Effective Dry Eye Treatments in Calgary

Topical medication, or eye drops, may be recommended depending on the cause of your condition. In addition to artificial tears, we offer a wide variety of prescription eye drops that can help reduce your dry eye symptoms. Eye drops we typically recommend include:

• Topical immunomodulators. These drops help reduce inflammation.
• Topical steroids. These drops are applied to help reduce inflammation on the eyelid margins and the ocular surface.
• Topical antibiotics. These drops are used to reduce redness and irritation caused by bacteria.
• Topical mucolytics. These drops are used to break up mucus or debris found on the ocular surface. These eye drops are generally used in moderate to severe dry eye situations.
• Topical blepharitis treatment. These treatments are used to manage blepharitis and demodex mites on the eyelid margins and lashes.
• Autologous serum tears. These drops are developed using serum from the patient’s own blood that provides healing properties to the patient’s ocular surface, reducing inflammation.
• Platelet-rich plasma. Like autologous serum tears, these drops are developed from the patient’s blood, helping to promote healing and growth factors on the ocular surface.

Vector Eye Centre also offers a variety of oral medications that can be taken to help treat the symptoms of dry eyes. Some of these medications include:

• Oral antibiotics. Antibiotics can help reduce the number of bacteria that could be causing dry eye symptoms.
• Oral steroids. Steroids help reduce the amount of inflammation that can be found on the ocular surface, eyelid margins, and periorbital areas.
• Oral secretagogues. Secretagogues help increase the number of aqueous tears that are a part of the tear film.

At home:

Thermal lid treatments can be performed at home to melt meibomian gland blockages and allow meibum to flow better. We may recommend using a heated eyelid mask and manual massage to melt and express meibum. Heat masks apply consistent heat for longer intervals than other types of warm compresses.

In-office:

In office treatments can alleviate inflammation caused by more severe cases of meibomian gland dysfunction. A combination of treatments may be recommended.

• LipiFlow. LipiFlow helps treat symptoms of meibomian gland dysfunction. It uses non-invasive heat pulses applied to the eyelids to help melt away blockages in the meibomian glands.
• MiboFlo. MiboFlo applies consistent heat to the meibomian glands to help treat meibomian gland dysfunction.
• Intense Pulsed Light Therapy. Intense pulsed light therapy (IPL) helps melt blockages caused by MGD using light instead of heat.
• Radiofrequency. Radiofrequency (RF) is used by your doctor to help relax and stimulate your skin’s fibroblasts.
• Blephex. BlephEx removes excess bacteria, biofilm, and bacterial toxins from the eyelids to achieve better lid hygiene.

Speak to an ophthalmologist to see if any of these treatments are right for you.

Vector Eye Centre is proud to offer a wide variety of surgical solutions to treat structural causes of dry eye disease. Surgical treatments offered by the caring hands of our ophthalmologists include:

• Meibomian gland probing. This is a procedure by which your ophthalmologist opens blocked meibomian glands. These glands are located across the eyelid margin and can be blocked due to meibomian gland dysfunction and blepharitis.
• Amniotic membrane transplantation. This is a surgical procedure where an amniotic membrane (a thin layer of the placenta) is used to help heal and revitalize your ocular surface. This procedure is used to help treat acute burns or conditions that can scar the cornea.
• Non-surgical temporary lid closure. This is a procedure that helps your eyes temporarily retain moisture needed to improve ocular healing.
• Surgical lid tightening. This is a surgical procedure that tightens your eyelids enough to generate secretion of the meibomian gland whenever you blink completely.
• Surgical lid repositioning. This is a surgical procedure where your eyelid is adjusted and positioned correctly to help the eyelid function properly.
• Conjunctival surgery. This is done to remove extra folds of conjunctiva to allow the tear film to better flow over your ocular surface.
• Pterygium surgery. This may be required when your ocular surface has benign growths or bumps. These growths can affect how well your natural tear film lubricates your ocular surface.

Are you having trouble with dry eyes in specific environments or while working on certain tasks?

Depending on your dry eye symptoms and severity, your ophthalmologist may recommend an expansive list of different habitual and environmental changes to help improve ocular comfort. Some of these recommendations may include:

• Using a humidifier at work or home
• Altering your blinking cycle (a conscious effort to blink regularly, completely, and consistently). This can help heal your ocular surface, remove debris, and prevent your tears from evaporating too quickly.
• Performing eyelid massages to help propel meibum onto your ocular surface. Your ophthalmologist will teach you how to perform the massage properly.

Speak to your ophthalmologist about what changes you can make in your life to achieve healthy and comfortable eyes.

Your diet can have a profound effect on how well your eyes produce tears and even the quality of the tears produced. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your ophthalmologist may recommend a dietary change to combat your symptoms of dry eye disease.

Foods high in essential nutrients, vitamins, omega-3s, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties can help with tear production or improve the health of your ocular surface.