Your eyes are always full of tears, whether you realize it or not. Tears are made up of water and oils that keep your eyes moisturized, lubricated, and free of infection. All of these things come from special glands inside your eyes. If any of these glands aren’t working correctly, it can cause you to have dry eyes, which are characterized by burning, itching, and a gritty feeling in your eyes.
One of the most common causes of dry eyes is meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). This can be addressed with a treatment known as OptiLight, which our team at Clover Internal Medicine Associates, located in Fort Worth, Texas offers. Here’s a little bit more about MGD and how OptiLight can treat it.
MGD occurs when there’s an issue with the glands in your eye that produce the oil portion of your tears. The oil is what keeps your tears from evaporating or drying out too quickly. MGD can be caused by a change in the quality of the oil produced by your glands, or — more commonly — it can happen when your glands become clogged.
Aging and wearing contacts for long periods of time are common triggers for MGD, though it can also be the result of underlying conditions like high cholesterol, allergic conjunctivitis, or bacterial infections.
MGD can lead to your eyes being extremely inflamed and irritated, causing you to have symptoms of dry eyes.
OptiLight can do many things to alleviate the dry eyes that MGD causes. This treatment accomplishes the following:
During an OptiLight session, a gel is placed around the treatment area before you put on a shield for your eyes. Intense light is then put onto the skin beneath your eyes. This procedure lasts only 10-15 minutes and should cause minimal discomfort.
You want to do these sessions four times over the course of 2-3 months, and many people report that they see a significant difference after only two sessions.
If you’re constantly struggling with dry eyes, OptiLight treatment might be proper for you. It can help treat the MGD that’s causing your dry eyes in the first place and give you some much-needed relief.
To learn if you’re a good candidate for this procedure, contact our team to set up a consultation. You can do this by giving us a call or by using our online scheduler today.
