What you may be experiencing is “Meibomian Gland Obstruction”, an underlying cause of Evaporative Dry Eye.
Your tears are made of 3 layers:
1. Lipid (oil) layer: lubricates and prevents evaporation
2. Aqueous (water) layer: nourishes and protects the cornea
3. Mucin layer: adheres tears to the eye
Meibomian glands: create the lipid (oil) layer of the tear film
Warm compresses become a regular ritual, sometimes several times a day. A bottle of some form of eye drops is never far out of reach. Blinking exercises might be on the agenda, or maybe lid scrubs.
Contact lenses can only be worn for a limited time, if at all. Extended sessions in front of a computer are off limits. Relaxing with a good book may be too painful to contemplate. Even just deciding on the spur of the moment to go outside and enjoy a nice spring day could be out of the question.
Does any of this sound familiar?
If so, you need to know about the LipiFlow system, a technological breakthrough that has been developed to potentially make the discomfort, inconvenience and limitations of Evaporative Dry Eye a thing of the past.
The LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System is a significant technological shift in evaporative dry eye treatment, effectively relieving blockage of the eyelid glands during an in-office treatment. Opening the blocked eyelid glands allows the body to resume the natural production of lipids (oils) needed for the tear film. Treatments last up to 1 year!
Imagine: Just a short time after a successful treatment with the LipiFlow system, you may go long periods of time without thinking about your eyes at all, just like most people do. You may no longer have to plan your day around your symptoms. Coworkers may no longer stop and ask you why your eyes are red or have you been crying.
After a few weeks, you may even start to forget about how much the condition was controlling your life. The constant drops, the warm compresses, the limits on how long you could sit at the computer or wear your contacts. Months later, you may no longer worry about the faintest breeze.
You can live your life again.