Posted by: SightTrust Eye Institute in Dry Eye
Did you know that around 20 million people in the United States, and 344 million people worldwide, have dry eye disease (DED)? It is now considered a “critical and significant public health issue” in the United States. Some studies show that nearly half of all U.S. adults experience dry eye signs and symptoms, and that 1/3 of patients come to eye doctors with complaints about dry eye. Unfortunately, dry eye can often go undiagnosed or underestimated.
Dry eye disease is a condition where your eyes do not have appropriate lubrication, and not only causes irritation but can also affect the sharpness of your vision. You may have dry eye if you’ve been experiencing any of these symptoms:
- A stinging, burning or scratchy sensation in your eyes
- Feeling like something is in your eye
- Eye redness
- Difficulty tolerating contact lenses
- Watery eyes
- Blurred vision or eye fatigue
- Sensitivity to light
Dry eye can be an uncomfortable condition, but you do have options. At SightTrust Eye Institute, we understand that inflammation of and around the oil-producing meibomian glands is a leading cause of dry eye. Our non-surgical dry eye treatments allow us to improve your comfort and optimize your vision. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a quick, in-office treatment that can both decrease dry eyes and sharpen the vision of patients who have premium intraocular lenses (IOLs). We recommend IPL for patients who will be receiving premium implants and have been diagnosed with eyelid inflammation as the major source of their dry eyes.
Lumecca is the most powerful intense pulsed light (IPL) available and is designed to treat pigmented and vascular lesions. Lumecca-I uses photothermolysis, which provides a photofacial by delivering comfortable pulses of light. IPL has been FDA approved for over 15 years to remove superficial skin lesions.
Lumecca-I gently heats below the surface of the skin to help reduce inflammation. During treatment there are flashes 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. IPL for dry eye with LUMECCA-I:
- Treats inflammation of the eyelids that can cause dry eyes.
- Selectively targets fine blood vessels, sealing them to decrease the inflammatory cycle.
- By targeting pigmented lesions, it is also a great option for patients with rosacea.
- IPL “re-starts” meibomian gland mitochondria to increase oil production.
- Kills skin bacteria and Demodex which are a main cause of eyelid inflammation.
- LUMECCA-I is suitable for skin types I through IV.
Although LUMECCA-I is a great option for helping relieve dry eye symptoms, it’s not a cure. Treatments are recommended twice a year to prevent regrowth of blood vessels and to maintain effective tear production, and these treatments would consist of a series of 4 sessions separated by 2-3 weeks to produce the maximum benefit. LUMECCA-I is offered as part of SightTrust Eye Institute’s Vision Improvement Program™ (VIP), helping to treat eyelid inflammation and other causes of meibomian dysfunction at the source.
SightTrust offers this amazing technology so that if you suffer from dry eyes or are planning on having permanent vision correction surgery at our clinic, we can help provide relief from this frustrating condition and provide you the sharpest vision possible. We would love to discuss how LUMECCA-I and the VIP plan can significantly improve your comfort and vision quality. Call our office today at (877) 878-7890 or email at: info@sighttrust.com
Sources:
https://www.sighttrust.com/lumecca-i/
https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/dry-eye-disease
https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/understanding-prevalence-demographics-dry-eye-disease
