Eyelid microexfoliation: a new treatment for blepharitis and dry eye

02/05/2017

Blepharitis is inflammation or infection of the edge of the eyelids, which causes red eyelids and swelling. It affects the eyelid margin and specifically the eyelash follicles and glands located between them. It involves a huge variety of inflammatory processes, meaning the seriousness of blepharitis varies significantly from one individual to another. The most frequent cause is associated with excessive growth of bacteria in the eyelids, which in turn may cause dry eye.

Staphyloccocus aureus and Staphyloccocus epidermidis produce a biofilm that builds up over the years allowing bacteria density to increase significantly. Once the population reaches a certain number, the genes become active causing the bacteria to produce toxins. In turn, these toxins penetrate the eyelid tissue causing low-grade chronic inflammation which adversely affects the quality and quantity of tears produced. Given that it’s tricky to clean the eyelids, the excessive growth of bacteria, biofilm and toxins may worsen over the years, causing considerable damage to the eyelid and tear glands.

BlephEx® eyelid microexfoliation is a painless procedure performed in the clinic. This technique ensures careful and precise eyelid and eyelash cleaning and exfoliation, which should improve the patients symptoms immediately. The treatment only lasts a few minutes and is easy to tolerate. The regular use of this technique has cured many patients suffering from “dry eye”.

After the procedure, the patient is given instructions on how to keep the eyelids clean by using a daily hygiene routine at night. And since home treatments are only partially effective —and blepharitis is a chronic illness—, the procedure is normally repeated every 4-6 months. •