News4Jax Describes BlephEx Dry Eye Treatment as a ‘Spa Day’ for Your Eyes
Did you know that dry eyes can be a symptom of menopause? That’s what the women of River City Live and the Uncluttered and Unfiltered Podcast learned while discussing their own discomfort with Florida Eye Specialists dry eye expert Dr. Kimberly Riordan.
Watch now for Dr. Riordan’s practical advice on managing dry eye. Plus, see renowned podcaster and expert organizer, Christine Stone, undergo a Blephex treatment. This procedure is designed to clean and exfoliate the eyelids, helping oil glands function more effectively and better lubricate the eyes.
Watch Dr. Riordan Explain BlephEx Dry Eye Treatment
Read the full article from News4Jax.
Schedule Dry Eye Treatment With Florida Eye Specialists
Ready to find relief from dry eye? Schedule an appointment with Dr. Kimberly Riordan at our Dry Eye Center in Jacksonville, FL to create a personalized treatment plan. Alternatively, you can visit one of our specialists in Fernandina Beach, St. Augustine, Palm Coast, or Ormond Beach.
Video Transcript
Once you start using your phone as a magnifying glass to read labels, or as a flashlight to see the dinner menu, you’ve probably also noticed a lot of this: dry, irritated eyes are one of the challenges of aging. In fact, it can be a symptom of menopause. It affects our whole body, and our eyes are no exception — it’s all connected. When it comes to dry eyes, the eyelids have what are called meibomian glands, and they produce the oil for the tear film; they are driven by sex hormones. When Dr. Kimberly Riordan, a Florida Eye Specialists doctor, joined us on the Uncluttered and Unfiltered podcast, she explained that while dry eyes may be inevitable, there are a number of ways to combat them — like limiting screen time on your computer or phone, taking a lot of breaks, avoiding invasive makeup practices like tightlining, and staying well hydrated. She also told us about different drops and procedures that can help, including micro-blepharo-exfoliation, which is a big term for basically cleaning the eyelids.
‘What it’s going to do is help exfoliate and clean away normal bacteria buildup and makeup. We think we get it all off — you’ll be amazed; sometimes you look at the tip and it’s like, oh, there’s makeup on there.’ Christine was all in and immediately made an appointment. ‘It helps to clean away, but also really exfoliates the opening of the meibomian glands — those oil glands, like we talked about so much on the podcast, which are vital. So this is kind of step one in treatment.’ By the way, I probably have 30 years of makeup built up in there, so I’m excited to try it — I’m hopeful.
So here we are in San Marco. Now, I don’t always pop in on my friends’ doctor’s appointments, but when I do, I bring a camera crew. ‘Are you doing okay?’ It tickles. ‘I know, and when I get towards the nose it’s so tickly. You’re doing great — I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you’re doing great. When we have a really bad blepharitis, we can see a lot of buildup at the base of the lashes, and that’s where I can literally see chunks of stuff coming off. But you are not that bad, so I don’t see that. Even so far, I just did the upper, and you can see some makeup on there, even though I thought I got it all. Now let’s see what it looks like after we do the lower.’ Okay, it tickles. And I do feel like when I blink it feels better. ‘Yeah, I have patients say that their eyes feel lighter. So now I’m just going to go across the lower lids, and what I’m doing is just gently pushing and seeing what’s coming out of the meibomian glands.’
We know that dry eye is very prevalent and very common in women over 50. What I want to let you know is: you don’t have to suffer. It’s not something that’s normal, that you just push through. If you’re having symptoms, reach out to your eye care professional or a dry eye specialist, because there’s a plethora of treatment options out there — we just have to find out what works for you, and really what’s the root cause of your dryness. You can find our full episode with Dr. Riordan at UnclutteredAndUnfiltered.com.
