Dry Eye Therapy
Tears are far more than just a way to express your feelings. They play a vital role in the health of the eye and your clarity of vision. If you have ever experienced stinging, scratching, or burning sensations, you know how irritating dry eye disease can be and how important dry eye therapy is for finding relief.
Millions of Americans suffer from dry eye disease. Relief is available. At McCulley Optix Gallery, we’ll evaluate the causes of your dry eye disease and provide solutions.
Stop suffering from dry eye disease. Book your appointment with Dr. McCulley today.
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What causes dry eye disease?
We take our eyes for granted, until they are uncomfortable! Then it’s hard not to notice them. Dry eye disease can be the result of many different factors, including:
- Age: Many people over the age of 65 experience some symptoms of dry eye disease.
- Environment: Dry, windy, or smoky environments can play a role in dry eye disease.
- Medications: Certain antihistamines, decongestants, and blood pressure medications can lead to reduced tear production.
- Contact Lens Wear: Longtime use of contact lenses can contribute to dry eye disease. It’s just another reason why annual eye exams are recommended for contact lens users.
- Laser Eye Surgery: Recent refractive surgery such as LASIK can cause a decrease in tear production.
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Understanding Your Tears
Dry eye happens when your eyes either do not produce enough tears or your tears evaporate too quickly.
If your tears evaporate rapidly, one of the 3 components of your tears may be to blame. Oil, water, and mucus make up tears, and each part has an important role to play in hydrating and protecting the eye.
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Water hydrates the eye, oil helps prevent the water from evaporating too quickly, and mucus spreads the tears over the entirety of the eye’s surface. A disruption in the balance of these 3 components can lead to dry eye.
If your eyes simply are not producing enough tears as a result of aging, environmental factors, or medications, you may experience dry eye disease symptoms.
Symptoms of Dry Eye Disease
If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms, you may be suffering from dry eye disease:
- Redness
- Watery eyes
- Stringy discharge
- Foreign body sensation
- Blurred vision
- Gritty, scratchy feeling
If symptoms are unbearable and you believe you are suffering from an eye emergency, please do not hesitate to call Dr. McCulley.
A New Approach to Supporting Your Eye Health
At McCulley Optix Gallery, we’re always looking for better ways to care for our patients’ eyes. We’re excited to now offer Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) as part of our specialty eye care services.
LLLT uses specific wavelengths of low-intensity light to stimulate cellular activity. This non-invasive treatment can support the health of the oil-producing glands in the eyelids for patients with certain forms of dry eye.
If your eyes feel dry, irritated, or uncomfortable, we want to understand what’s going on and build a treatment plan specifically for you.
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What Is Low Level Light Therapy?
LLLT relies on specific wavelengths of light to encourage cellular activity, with no needles, incisions, or medication involved.
The technology draws on decades of research on red and near-infrared light, and eye care providers have adapted it for their field. At McCulley Optix Gallery, we use LLLT as one part of a broader plan for managing dry eye.
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Dry Eye & Meibomian Gland Dysfunction
Healthy oil-producing glands along your eyelids help keep your tears from evaporating too quickly. When these meibomian glands get blocked or stop working properly, the tear film can turn unstable. That can leave your eyes dry, irritated, burning, watery, or fluctuating.
LLLT delivers gentle light and warmth to the treatment area and may support healthier gland function and oil flow.
For some patients, we may fold LLLT into a larger dry eye treatment plan that can include eyelid care, nutritional recommendations, and other therapies.
Could LLLT Be Right for You?
Dry Eye Symptoms
- Burning, gritty, or irritated eyes
- Eyes that feel tired or uncomfortable throughout the day
- Excessive watering
- Fluctuating or blurry vision
- Symptoms that are worse with reading, computer use, or screen time
- A history of meibomian gland dysfunction or blocked oil glands
Not everyone is a candidate for LLLT, so we start with a thorough evaluation of your eyes, your symptoms, and your history.
Our Approach Starts With Your Eyes
At McCulley Optix Gallery, we don’t treat every patient’s eyes the same way.
Before recommending LLLT, Dr. McCulley examines your eyes and talks with you about what you’ve been experiencing. Depending on your concerns, that may include a detailed look at your eyelids and tear film.
From there, we’ll decide whether LLLT makes sense and explain how it fits into your overall treatment plan.
We’d rather treat your eyes based on what they actually need than simply treat a diagnosis.
What Is an LLLT Treatment Like?
LLLT is painless. You’ll sit back in a reclining leather chair while the device delivers controlled light to the treatment area. A typical session takes about 15 minutes.
Most patients find it relaxing and notice mild warmth during treatment. Because it’s non-invasive, there are no needles, no incisions, and no required downtime, so you can go right back to your normal activities afterward.
Expect a series of treatments rather than a single session. Your treatment schedule will depend on your diagnosis, clinical findings, and how your eyes respond.
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Why We Look Past Symptoms
Dry eye can affect much more than your eyes. The discomfort can make reading, computer work, wearing contact lenses, or just getting through the day harder.
At McCulley Optix Gallery, we use advanced technology and take time with each patient to help you understand your eye health and your options. You should know what’s happening with your eyes and what we can do about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions patients often have about Low Level Light Therapy and dry eyes.
What causes dry eyes?
Dry eye has many possible causes. One of the most common is meibomian gland dysfunction, where blocked oil glands let tears evaporate too quickly. Age, screen time, hormonal changes, certain medications, and contact lens wear can also contribute.
How to cure dry eyes permanently?
There’s no single permanent cure for dry eye. LLLT may improve meibomian gland function, and it’s often one piece of a broader treatment plan built around the underlying causes of your symptoms.
Can dry eyes cause blurry vision?
Yes. An unstable tear film can make your vision blur or fluctuate, and it often clears when you blink. If blurriness lingers, Dr. McCulley can check whether dry eye or another condition is the cause.
Does low level light therapy hurt?
No. LLLT is non-invasive and doesn’t involve needles or incisions. Most patients feel gentle warmth during the 15-minute session.
How many sessions of low level light therapy will I need?
That depends on your diagnosis and how your eyes respond, which shapes both the number and frequency of sessions. Dr. McCulley will recommend a plan based on your clinical findings.
Is low level light therapy safe?
LLLT has a strong safety profile and is non-invasive. As with any treatment, Dr. McCulley will first check whether you’re a good candidate.
How is low level light therapy different from other light-based treatments?
LLLT stimulates cellular activity using low-intensity light that’s non-thermal. Intense pulsed light (IPL), which shows up in some dry eye treatment plans, relies on pulses of light that generate heat. Depending on your diagnosis and needs, one or both may be appropriate for you.
Lid Revive: Keeping Your Eyelids Healthy
A condition commonly associated with dry eye symptoms is blepharitis, an issue that can cause inflammation in your eyelids. Alongside common dry eye symptoms, it can also cause crusty, dandruff-like skin flakes on the edges of your eyelid.
It typically develops when there is too much bacteria on the edges of your eyelids, or if you have meibomian gland dysfunction. To help address these symptoms, our team can offer BlephEx treatments to help clean the edges of your eyelid and remove bacteria.
How does lid revive work?
BlephEx is an in-office treatment that uses a small spinning sponge to gently clean and exfoliate your eyelids. In just a few minutes, BlephEx technology can remove bacteria from your eyelids and promote healthy tear production.
Does lid revive hurt?
Some patients experience a slight tickling sensation during their BlephEx treatment, but we can place a numbing drop into each eye to help provide you with additional comfort.
Is lid revive right for me?
Before we can recommend BlephEx treatments, we will need to examine your eyes and determine the cause of your discomfort. In some cases, we may recommend BlephEx treatments alongside eyelid hygiene routines at home to help keep your eyes healthy and comfortable.
For some patients, we may recommend routine BlephEx treatments to help maintain your eye comfort while living with chronic dry eye.
Start Your Dry Eye Therapy Today
Relief for dry eye disease is available with dry eye therapy. There is a broad range of treatments that we will tailor to your specific circumstances.
If you’re dealing with persistent dry eye symptoms, you don’t have to figure out your options on your own.
Dr. Melissa McCulley and the team at McCulley Optix Gallery can help you understand your eyes and put together a plan that’s right for you. Schedule your consultation with McCulley Optix Gallery by calling 701-373-2020.
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