THE IMPORTANCE OF BLINKING
We don’t often pay attention to our blinking habits throughout the day. But, whether we realise it or not, blinking is vitally important to our eye health.
The average adult blinks between 10 and 20 times per minute. Even though a blink only takes one tenth of a second, all those blinks add up to about 10 percent of our waking life! So, what’s so important about blinking that we need to miss out on 10 percent of everything that’s happening right in front of us?
BLINKING HABITS AND TIPS
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Blinking nourishes and lubricates our eyes: Blinking is necessary to clean and moisturise our eyes. Each time we blink, a thin layer of tears is spread across the eye surface, keeping them from drying out as well as brushing away any small particles of dust or dirt that could otherwise irritate our eyes or impair our vision.
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When we focus, we blink a lot less: Did you know that the number of times we blink decreases drastically when we are focused on something? On average we only blink three to eight times per minute when reading, watching TV, listening to a podcast, working on a computer, or another activity that requires intense focus. That’s roughly 60 percent less than our normal rate of blinking! This lack of blinking over time can lead to eyestrain and dry eyes.
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Blinking exercises can relieve strain and help dry eyes: For the most part, we may not realise when we’re blinking. However, making a conscious effort to blink more often during high focus activities can do our eyes a world of good.
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Make it a habit to close your eyes when you are thinking or doing something that doesn’t require your vision. Set reminders for yourself to do a blinking exercise every hour during periods of focus. One good exercise that will leave your eyes feeling fresher is to simply close your eyes and pause, squeeze them for a moment, open them and relax.
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A lot happens in the blink of an eye: The mechanism of our eyes is incredible - different types of tears along with multiple oil-producing sebaceous glands work together all day to nourish and protect our eyes. Truly, a lot happens in the blink of an eye!
MANAGING DRY EYE: TREATMENT OPTIONS
If you suffer from dry eyes, there are a number of treatment options.
In recent years, numerous advances have been made in relation to dry-eye diagnostic markers, technologies and other treatment options. Each dry eye has a very different mode of treatment: purely palliative, to replace or conserve patient tears, or to improve symptoms and ocular comfort but not necessarily to treat the underlying disease process.
ADDITIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR SEVERE DRY EYE
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Punctal plugs: The most common non-pharmaceutical therapy for dry eye disease is "lacrimal drainage occlusion". A recent review stated that punctal plugs may have a place in dry eye. A key improvement in aqueous-deficient dry eye is plugging of the lacrimal duct or providing a long-lasting non preserved tear supplement.
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Intense Pulsed Light treatment: The newest and least invasive of all treatments, now available with us after significant investment. This treatment wakes up the glands and nerve control to improve the functioning of the Meibomian glands, which are a major cause of dry eyes.
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Meibomian gland expression: Special forceps can be used to help unclog the blocked oil producing glands that provide the oily part to the tear layer. This massaging effect has the advantage of providing measurable relief and often needs to be repeated periodically in the clinic to keep the eyes comfortable.
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Anti-inflammatory treatment of dry eye: The use of corticosteroids in dry eye disease has been well documented, with some studies reporting moderate to complete relief of symptoms with this treatment (Alves et al. 2013). Cyclosporine 0.5% emulsion eye drops have also been shown to be beneficial and can be used long-term, unlike steroid eyedrops.
DRY EYES IPL TREATMENT
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The dry-eye syndrome is a common pathology affecting - depending on the areas - between 5 to 15% of the population with symptoms increasing with age. Conditions of a modern lifestyle (including working on computer screens, driving cars, artificial lights, air pollution, wearing eye contact lenses...) make dry-eye syndrome a more and more frequent nuisance.
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Generally speaking, dry-eye conditions are a result of a lacrimal layer issue, either caused by insufficient tears or an excessive evaporation.
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It is recognised that a large majority of cases are caused by the evaporation form, mainly due to an insufficiency of the external lipid layer of the lacrimal film secreted by the meibomian glands.
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The lacrimal film, necessary to the eye function, is made of 3 layers:
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The mucous layer, in contact with the ocular globe, secreted by the conjonctival mucous cells.
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The aqueous layer, secreted by lacrymal glands.
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The lipid layer, secreted by meibomian glands.
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There are 80 meibomian cells located on the upper and lower eyelids.
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These cells produce a fat phase, avoiding tear evaporation, adapting the tears to the irregularities of the eye surface and a perfectly convex dioptre.
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Lipids are made of polarised fat acids. Their fluidity is ensured by the body temperature. They are non- polarised on the surface, giving the stability of the lacrymal fluid and allowing the lubrification of the palpebral conjonctival plan. The contraction of the Riolan muscle allows the lacrimal film to spread out.
HOW IPL STOPS THE DRY EYE CYCLE OF INFLAMMATION
REDUCE INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS
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Decrease the level of pro-inflammatory mediators to inhibit inflammation.
IMPROVE TEAR BREAKUP TIME
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Significantly boost tear break up time and decrease osmolarity.
ALLEVIATE ABNORMAL BLOOD VESSELS
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Destroy the abnormal blood vessels that perpetuate inflammation.
RESTORE MEIBOMIAN GLANDS
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Improve Meibomian gland morphology and functionality.
DECREASE DEMODEX
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Decrease the population of Demodex mites, which stimulate infection and boost the bacterial load on eyelids