Majority (75%) of patients with Blepharitis also has chronic dry eye syndrome. The symptoms often feel similar. Blepharitis tends to recur, where as chronic dry eye symptoms can be treated with TheraLife Eye. Customers with Blepharitis often has rosacea on the face, nose, flaky skin, dandruff, or certain bacterial or bugs growing on the eye lashes. It is recommended that you wear no make up on the eyes. High percentage of people who has Blepharitis also have meibomian gland dysfunction.
There are newer options to people who continue to suffer the effects of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), despite efforts with traditional therapies. MGD is reported to afflict 67.2% of people over the age of 60 in the United States. Common treatments include:
1. Hot compresses 2-3 times per day, ten minutes each. Afterwards, gently massage your eye lids after wards.
2. Essential fatty acids – such as TheraLife Omega 3 Fish Oil (molecularly distilled for purity) or Flax seed Oil for their strong anti- inflammatory properties
3. Topical and oral antibiotics
Two newly described therapies for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction include
o Gland Probing- using a physical probe to open meibomian glands
o Intense Pulsed Light (IPL).- LipiFlow. Go to Lipiflow.com and select the cities you live in. Check to see which physician's offices has this new equipment.
Gland Probing
Meibomian gland probing was proposed by Steven Maskin, MD using a 76 micron, stainless steel probe of 2- or 4 mm length to unblock glands. He presented a case series of 25 patients diagnosed with MGD.
Twenty-four of 25 patients (96%) had immediate post-probing relief, while all patients reported relief of symptoms by four months post-procedure. Twenty patients (80%) did not need re-treatment by average follow-up of 11.2 months, while the remaining five patients (20%) required re-treatment at an average of four to six months.
Intense Pulse Light (IPL)- LipiFlow
Another experimental treatment is Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), introduced by Rolando Toyos, MD. The treatment uses heat from a special flash lamp to melt the obstructions in the meibomian gland orifices.12 When originally used in dermatology for acne and rosacea patients, IPL patients would subsequently report that their eyes felt better post treatment. In 2003, Toyos conducted a study in which 100 patients with treatment resistant MGD were treated with IPL on the lower lid on only one side. He reported that following treatment, the MGD was improved, both subjectively and clinically. Dr. Toyos claims that when the light is absorbed by the blood vessels, the heat that is generated melts the secretions and opens the glands, decreasing the inflammatory cytokines, and allows for easier expression and improvement of tear film stability. There’s also some evidence that IPL decreases parasites on the eyelash margin that can cause meibomian gland problems.
It usually takes three to four treatments over the course of four months, with maintenance treatments required every six to twelve months.
As the number of dry eye people continues to grow, more and more people turn to TheraLife for solutions.
Why TheraLife Eye?
Blepharitis
tends to recur, where as chronic dry eye symptoms can be treated with
TheraLife Eye. Typical signs of Blepharitis is inflamed eye lids, red
eyes, tired, irritated. TheraLife Eye stimulates both the Lacrimal gland
for tear secretion, and meibomian gland to secrete balanced tears that
lasts all day long.
To learn more: click here
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REFERENCES
1. Bron AJ, Tiffany JM. The contribution of meibomian disease to dry eye. Ocul Surf. 2004 Apr;2(2):149-65.
2. Pinna A, Piccinini P, Carta F. Effect of oral linoleic and gamma-linolenic acid on meibomian gland dysfunction. Cornea. 2007 Apr;26(3):260-4.
3. Foulks GN, Borchman D, Yappert M, et al. Topical azithromycin therapy for meibomian gland dysfunction: clinical response and lipid alterations. Cornea. 2010 Jul;29(7):781-8.
4. Luchs J. Efficacy of topical azithromycin ophthalmic solution 1% in the treatment of posterior blepharitis. Adv Ther. 2008;25:858-70.
5. Dougherty JM, McCulley JP, Silvany RE, Meyer DR. The role of tetracycline in chronic blepharitis. Inhibition of lipase production in staphylococci. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1991 Oct;32(11):2970-5.
6. Ralph RA. Tetracyclines and the treatment of corneal stromal ulceration: a review. Cornea. 2000 May;19(3):274-7.
7. Stone DU, Chodosh J. Oral tetracyclines for ocular rosacea: an evidence based review of the literature. Cornea. 2004 Jan;23(1):106-9.
8. Yoo SE, Lee DC, Chang MH. The effect of low-dose doxycycline therapy in chronic
The above article is an abstract from April issue of Optometric Management
