus

A dry eye disorder in which the lacrimal glands (tear producers) fail to produce enough of the watery component of tears to maintain a healthy eye surface.

Evaporative Dry Eye:
Dry eye due to the loss of the tear film evaporation, rather than aqueous deficiency.
Caused from inflammation of the meibomian glands, also located in the eyelids. The meibomian glands make the lipid or oily part of tears that slows evaporation and keeps the tears stable. Evaporative dry eye is also commonly known as MGD, meibomian gland dysfunction.

New Dry Eye Treatments

LipiFlow Dry Eye Treatment:
LipiFlow®, a new dry eye treatment, is a procedure designed to treat MGD, meibomian gland dysfunction, blocked Meibomian glands. Opening and clearing these blocked glands can allow them to resume natural production of lipids (oils) needed for a healthy tear film.

At the heart of the LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System is the Activator (eyepiece). The Activator uses patented, precisely controlled heat applied to the inner eyelid with adaptive pressure encouraging your body to resume the natural production of lipids (oils) needed for your tear film. Its single-use design and built-in sensors ensure a safe, sterile treatment. The treatment is performed in a doctor’s office — and in some cases, on the same day as your evaluation.

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) For Treating Dry Eye:
IPL new dry eye treatment,  is not a laser, but a light-based therapy. A key component to an unstable tear-film is MGD, meibomian gland dysfunction. When the glands are not producing a proper lipid (oily) layer, the tear-film is unstable and will rapidly evaporate. Furthermore, if the meibomian glands’ oily secretions are stuck inside the glands, inflammation can set in and exacerbate the problem.

Using bursts of light, IPL is directed at the eyelids, targeting the abnormal blood vessels to increase the flow of impacted meibomian secretion. The stagnant material is then often manually expressed.

With over 38 years of experience and utilizing old and new dry eye treatments the Doctors at the Dry Eye Center of MD will always do what’s best for you and your eyes. A positive outcome is dependent on the proper diagnosis. Using the latest in dry eye technology we are able to determine the type of dry eye and how to effectively treat it.


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