Visionary DEC – Visionary Dry Eye Clinic

Welcome to the Visionary Dry Eye Clinic!

Restore and rejuvenate those red, tired eyes with one of several treatments available at Visionary Eye Care.

At Visionary, we can do more than diagnose your dry eye, give you drops, and hope for the best. We have upgraded to the most advanced technology for diagnosis and treatment in order to provide you with relief, quickly and effectively.

Some of our treatments include:

FRESHKOTE

Freshkote is an over the counter, preservative-free eye drop available at our offices for purchase. Freshkote is, in our opinion, the only OTC drop that helps stabilize all three layers of the tear film, helping to maintain the integrity of the corneal epithelium (outermost layer). The drop has a high oncotic pressure, which allows it to draw excess, unwanted fluid from the epithelial cells. Our Visionary docs agree this is the only non-prescription drop that seems truly effective at treating mild to moderate cases of dry eye, and it can be used with or without contact lenses!

EZ TEARS

This is a non-prescription oral nutritional supplement packed with several dry eye fighting agents, also available for purchase at Visionary. It is taken once or twice daily with meals, and often improves tear function within just a few weeks. Some key ingredients include high quality fish oil, which provides both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, as well as EPA/DHA, Vitamins A, D, E, evening primrose oil, and turmeric root and green tea extracts. More information about this great product can be found at eyepromise.com.

EYELID SCRUBS AND EYELID FOAM (made by Ocusoft)

Our lid scrubs and lid foam options are a great way to clean and soothe the lids and lashes with a pre-packaged “wetnap” for the skin surface. This is a step beyond using just baby shampoo, with hypochlorous acid as the active ingredient. This acid is naturally produced by our own immune cells and helps to kill bacteria, as well as remove debris and excess oils from the eyelid margin.

MOIST HEAT COMPRESSES (made by Bruder)

The Visionary docs agree this is the most effective way to do an at-home heat compress on the eye, and it’s a staff and customer favorite. All you need is a microwave to make it work! After 15-20 seconds of heating, the product is fit around the head like a sleeping mask, where it delivers consistent, therapeutic heat to the eyelids. This allows blockages in the meibomian (oil secreting) glands of the eyelids to be cleared, allowing for more natural oil flow back over the surface of the eye. These masks are safe for reuse for up to six months and are washable, anti-bacterial, and non-allergenic.

These treatments are effective and low maintenance, but we also have some of the most technologically advanced diagnosis and treatment equipment for Dry Eye anywhere.

MEIBOX/TEAR CARE SYSTEM

VEC is very excited to offer a new therapeutic procedure for our patients suffering from dry eye symptoms due to meibomian gland dysfunction (aka MGD). Meibomian glands are vertically oriented oil glands that run the length of the upper and lower eyelids, totaling 40-50 on each eye. With each blink, they release oil to coat and protect the ocular surface. With our new meibographer, we can now create high resolution images of these glands that both the doctor and patient can view together on a computer screen.

Hardly a day goes by in our clinics where we do not encounter a patient with MGD. We are now one of only a handful of offices in Chicago to offer treatment beyond just warm compresses with our brand new Tear Care system. This

15-30 minute procedure can be compared to completing six months of warm compresses in one session!

TEAR LAB OSMOMETER

The Tear Lab Osometer is one of only a few devices available that measures tear osmolarity, which is a measurement of solid particles in a solution. For our purposes we are measuring the concentration of salts in the tears. Several dry eye studies have shown the higher the osmolarity readings, the higher the rate of outer layer cell damage and death, which triggers a cycle of inflammation. This inflammation is understood to be the root cause of much ocular surface and dry eye disease. Periodic osmolarity readings are a great tool to track a patient’s progress.

PUNCTAL PLUGS

These are temporary or semi-permanent devices inserted into the tear ducts for the treatment of dry eyes, especially if you are not naturally producing enough tears.These tiny plugs are inserted in our office and stop fluid from draining, allowing for your tears to stay on the surface of your eyes longer, increasing moisture and comfort. These plugs can stay in your tear ducts for several days to months depending on the type, and are a great treatment option if eye drops are not working or become difficult to use.

AMNIOTIC MEMBRANES

PROKERA (by Biotissue) is an amniotic membrane, approved by the FDA, that applies like a contact lens and acts as a corneal bandage for the eye. The membrane treats inflammation and scarring from a number of ocular surface diseases, including Dry Eye. These are biologic, corneal bandage devices that are used to treat many different types of corneal and ocular surface disease, including severe cases of dry eye. The devices from Prokera are composed of frozen rings of amniotic membrane that look like a large, opaque contact lens. These membranes have natural properties that help the damaged surface of the eye recover. The membrane is placed on the eye for a number of days, dissolving slowly as it heals damaged tissue.

SCLERAL CONTACT LENSES

These specialty contact lenses are used to provide clear vision for patients suffering from different corneal diseases, but they are also useful as a treatment for dry eye. More traditional soft contact lenses can exacerbate dryness by soaking up a large portion of the tears from the surface of the eye, and rigid gas permeable contact lenses might feel uncomfortable for many patients because they rest directly against the cornea. Scleral contact lenses are different because they rest on the sclera (the white part of the eye). They vault over the entire cornea, protecting the surface and allowing for a large reservoir of nourishing and protective tears to form between the eye and the contact lens. This acts as a cushion and can provide relief to dry eye sufferers.

PRESCRIPTION DROPS AND NASAL SPRAYS

There are several options in prescription only eye drops to help treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye, and just very recently, the first nasal spray was approved by the FDA. All these medications work in different ways, but they all in some fashion help to promote natural tear production by different glands of the eye and eyelids, or block the cycle of inflammation that we know to be the root cause of much dry eye.

If you’re suffering from Dry Eye, VDEC has you covered. Make your appointment today!