More on Germs
Segment 9
How much are our Meibomian Glands like our teeth?
Quite a bit it turns out! Remember that germs like food as much as we like food and since we put food in our mouths, they hang out there and on our teeth. To make a favorable footing to thrive there, they create plaque - a sticky biofilm. More plaque allows more germs and then more damage to our teeth and gums. Well, germs on our lids make plaque too, just like those on our teeth. They damage our lids, lashes and the glands making our tears. Just like we go to the dentist and get our teeth cleaned, we now can go to the dry specialist and get our lids and lash’s cleaned of plaque. Several systems now exist to do this. At eyeThera we favor BlephEx (I like a hybrid “Zest” treatment with ZocuShield gel.) This video will help explain more about the standard BlephEx treatment:
NOTE this is a short video I did using a thermaShield to do a BlephEx lid hygiene treatment on a patient who had a previous BlephEx treatment without the shield. As I do the treatment, I ask him for his feedback and allow you to see the treatment as it unfolds. The actual treatment time is around 5 minutes longer (fully treating all 4 eyelids), so I’ve shortened the video to show the highlights. Following these upper and lower lid treatments, there is an animated video by the BlephEx company that helps to explain why we recommend this treatment - and what it is meant to accomplish for our dry eye patients.
I should note that the shield shown in the first video is a shield that I helped design - specifically for this problem (and for a radio frequency treatment over lids that I will discuss in a future posting), where it helps to keep much of the soapy solution out of direct contact with the eyeball. At the same time, it provides a better platform for the hygienist to more actively clean the lid margin’s and to help the patient relax and not squeeze in a way that would prevent a good treatment .
The second video does a great job of explaining the blepharitis problem and the nature of the treatment - but would make you believe that this simple treatment fixes everything - and that is only partially and generally true. It is a great starting point for treating blepharitis, which is almost universal among dry suffers, but just like a dentist cleans and examines your teeth - sometimes more is required. For instance, if you have cavities or broken teeth, then that gets fixed too. The Dentist also sends you home after your cleaning with instructions to floss, brush and gently care for your teeth with what would be called good “dental hygiene.“ Well at eyeThera we promote “lid hygiene “ using products like Avenova, a dilute form of pure hypochlorous acid as well as Okra (as ZocuWipes) or Tea-tree-oil-based products like BioTissue’s Cliradex, as well as the more mild, foaming face wash made by eyeeco, with natural botanical cleansers and a small percent of tea tree oil. (More on these specific products and my protocols in the next segment!)