Dry Eyes

My Dry Eye Experience:  The most common cause of dry eyes you’ve probably never heard of and my go to solution.  By Dr. Hoshi

We’ve all had a time in our lives when we’ve felt dry eye symptoms like, burning, stinging, redness, blurry vision or just dry feeling eyes.  I’ve suffered those symptoms for over 15 years, which were even more magnified after LASIK and then again with hormonal changes after my kiddos were born.  My relief came when I cleaned up my meibomian glands.  Yes, meibomian glands, the most common cause of dry eyes that you’ve probably never heard of. 

What’s a meibomian gland? They are small oil glands that are found inside of both your lower and upper eyelids.  When you blink, the physical touching of your eyelids secrete the oils from the meibomian glands and help keep your eyes nice and moist.  Basically, creating an oil layer on the surface of your tears so they don’t evaporate too quickly.

What’s the problem?
Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).  Imagine a hardened stick of butter trying to squeeze out of a small pin-sized hole.  

What’s the solution?
My solution came in the form of cleaning up my meibomian glands. Starting with a deep clean.  Just like your dentist performs a deep clean of your teeth every 6 months, my meibomian glands needed a jump start with the Mibo Thermoflo Therapy.

For my first treatment, I decided to only have one eye treated so I could feel the difference between my two eyes and and compare how my eyes would feel and for how long.  My treated eyelids felt slick and smooth, as they glided over my eye!  I was honestly surprised at this feeling since my current dry eye condition had became my new norm like my untreated eye.  My untreated eye felt scratchy, like friction created when dry skin is rubbed against smooth silk.  The comparison between my two eyes magnified my dry eye condition and demonstrated the effectiveness of the therapy.  This feeling lasted for about 1 week, with the first few days feeling the most different between my two eyes and each day becoming more similar.

For my second treatment, I couldn’t wait for both eyes to feel that smooth slick gliding sensation over my eyes.  The most notable difference was my blinking.  I didn’t realize how often I was blinking to recoat my eyes with tears until I didn’t have to!  I was able to keep my eyes open longer and didn’t have to do those hard blinks and roll my eyes around to lubricate them. 

How often do you brush and floss your teeth?  I really hope it’s at least once a day!  Ours eyes need just as much attention as our teeth.  

Recommended Daily Routine and my current favorite products:
Lid cleanser:  OCuSoft Lid Scrub Original Foaming Cleanser, easiest step for me since I leave it in my bathroom and add to my shower routine.
Hot compresses: Bruder Moist Heat Compress - retains heat really well and fits nicely on my eye to treat my whole eyelid area.
Omega 3:  ProOmega2000 - High quality and actually easy to take because no fish burps! I give the liquid form to my kids.

Our office created a Dry Eye Kit that includes all the above products to make starting your home therapy easy.  We also want to make sure you’re using the right quality products so you can get the relief your eyes need.  Dry eyes is a chronic issue, there is no magic eye drop or pill that will cure it.  You need a plan to manage your dry eye condition.  As technology advances and products are improved, I will continue research and test different products and update you about my dry eye journey.