Front door of Envision in Rochester NY.

Dry Eye Light Therapy in Rochester, New York

Dry Eye Light Therapy

An alternative treatment for dry eye

Dry Eye Disease (DED) is the most common reason for a patient to visit a healthcare professional. While countless therapies exist to treat the symptoms of DED, there is no cure. For patients that have failed conventional treatments for DED, broad band light (BBL) is a treatment option to consider. At Envision Aesthetics, we offer dry eye light therapy in Rochester, New York, that uses the power of light to liquefy and release hardened oils that have clogged the glands in your eyelids, resulting in chronic dry eyes.

What It Treats

Dry Eye Disease (DED), Light Sensitivity, Blurred Vision

Procedure Time

20 minutes

Recovery Time

No downtime

What is Dry Eye Light Therapy in Rochester?

The use of BBL therapy for eyes was discovered by accident. After performing BBL treatments to treat rosacea and acne, a doctor heard many patients reporting that their eyes felt much better after sessions under the light, even though the intense pulsed light (IPL) was not aimed directly at their eyes. This triggered studies into the use of BBL for dry eye, and resulted in our dry eye light therapy in Rochester, New York at Envision Aesthetics! The treatment is applied to ear to ear, shutting down inflammatory vessels and cleaning out the eyelid glands to bring back moisture flow.

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The Dry Eye Light Therapy Process

Free 1 Hour Consultation

Our team will sit with you for a free, 1 hour consultation. During this consultation we will make sure that dry eye light therapy in Rochester will meet your expectations.

Eye Safety

Before we begin the BBL treatment, we will make sure we cover your eyes to protect them from the intense pulsed light. We will also apply an ultrasound gel to the treatment area to help soothe the skin and make treatment easier.

BBL For Dry Eye

We begin the treatment by moving the handpiece around your eyelids to gently heat the skin and liquefy and loosen oils that are clogging the eyelids’ meibomian glands and causing the dry eye symptoms. After a series of treatments, patients notice dramatic dry eye relief.

Where does dry eye disease come from?

Dry Eye Disease, or DED, is a common disease that occurs when your eyes aren’t getting proper lubrication from tears. There are a variety of reasons why your tears could be inadequate. The most common stem from not producing enough tears or producing low-quality tears. Either way, dry eyes can cause irritation and redness that may disrupt your daily life.

Tears are a unique combination of water, fatty oils, and mucus. These three components have to be in perfect harmony to keep your eyes feeling clear and moisturized. Unfortunately if something is off balance or there aren’t enough tears, the eyes dry out.

Decreased tear production
You could be producing high-quality tears, but that doesn’t help if there aren’t enough of those tears to lubricate your eyes. Common causes of decreased tear production are:

-Aging
-Certain medications such as antidepressants or acne medications
-Laser eye surgery
-Tear gland damage
-Certain medical conditions such as lupus and diabetes

Tear composition imbalance
A common cause of DED is the imbalance of water, fatty oils, and mucus in the tears. Each of these components has an important role in eye lubrication. The fatty component stop tears from evaporating too quickly, while the mucus helps to anchor and spread the tears around the eye.

The imbalance of the three components has a variety of causes. For example, your meibomian glands (small glands on the edge of the eyelid that produce oil) may get clogged, offsetting the concentration of oil in your tears. Many people who have skin inflammation around the eyes, such as rosacea, also have issues with clogged meibomian glands

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Symptoms of dry eye disease

There are many symptoms associated DED for our clients who come in for dry eye light therapy in Rochester.

-Itchy eyes
-Red, irritated eyes
-Blurred eyes
-Difficulty wearing contacts
-Eye fatigue
-Watery eyes as a result of irritation
-Sensitivity to light
-Difficulty driving/seeing at night
-A stinging sensation
-Burning

The power of Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)

IPL is a breakthrough technique to alleviate the problems that cause dry eye disease. Dry eye light therapy in Rochester works by unclogging the oil glands in the eye. The light acts as a warm compress to heat and liquefies anything that could be blocking the meibomian glands. After this is done, the oil film returns, giving you fast relief.

Intense pulsed light can also reduce redness and irritation associated with dry eye. Filters work to apply specific wavelengths of light to target abnormal blood vessels in the eyelid that cause irritation and inflammation.

Our clients at Envision Aesthetics notice results almost right away. With no downtime afterwards, they’re able to enjoy the rest of the day with clear, well-lubricated eyes!

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Who’s more likely to get DED?

Anyone could get dry eyes every once in awhile, but there are certain people who are more at risk for chronic dry eye. These include:

People over 50- People older than 50 are more likely to have dry eyes simply because of aging. Tear production naturally decreases as we get older.

Women- Decreased tear production is more common in women than it is in men. This is especially true during hormonal changes from using certain medication, giving birth, or going through menopause.

People who wear contacts- Contacts tend to dry out the eyes. It’s best to switch between contacts and glasses to give your eyes a break.

Frequent flyers- Since the cabin of a plane tends to be dryer than normal air, people who fly a lot are more likely to suffer from dry eyes.

Smokers- Smoking is known to irritate eyes, but it also can lead to other conditions such as macular degeneration (causes vision loss) and cataracts.

Fortunately, dry eye light therapy in Rochester can help alleviate issues that stem from dry eye. It targets the roots of the cause for a more permanent solution that is perfectly catered to your needs.

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Benefits of Dry Eye Light Therapy In Rochester

Make Dry Eye Manageable

We don’t currently have a way to cure dry eye, but we can make your disease more manageable. Studies have shown increased rates of anxiety and depression in patients with dry eye due to the effect it has on the ability to do the things you love. Let Dr. Whipple and her team get you back to the life you love.

More Comfortable Eyes

Grittiness, sandy, achy are the most common words Dr. Whipple hears when patients talk to her about dry eye. Dry eye light therapy in Rochester can improve all of those symptoms and you can see improvement in as little as one treatment. As a result, you may be able to decrease your dependency on lubricating drops or other medications.

Take The Focus Off Your Eyelids

Patient with ocular rosacea and dry eye typically have red, irritated, crusty eyelids that look as painful as they feel. Often patient say they are embarrassed because people will point out and ask questions about their red eyes. Our dry eye light therapy can help with those symptoms and also the appearance of redness on eyelid. These treatment improve the appearance as well as the symptoms related to your eyes.

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Why choose dry eye therapy in Rochester

Oftentimes our clients have tried all other traditional dry eye treatments. Although relief may come, it’s usually temporary. Other techniques including artificial tears, hot compresses, and eyelid scrubs don’t focus on the source of the problem. Instead, they only temporarily alleviate dry eye symptoms.

If you’re looking for a more permanent solution, dry eye therapy in Rochester may be the way for you to go. IPL treats meibomian gland dysfunction. These glands produce a fatty substance that helps to lubricate the eye and prevent tear evaporation, which is a major cause of dry eye. In doing this, not only are symptoms relieved, it also can stop the progression of chronic dry eye.

Before the Procedure

Before getting dry eye therapy in Rochester, we will speak with you about your specific needs and how dry eye has been affecting you. We want to ensure that the treatment is the best option for you. During this time, let us know if you’ve had any medical conditions that may have caused your dry eyes, as well as any eye conditions you have. This will help us determine the best light settings for you.

During the Procedure

During your procedure, the area will be cleaned before a light shield is placed over your eyes. Light will not directly touch your eyes for safety purposes. Our light therapy technician will then apply a cool gel on the surface of the skin before performing dry eye light therapy in Rochester. After applying the gel, your technician will administer the light throughout the area using a small handpiece.

Some of our clients at our Rochester medical spa experience a tingling or warming sensation during the treatment, but other than that, no pain is involved. Once done with the treatment, our technician may express the glands to relieve clogs, but this step is optional and depends on the client.

After the Procedure

After getting dry eye light therapy in Rochester, you may experience some redness or discomfort, but this is temporary and will go away within a few hours. You’ll want to avoid direct sunlight for the next few days, since your eyes will be sensitive after the treatment. For the best results, we recommend five sessions every 3 to 4 weeks. Afterward, maintenance treatments are only needed every 6 to 12 months.

Client Results

In Dr. Whipple’s clinic, approximately 80% of patient obtain at least 80% improvement in their dry eye symptoms after having dry eye light therapy in Rochester, New York. An even greater percentage report some improvement. And 95% of patients would being willing to have the treatment again if needed to treat dry eye.