How Does the Lumenis OptiLight Effectively Treat Dry Eye?

Dry eye syndrome is a common condition that affects about 49 million Americans. It is commonly chronic, and it can significantly affect the quality of your life. When left untreated, the condition can lead to more severe outcomes.

 

Over the decades since scientists and doctors discovered the condition, they have developed various strategies to deal with it. One of the more effective treatments available is Lumenis OptiLight. It is the only FDA-approved IPL treatment for dry eye with significant studies backing it. The therapy can help alleviate the symptoms presented by the condition.

What Is Lumenis OptiLight?

As mentioned above, an IPL or intense pulsed light treatment helps resolve dry eye syndrome. It utilizes a special, patented Optimal Pulse Technology that helps treat the skin area under the eyes. The treatment is noninvasive and usually very comfortable for the patient. It addresses the root of the condition, inflammation, to ensure that the results last a long time.

Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye syndrome is a condition that affects the tears in your eyes. When you have the disease, your tears cannot adequately lubricate your eyes, leading to the symptoms. You can have one of three forms of dry eye syndrome, evaporative dry eye, insufficient tears dry eye, or contact lens-induced dry eye. Lumenis works for the first form, evaporative dry eye.

Evaporative Dry Eye

This is a form of dry eye that comes from an unstable tear film that leads to the rapid evaporation of the tears. The tear film's instability comes from the meibomian glands' poor functionality. These glands produce the lipid layer of the topmost layer of the tear film. It covers the entire eye and prevents the evaporation of the other two layers.

The meibomian glands malfunction when they become clogged. They can clog up due to thick clumps of oil that collect in the glands. This results in poor quality oils or low volume of oils. The clogged glands can become inflamed, further complicating the condition and aggravating the symptoms.

How Does Lumenis OptiLight Treat Dry Eye?

The treatment is a multifactorial procedure that works for a similarly multifactorial condition. It accomplishes the following:

 

Reduces Inflammation

First, it reduces inflammatory mediators that cause inflammation due to dry eye.

 

Improves Tear Breakup Time

To help restore the functionality of the tear film, it improves the breakup time of the tears. It also decreases the osmolarity of the tears, which is the measure of salt in tears.

Restores Normal Blood Vessels

Lumenis OptiLight destroys the abnormal blood vessels resulting from the inflammation that also worsens it.

 

Improves Meibomian Gland Functionality

The therapy uses intense pulsed light to improve the functionality of the glands. It restores the glands and their morphology.


 

Minimizes Demodex Population

Some forms of dry eye come from the Demodex mites that grow on your eyelids. The treatment reduces their population and their ability to stimulate inflammation.

For more information on how the Lumenis OptiLight effectively treats dry eyes, visit Highlands Optometry at our office in Bristol or Wise, Virginia at (276) 466-4227 or (276) 679-5612, respectively, to book an appointment.