Intense-pulsed light therapy, or IPL, is an innovative treatment that helps reduce inflammation and ease discomfort from dry eye disease. Your eye health relies on a consistent production of tears that nourish and hydrate your eyes. When your oil glands malfunction due to inflammation, you can develop dry, irritated eyes. At Watson Dry Eye Center, ophthalmologist Susan Watson, MD, offers IPL to decrease inflammation to restore glandular function. If you suffer from dry eyes and you’re located in the Raleigh, North Carolina, or surrounding Triangle area, call or email us at [email protected].
There are certain inflammatory skin conditions that can affect the health of your eyes, including ocular rosacea, which impedes the glands around your eyes from producing critical oils, leading to bacteria buildup. The symptoms of ocular rosacea include:
Ocular rosacea is almost always tied to the facial version of the disease, but some people develop the ocular version first.
While many of the symptoms of ocular rosacea are a matter of comfort, if left unchecked, the condition can cause more serious problems down the road, such as inflammation in your cornea.
As a specialist in dry eyes, Dr. Watson has researched every treatment option available and has chosen the most effective tools for most every situation. When it comes to ocular rosacea, she turned to the dermatology field to find the best treatments for this inflammatory skin condition and found that there’s been incredible success using a laser therapy known as intense pulsed light, or IPL.
IPL has been in use for many years to reduce or eliminate skin discolorations, such as brown spots, age spots, broken blood vessels, and rosacea. At Watson Dry Eye Center, the team uses the therapy to tackle ocular rosacea by delivering multiple wavelengths of light into the area to break up broken blood vessels.
The energy from the IPL constricts your blood vessels, while the heating effect works to open up your glands to promote better oil secretions for your tears.
Most patients experience immediate relief after just one treatment, but the team at Watson Dry Eye Center typically administers 3 to 6 treatments spaced several weeks apart for the very best results.
One of the greatest advantages of using light energy is that it passes harmlessly through your skin and is absorbed by your pigment and blood vessels below. You may feel a slight snapping sensation during the treatment, but the sensation is short-lived. The team is proud to offer patients the comfort of the Lumenis M22 device which delivers a cooling sensation so that any discomfort is minimized.
Rest assured, Dr. Watson and her team keep your comfort foremost in their minds with any treatment they administer, and IPL is no different.
To learn more about the innovative IPL therapy for inflammatory eye conditions, call Watson Dry Eye Center, or email us at [email protected] to book an appointment.