Are you frequently bothered by irritated, burning eyes? There is a good chance you have chronic dry eye, a common condition that affects eyes that are unable to sufficiently lubricate themselves, either because of poor quality tears or inadequate tear production. Dr. Brian Boxer-Wachler has treated dry eye throughout his career with treatments he pioneered, which has helped patients like you to lower their incidence of eye discomfort. Below, he shares some of the reasons dry eye occurs.
Potential Causes of Dry Eye
Environmental and lifestyle factors linked to dry eye include:
- Living in a dry climate
- Artificial temperature exposure (indoor heating/air conditioning)
- Wind exposure
- Staring at digital screens for too long
- Smoke
- Wearing contact lenses
- Wearing eye makeup
Medical/biological reasons for dry eye include:
- Teardrops evaporate prematurely
- Old(er) age
- Allergies
- Eyelid inflammation
- Medication use (such as antihistamines and antidepressants)
- Hormonal changes (often coinciding with menopause or pregnancy)
- Autoimmune disorders like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis
Treatment Options
Dry eye can often be the culmination of multiple factors rather than a single cause. While making certain lifestyle and environmental changes could improve your eye health, you may need treatment to get the relief you seek. The first step is usually to try eye drops to hydrate your eyes. Medicated (prescription) eye drops may be necessary to stimulate extra tear production or calm corneal inflammation.
If eye drops are not effective enough, Dr. Brian often recommends LipiFlow when indicated. This thermal pulsation system uses heat and pressure to unclog the inflamed oil glands (meibomian glands) along the eyelids. Many of Dr. Brian’s patients compare this 12-minute, gentle Lipiflow procedure to a spa treatment — no pain involved.
He then prescribes a specialized cream for the eyelids that contain testosterone, which he invented. Harvard medical school discovered testosterone hormone receptors in the meibomian glands. Dr Brian found it’s important to provide this hormone in an eyelid cream to help prevent inflammation in the glands from recurring. Once these glands have been flushed out and provided testosterone, your eyes can resume normal tear production, with higher quality tears that do not evaporate too quickly.
The combination of these Lipiflow and testosterone treatments has been found effective in 96% of Dr. Brian’s dry eye patients.
Schedule a Consultation
Dry eye is irritating, but it is not a condition that you must put up with forever. Dry eye is treatable in almost all cases, so why tolerate it for any longer? To learn more about LipiFlow, testosterone cream, and all your dry eye treatment options, please schedule a consultation at the Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills. Call 1-310-860-1900, text 424-245-0171 or email info@boxerwachler.com or submit a form to request a consultation today.
