In-House Dry Eye Treatments
At Dry Eye Centre we have a range of treatment options:
Punctal Plugs for Dry Eyes
Punctal plugs are tiny medical devices designed to relieve chronic dry eye symptoms. They are inserted into the tear ducts to help keep moisture on the surface of your eye for longer.
Meibomian Gland Expression
In many cases of meibomian gland dysfunction the glands are so blocked that hot compresses and lid massage are ineffective. At Dry Eye Centre we prefer to perform meibomian gland expression manually to clear the blockage.
Intense Pulsed Light
We are proud to be the first clinic in the UK to adopt Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment for dry eye. A pulse of intense light is applied to the skin around the eyes which destorys the abnormal vessels. The major source of inflammation affecting the eye lids is then reduced or removed. This then provides a better environment for the meibomian glands to function.
Low Level Light Therapy
LM®LLLT treats deeper into the cellular level to treat Dry Eye Disease and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. The treatment area covers all the upper and lower eyelid areas including the forehead down to the mid-cheek area.
Treatment for Demodex
Demodex is a usually harmless mite infection. However for some it produces an immune response causing inflammation, which can lead to the loss of lashes or cause them to grow into the eye. The inflammation can also cause meibomian gland dysfunction. Our treatment involves applying a solution that kills mites.
Contact Lenses for Dry Eye
Being part of Burnett Hodd & Tam Optometry – a contact lens specialist practice, our specialists can refit your contact lenses to optimise your comfort in visual correction. Learn more about the variety of lenses that can help you.
Medical Treatments For Dry Eye
Once we reach a diagnosis, we may decide that you require some medication.
- Inflammation of the eye may require a short course of steroids drops. In some cases where there is more chronic inflammation, we may recommend long term use of ciclosporin drops.
- If we find meibomian gland dysfunction we may prescribe a long course of a low dose antibiotic that has been shown to reduce inflammation and bacterial load of the glands to improve the quality of the meibum.
- If we identify infection we may prescribe an antibiotic drop or ointment.
- For ocular allergy we will prescribe an anti-histamine drop or mast cell stabiliser (or combined drug).
Where possible, we will endeavour to prescribe drops without any preservatives.
We will issue you with a private prescription or we can write to your GP and ask them to prescribe for you if you prefer.