#188: LipiFlow: A Treatment for Dry Eye Relief

LipiFlow is an in-office treatment for dry eye disease to reduce the scratchiness and irritation of the eye. The device is used to loosen the oils that may be trapped on the oil glands in you eyelids. These glands are called meibomian glands, and when the oils inside of them get trapped, we call it meibomian gland disease. 

During the treatment the trapped oils are melted and released from the glands. The oils are able to come out onto the front surface of your eye, protect your tears from drying out and give you stable vision that doesn't fluctuate when you're blinking. The procedure also calms down the redness, irritation, and eliminates that scratchy feeling that you might be having on your eyes. 

Since I've been performing LipiFlow treatments in my office for years, I'm going to share with you the most common questions my patients ask. And, I'll even explain the biggest misunderstanding about dry eye symptoms. 

 Questions #1) If my Eyes Are Dry, Why do the Water all the Time? 

Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is the leading cause of dry eye disease. When the oil that should be part of the tears is trapped inside the lids, your tears are too watery. If your tears have water but no oil, they won't stick to the front surface of your eyes. They will simply roll out. 

The oily layer is protecting your eyes from the watery layer drying out and you have to make more and more water. It's also giving it that thickness or heaviness so that it stays on your eye instead of spilling right on out onto your cheeks. In fact, 86% of patients who have dry eye disease also have MGD. It's the most common form of dry eye disease and it affects 745 million people all around the world. 

You're not alone. There are millions of dry eye sufferers on this planet, including me. The foundation of a healthy tear film is healthy oil glands that produce oil to protect your eye and your tears from drying out. It also gives the stability of your vision because the tears are the first thing that light hits when it enters your eye. If your tears are not in a smooth sheet, the light automatically is distorted, and you have blurred vision. The oily layer of tears gives your eye comfort. It's soothing, cushioning, and coating the front surface of the eye to make it feel more comfortable. 

Question #2) How do you know if the Oil Glands are Clogged? 

Schedule an appointment with your eye doctor. There are several ways to determine the type of dry eye that you are suffering from and the severity of it. Your doctor will probably give you a symptoms questionnaire. The first part is seeing what your symptoms are and finding out if your symptoms are significant enough that it might relate to this problem with your oil glands. 

Next, the doctor will look at two things specifically about the oil glands. They will evaluate the structure of the glands themselves and the function of those glands. It's possible to have a lot of oil glands, but they are not producing the right consistency of oil. Or, you may have very few oil glands and some of them might be producing healthy oils. The doctor needs to evaluate both the structure of the glands and how they are functioning. 

The doctor may use a meibographer to take images of the oil glands. The meibography images are like X-rays of the glands. You can see the exact structure of the glands inside the lids. The glands should look long and thin. However, when the opening to the gland gets clogged the glands start to atrophy or shrink. Using the image, the doctor can determine how many of your glands are dying off. 

Another thing your doctor might look at is how well you're blinking. Improper blinking leads to atrophy of these oil glands. When you blink, your eyelids come together and there's a little bit of pressure between the two lids, and then they spread apart and spread the oil out across the eyelid. If we don't blink often enough, the muscles in the eyelids aren't squeezing these oil glands often enough, and the oil is not coming out. The oil starts to harden inside the glands. And, when the glands are clogged, they begin to shrink in size. This occurs over many years. The most common reason for your oil glands to atrophy is from decreased blinking while using digital devices.  

Question #3) How is LipiFlow Used to Treat the Oil Glands? 

LipiFlow is an in-office treatment that removes clogged oil from the eyelids. Once it’s removed, the oil glands can then start to produce healthy oil again. During the treatment patients feel a warm, comfortable massaging motion. There is no pain.  

During a LipiFlow treatment, the activator is placed on the eye. There is a protective shield to keep the eye itself from heating up. The lids are heated to a comfortable temperature, and the LipiFlow activator performs a squeezing motion on the lids. The device massages the liquified oils out of the glands.   

Question #4) What Kind of Relief do you Feel After a LipiFlow Treatment? 

Once you've had the LipiFlow procedure done on your eyes, you'll have success because it is a proven treatment. Over 700,000 treatments have been done on patients worldwide. It is widely studied and has 70 peer reviewed reports, and it's been around for over 14 years.  

You might notice that your vision is clearer because it is more stable. Many patients can comfortably wear their contact lenses four more hours a day. Many patients reported increased comfort, less eyestrain, and less tiredness at the end of the day.  

CONCLUSION: 

Dry eye disease is a common problem in the United States. And, the majority of dry eye sufferers have some form of decreased function of their oil glands inside their eyelids. If your eyes have been feeling tired, gritty, scratchy, or even increased tearing, you may have a problem with your oil glands. Your eye doctor can do some in office testing to find out if your oil glands are the problem.  

LipiFlow is an in-office treatment that clears clogged oil glands and allows your body to produce healthy oils. These oils coat the surface of the eye to soothe tired, dry eyes. The oils also give a smooth surface for the eye to produce clear vision. Patients report increased comfort and decreased tiredness with a LipiFlow treatment. 

If you are suffering from dry eyes, ask your eye doctor if LipiFlow is the right choice for you.