Are you experiencing red eye, vision blur, heavy eyes, light sensitivity , itchiness or you have another optician and they cannot locate the problem?
You could be experiencing dry eye syndrome.
Majority of people have some form of dry eye, it’s a bit like dry skin. Some have symptoms which are poorly managed and others have no symptoms but we can detect it before it becomes a problem!
This article will be discussing the symptoms, cause and treatment of dry eyes, including IPL laser therapy.
Read on to find out how you can cure your dry eyes.
What is Dry Eye Syndrome?
Medically known as Keratoconjunctivitis sicca or Ocular Surface Disease, Dry Eye Syndrome is a common eye condition that occurs when the eyes fail to produce enough lubrication – either water or oils, essentially it is an inflammatory condition. If you are prone to chalazion and styes – you are at risk for dry eyes.
What are the causes of dry eyes?
So what causes dry eyes?
Dry eye syndrome can be attributed to various factors, including ageing, exposure to dry winter air, antihistamines, (side effects of medication past or present), medical conditions and screen time.
Dry eye symptoms
Besides the feelings of dryness around the eye area, there are a few more symptoms of dry eyes to look out for:
- Eye awareness
- Redness around eye
- Irritation
- Stinging
- Itchiness
- Crustiness
- Compensatory excessive tearing
- Tiredness
- Watery eyes
- Light sensitivity/ heavy eyes
- Lid Inflammation/ Chalazion and styes
What happens if dry eyes are left untreated?
Like any other discomfort your experience around the eyes, it is incredibly important to make sure you seek treatment immediately.
If left untreated, dry eyes can cause:
- Increased irritation
- Blurry vision
- Redness
- Eczema around the eyes
- Corneal damage
- Increase risk of infection
- Impaired contact lens wear
- Decreased quality of life
Dry eye treatments
Dry eyes can be treated and managed through various way:
- Conservative : Artificial tears, ointments, wrap-around glasses, humidifiers, improved nutrition
- Medical drops
- Mechanical: hands on treatment.
Conservative and medical treatments often provide only short-term relief, with symptoms returning once the treatment is discontinued.
Intense Pulse Light (IPL) Therapy for dry eyes
IPL therapy offers a drug-free and drop-free natural light-based approach to target the root cause of dry eyes: chronic inflammation. This innovative therapy has been safely used for years abroad and provides ongoing relief from dry eyes, liberating patients from the need for routine and frequent eye drop usage.
At Safarian & Simon Opticians, we are proud to offer this cutting-edge solution to our patients for many years.
Our team of accomplished optometrists, led by Mr. Sachin Patel, an early adopter of new technology, is dedicated to providing the best possible individual eye health care and personalised advice.
Why choose Safarian & Simon Opticians for Dry eye Treatment?
We are passionate about preventing sight loss and providing top-quality personalised eye health care.
Unlike other “Dry eye clinics” that offer basic guidance and over-the-counter remedies, we offer actual treatment and diagnostic methods.
We are among the few optician practices in London that offer IPL treatment and have the capability to write prescriptions if needed and we use the only FDA cleared IPL for dry eyes.
Our dry eye treatment is unique, it’s not just IPL and writing medical prescriptions. We have other options such as lid cleaning with BlephEx, Zest, Lid expression, Low light therapy, Meibomian gland probing and Punctal plugging. We also offer Aminotic Membrane contact lenses to heal the eye and can undertake a tear duct wash out for watery eyes if needed.
Importantly, our personal service keeps you at the forefront of your treatments sessions without a technician undertaking any of the treatments.
What is Meibomian Gland Probing?
You may have been told you have MGD ( the most common cause of dry eye and chalazion/styes) and been advised to use warm compresses? Well, the effectivity is quite poor for many reasons. Gland probing is a unique treatment to open up the glands using a small wire tool, it breaks scar tissues to allow the oils to flow better. It can also possibly also glands to improve, combing gland probing with IPL gives the best results and gland probing is typically a once a year treatment, IPL requires around 4 treatments spaces a few weeks apart.
As dry eye is a chronic condition, the treatments we offer are not available on the NHS and require a great deal of training and we are in a unique practice to offer advanced treatments.
Contact us for IPL dry eye treatment
Are your eyes itchy and watery? You may be experiencing dry eyes.
Here at Safarian and Simon Opticians, we are available to help you with all dry eye related queries.
Get in touch with our expert opticians and book your dry eye assessment and treatments.
