What is dry eye syndrome?
In our previous blog we took a look at what an ocular surface disease is, the most common of which is Dry eye syndrome and we also looked at how the OSDI, ocular surface disease index, is used to determine dry eye syndrome and also the severity, if it is present. In this blog we will take a look at the detailed Eye Exams that B&VIIT uses to test for dry eye syndrome and also the 3 step treatment plan.
B&VIIT Detailed eye exam
At B&VIIT we use three different tests in order to objectively and accurately diagnose the presence of dry eye syndrome in our patients. Each of these tests determine different factors that may indicate the presence of dry eye syndrome.
K5M – The K5M is a test that detects if there is any film destruction in the eye, it checks the lacrimal girdle height and it also tests the meibomian gland.
The patient will sit in front of the machine and the machine will measure the amount of time the tear film is maintained after blinking, as well as the amount of tears excreted. It also checks to see whether the lipid layer that prevents evaporation of tears is well formed.
Tear Lab – The tear lab is the tear osmosis test. The tear lab will collect a small sample from your tear and then analyze that data to give you an osmotic pressure scor, which the doctors then look at to determine dry eye.
MMP-9 – The MMP-9 is a tear inflammation test. By measuring the degree of tear excretion on the eyeball the MMP accurately assess inflammation in the eyes.
Now that we have determined the presence of Dry Eyes we can look at the 3 steps of treatment.
3 step process at B&VIIT
B&VIIT relieves Dry Eye Syndrome through 3 treatments namely; Lipi Flow, DryEyePL, Healite.
Lipiflow – Lipiflow is a treatment whereby a device is attached directly to the eye. Then heat and pressure is used to remove unwanted and foreign substances from the hardened meibomian gland. When the meibomian gland is cleaned out and restored, it will start to release healthy oil again. This healthy oil that is released into the eyes naturally, helps to suppress the evaporation of tears, which is one of the main causes of the dry eye.
The procedure is very simple. The lipiflow activators are attached on the inside or the upper and lower eyelids and then after 12 minutes the treatment is done.
Dry EyePL – This treatment uses a device which uses “Intensed Pulsed Light” which flashes in the eyes, this raises the temperature of the skin in the eyelids. The raised temperature then softens any blocked oil in the meibomian glands.This in turn clears any blocked secretions. Now that the glands can freely secrete oil, the eyes become less dry.
First a gel is applied in order to protect the eyes. Then the IPL laser treatment is done and lasts only for a few minutes. Usually the Dry eyePL treatment needs to be repeated 2-3 times.
Healite – Healite is a newly developed painless, non-invasive safe treatment for dry eyes. Healite helps to speed up healing around the eyes, reduces inflammation and increases blood flow.