Dry eye disease has been a hot topic over the past year as we have all spent countless hours glued to screens of all shapes and sizes. Dr. Gorecki introduced this topic in his previous blog post (https://waterdownoptometric.ca/dry-eye-syndrome-101/). As he discussed, dry eye symptoms are often exacerbated by time in front of a screen due to reduced blinking. This stimulates a cascade of events including decreased oil production in our tears and subsequent inflammation in the eye. As a result the tear film gets thinner and unstable. This leads to symptoms of tearing, burning, redness, irritation and intermittent blur.
Waterdown Eye Spa at Waterdown Optometric Clinic is now offering an in-office treatment to help these blocked oil glands (formally known as the meibomian glands) and, in turn, prevent dry eye symptoms – while reducing wrinkles! Our TempSure Envi device delivers radio frequency (RF) energy to generate heat in the meibomian glands of the eyelids. This stimulates oil production and regeneration of the glands.
You may be wondering how exactly this works. Just like butter is solid at room temperature, the oil in our meibomian glands can become solid as well and actually clog the gland. This leads to the glands shrinking and eventually losing function altogether. By applying heat to the glands we are able to stimulate small cells within the oil glands called fibroblasts. Fibroblasts rebuild the existing oil glands, while melting the stick of butter in the gland to unclog it. With better functioning meibomian glands, tears stay on the eye longer; this reduces inflammation and dry eye symptoms.
Another fantastic advantage of RF is its ability to naturally treat wrinkles, baggy eyes and even provide the option of a non-surgical lid lift. The treatment stimulates collagen growth in the tissue to which RF is applied resulting in smoother, glowing skin! Who wouldn’t want that?
The TempSure Envi treatment is available to all patients or non-patients, whether it is for skin tightening or for dry eye disease. Our medical aesthetician, Amra, is offering free consultations to answer any questions or discuss the treatment. She can be reached at waterdowneyespa@gmail.com to set up a free consult.
We’re so excited for you to experience the benefits of radio frequency!
Dr. Gabrielle Gilbert PS. Learn more about the Tempsure Envi on our website: https://waterdownoptometric.ca/tempsure/
