If you experience symptoms including dryness, grittiness, soreness, irritation, burning and eye fatigue, you may be one of more than 100 million people worldwide who suffer from dry eye syndrome. 65% of these people have a specific condition known as Evaporative Dry Eye Disease, a condition Gainesville Eye Physicians can now treat with an innovative new treatment option called LipiFlow.

Evaporative Dry Eye Disease isn’t just uncomfortable; it can cause serious vision impairment. Symptoms result from an insufficient quantity of oily lipids in tears. These lipids normally create a film over the eyes that prevents tears from evaporating and, thus, keep eyes well lubricated. When these lipids are not present in high enough concentrations, people lose the protective layer, resulting in pain.

The cause of this deficiency stems from blocked glands along the rim of the eyelid known as meibomiam glands. Traditional dry eye treatments – warm compresses, over- the-counter wetting drops and ointments and prescription drugs – treat the symptoms, but fail to address the root cause of Evaporative Dry Eye Disease.

LipiFlow, unlike historical treatments, unblocks meibomiam glands, allowing them to resume normal oil secretion and produce a healthy lipid layer.

An in-office treatment, LipiFlow is proven to provide exceptional results for most patients. In studies, four weeks following the procedure, researchers observed two to three times more meibomian gland output in patients treated using LipiFlow. During that same time, 79% of patients reported improvement in their dry eye symptoms.

Gainesville Eye Physicians is among the first eye care practices in North Central Florida to offer this exciting treatment option. If you have been diagnosed with Evaporative Dry Eye Syndrome, or have dry eye symptoms, contact Gainesville Eye Physicians today and ask about LipiFlow.