#171: Can you get Dry Eye Relief without using Drops?
Let's talk about treating your dry eyes when you hate taking eye drops. I have lots of patients in my office that just don't like taking drops. Or, perhaps it's hard for them to use drops because they have arthritis and can't squeeze the bottles, or their handshake too much. It turns out there are several alternatives to your dry eye treatment that don't require putting drops in your eyes.
If you have dry eyes, I always advocate taking 4-simple steps every day to treat your dry eyes. These steps are: hydrate, harmonize, heat, and heal.
- Hydrate: Using something to help produce more tears in your eyes to lubricate them.
- Harmonize: Removing bacteria and biofilm from your lids and lashes.
- Heat: Using a warm compress to heat up the meibomian gland that live in the eyelids and release some oils. Once released the oils can come out and coat the tears.
- Heal: Using an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement with Omega 3 Fatty Acids to give your body the building blocks it needs to produce healthy tears.
Utilizing these 4- simple steps every day to treat your dry eyes will reduce inflammation and provide comfort to your eyes. But, what would you do if you couldn't take eyedrops? Well, it turns out there are several alternatives to drops that will still allow you to have a healthy tear film.
Dropless Dry Eye Treatment
Let's look at each of the 4-simple steps and discuss alternatives to using drops or products in which you don't need to touch your eyes.
Hydrate: Utilize the prescription nasal spray Tyrvaya to provide your eyes with moisture. It stimulates the trigeminal nerve ending in the nose which travels back to the lacrimal gland and helps you to produce your own tears. If you'd like to learn more about Tyrvaya, check out this video.
You can also ask your eyecare practitioner for Punctal Plugs. Not all patients are good candidates for punctal plugs, but if you are, your doctor can insert these plugs to block the tears from draining from your eyes. The plugs are either made of collagen or silicone, whether you want a permanent plug or a dissolvable plug. I prefer the dissolvable ones because they fit into the tear canal inside of sitting at the top of the puncta. They are less likely to rub against the eye and cause irritation.
Harmonize: Utilizing a lid and lash cleanser. For patients who aren't big on touching their eyes, I like a Hypochlorous acid based spray, It is an antiseptic spray which can be spritzed onto the eyes and left on without rubbing or rinsing. The spray gently reduces the bacteria living around the eyes. Just leave it on. My favorite is Easy on the Eyes by twenty/twenty Beauty.
Heat: Heating the eyelids is utilized to melt the oils trapped inside the lids. When the oils are melted, they can be released from the glands and are able to spread across the front surface of the eyes to soothe the eyes.
In the doctor's office: there are several techniques that can be used to heat the lids to the melting point of the oils that are trapped inside the lids and then express those oils out. These treatments include:
TearCare: It involves placing these sticky pads to the eyelids. The pads heat up the lids. Then, the doctor uses a special tool to massage those oils out.
Lipiflow: This device uses an applicator on the eye and sandwiches the lids in between the heating portion and the massaging portion. It utilizes a gentle massaging motion to push the clogged oils out of the eyelids.
iLux: This is a hand-held device, which the doctor utilizes to heat the lids and express the oils at the same time
These are all in-office procedures. Once you have an in-office procedure to unclog your meibomian glands, then you would not need to use your at home mask quite so often. It follows the same reasoning as flossing though. Once the dental hygienist cleans your teeth, flossing keeps the plaque from building up again.
Continuing to use your lid and lash cleanser as well as a warm compress will keep the oils from hardening inside of your eyes. Basically, that at home treatment will protect the investment you just made on your eyes by having the treatment done. At home care, keeps the glands working well longer.
Heal: In the final step of the 4-simple step process also does not involve touching your eyes. It involves using a an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement, like HydroEye by Science Based Health.
These supplements gives your body the building blocks it needs to produce healthy tears. Also, if you hate swallowing pills as much as you dislike using eyedrops, PRN carries a liquid version of the Omega 3 supplement as well
CONCLSUION:
Even if you hate putting drops in your eyes, or even touching your eyes in general, there are lots of ways that you can treat your dry eye. Try these alternatives to the 4-simple steps to treat your dry eyes daily.
Hydrate: Ask your doctor for a prescription for Tyrvaya nasal spray. This medication stimulates your eyes to make more tears. Also, your eye doctor can place punctal plugs in the tear drains of your eye lids in the office. These plugs block the tears from leaving your eyes.
Harmonize: In this step, I recommend using a lid and lash cleansing spray. It is easy to apply and doesn't involve touching the eyes. Use a hypochlorous acid spray and spritz your closed eyelids. Then, just allow the spray to air dry. My favorite is Easy on the Eyes by twenty/twenty Beauty.
Heat: Ask your doctor about the in-office treatments they have available to treat your meibomian glands. Receiving an in-office meibomian gland treatment can keep your meibomian glands working at full capacity for 12 - 18 months on average.
Heal: Taking a nutritional supplement to support health tear production is an easy way to help your eyes feel more comfortable. There is even a liquid form available from PRN, if you hate swallowing pills.
Remember, when you learn to take care of your eyes today, your vision will last you a lifetime. If you're ready to take the next step in healing your dry eyes, please watch our FREE training video to learn about the next steps.
