Watching TV dramas during the Spring Festival is fun, but will you suffer from dry and itchy eyes after the festival? Come and check out the "First Aid Guide"!

Many of our friends regard the Spring Festival as a great opportunity to "recuperate". They want to catch up on the dramas they missed, play the games they didn't have time to play all at once, grab red envelopes all night long until the early morning, and drink carbonated and alcoholic beverages. Isn't it too comfortable!

Little do you know that if you overuse your eyes for a long time, dry eyes may sneak up on you!

01. Why does dry eye syndrome occur?

According to the "Chinese Dry Eye Expert Consensus (2020)", the number of dry eye patients in China has exceeded 360 million, and on average one in every four people suffers from dry eye .

Dry eyes is a general term for a variety of diseases caused by abnormal tear quality, quantity or dynamics, which leads to decreased tear film stability and is accompanied by eye discomfort or ocular surface tissue lesions.

Once you have dry eyes, you cannot just use eye drops to relieve or improve the symptoms. The reason is that the tear film is divided into three layers, and problems in any layer may cause dry eyes. There are many types of dry eyes, so accurate classification and treatment are important.

According to experts , about 70% of dry eye patients suffer from lipid dysregulation dry eye [1]. The main cause of the disease is meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) [2]. In other words, dry eyes are more likely to be caused by "lack of oil" rather than "lack of water".

The meibomian glands are located in the eyelids between the upper and lower eyelids. They look like bunches of small grapes and have openings at the eyelid margins. Their function is to secrete meibum , which prevents tears from evaporating and keeps the eyes moist .

Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) will reduce the quantity or quality of meibum, which cannot effectively "moisturize" the eyes. The eyes are prone to dryness, foreign body sensation, increased secretions and other discomforts, thus causing dry eyes. Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is not an old age disease, it is also common in young people and even children.

02. How to treat dry eyes?

The biggest misunderstanding about dry eyes is that dry eyes mean "lack of water" in the eyes. Many people choose to buy eye drops on their own, which is a wrong behavior. Some eye drops may contain preservatives. Unauthorized use will not only fail to "cure" dry eyes, but may also cause damage to the ocular surface.

1. Treatment of the cause: stop wearing contact lenses, stop taking unnecessary medications, improve sleep, control allergic conjunctivitis, etc.

2. Drug treatment: Use artificial tears, antibiotics, glucocorticoids, etc. as prescribed by the doctor.

3. Physical therapy:

LipiFlow Meibomian Gland Thermal Pulsation Treatment

Treatment principle: for mild to moderate dry eyes.

▶ Use disposable sterile treatment tip;

▶ Heat the inside of the eyelid to 42.5℃ and massage the outside of the eyelid;

▶ The whole instrument is controlled by standard, and the vector thermal pulsation (VTP) technology ensures constant temperature heating and pulse pressure massage to improve and restore the function of the meibomian glands.

Optimizing Intense Pulsed Light (OPT) Therapy

Treatment principle: Targeted at mild, moderate and severe dry eyes, mite-related dry eyes and inflammatory dry eyes.

▶ A treatment plan that focuses on optimizing pulsed light and combines mist fumigation, meibomian gland massage, and cold compress.

▶ Through intense pulsed light waves, the meibomian glands are heated deeply through the skin, dissolving old and stubborn meibum, and promoting the discharge of meibum through massage, so as to dredge the meibomian glands and relieve dry eyes;

▶ Block capillaries, reduce the amount of microorganisms and mites on the eyelid margin, activate cells, and revive the function of the meibomian glands.

General physiotherapy——Eye SPA

Treatment principle: For mild dry eyes.

▶ Physical hot compress to dissolve meibum;

▶ Clean the eyelid margin and assist with manual massage to unclog the meibomian glands to a limited extent.

Deep cleaning of eyelid margin

Treatment principle: Targeted at patients with Demodex blepharitis, patients undergoing eye surgery (before surgery), patients who wear contact lenses for a long time with chronic inflammation, and people who frequently wear eye makeup (mascara, eyeliner, etc.).

▶ The electric sponge brush head rotates at high speed and is combined with a special eyelid cleaning cotton pad to directly attack eyelid pathogenic microorganisms and destroy their biofilm;

▶ Remove secretions, scabs, oils, etc. from the eyelids and eyelash roots to keep the eyes clean and hygienic, and prevent and treat eye diseases.

Doctors remind that the above recommended dry eye treatment methods are personalized treatment plans, which are formulated according to the different conditions of each patient. The above methods can be combined or used alone, depending on the patient's condition!

References:

【1】Expert consensus group on the clinical application of intense pulsed light for dry eye, and the dry eye rehabilitation professional group of the Visual Rehabilitation Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association. Expert consensus on intense pulsed light treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction and related dry eye (2022)[J]. Chinese Journal of Experimental Ophthalmology, 2022, 40(2): 97-103. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn115989-20211015-00563.

【2】 Lemp Michael A, Crews Leslie A, BronAnthony J et al. Distribution of aqueous-deficient and evaporative dry eye in aclinic-based patient cohort: aretrospective study.[J] .Cornea, 2012, 31: 472-8.