What happens if you don't treat dry eye? 👁

If you've been told you have dry eye, you may be wondering, "Is it really that big of a deal? What if I just keep doing what I'm doing since it's not affecting me right now?" 👀
Let's break it down... the tough thing about dry eye is that in the early stages, you may not really feel much of an affect on your daily life. The problem is the damage that is happening starts to accumulate and before you know it you are so far down the path of the disease that not only is your comfort severely affected but your vision is at risk too!
Blepharitis (or meibomian gland dysfunction) is caused by inflammation and obstruction of the meibomian glands in your eyelids. These glands secrete oil which mixes with your tears and keeps them from evaporating too quickly so your eyes stay wet. When these glands stop functioning properly you start experiencing dry eye symptoms: itchy, irritated, and burning eyes, inflamed eyelids, uncomfortable contact lens wear, etc.
If the meibomian glands are left untreated, they eventually die which is called "drop out". Once your glands are gone, they don't come back and that leaves you without a source of oil for your tear film. This makes things extremely painful and can cause vision problems.
Treatment starts with home remedies such as warm compresses and lid scrubs. These options help treat some of the external inflammation and obstruction but do not touch the internal inflammation. That's where in-office treatments like Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) come in to play. These treatments use photobiomodulation to basically give your cells a tuneup so they work properly and inflammation is decreased. (Check out this video for more info on these treatments: • Best way to treat dry eye )
Long story short, dry eye is not something to mess with. If you are showing any signs of it, start taking steps NOW to treat it before it gets bad and irreversible.
My goal is to enhance your overall quality of life by improving and preserving your current level of #vision, preventing blindness and promoting your best #eyehealth 👀.
Family Vision Optical
6101 Lake Michigan Drive
Ste. B-700
Allendale, MI 49401
Phone: [phone]
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[@somuprety4398]

dr loss meibomian gland recover again?

[@familyvisionoptical]

So this is a slightly gray area. If a gland is gone and drops out, it is gone. period. That being said, the technology (meibography) that we have to actually view the internal structure of the gland may not be sensitive enough to show the residual structure of an almost completely "dead" gland. So we have seen cases where after IPL or some RF treatments where glands appear to come back. It is my contention, there was always something there, we just could not see it in its most dire state. Does that make sense?

[@ralphlewis5663]

1:25

[@familyvisionoptical]

Oxidative stress is no joke! We must stop the cascade and reduce inflammation!

[@JeanCowell-tl1qd]

Dry eyes

[@familyvisionoptical]

They are the worst! 👁️

[@enasutherland8735]

😂❤

[@familyvisionoptical]

We appreciate the comment! 🙌 Let us know if there are any dry eye questions you’d like answered!