Modern Ocular Surface Disease 
In-Office Treatments

Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), Dry Eye Disease, or Blepharitis may lead to patients becoming symptomatic and experiencing such issues as redness, irritation, sore eyes, scratchiness, itchiness, tearing, burning, light sensitivity, eye fatigue, and vision fluctuations with blinking. Commonly patients visit our office who experience these symptoms due to heavy computer use, living/working in a dry environment, overwear of contact lenses, taking certain medications or post-LASIK (or post-refractive surgery).

At Beverly Hills Optometry, we have a number of diagnostic tools to measure and track the signs and symptoms of these eye issues. When patients visit our practice, they are prompted to fill out the SPEED or OSDI questionnaire for dry eyes. This questionnaire aids in guiding a unique experience as well as individualized treatment plan.  Through modern techniques like Meibography (measuring the anatomy of the oil glands), Tear Break-up Time (measuring the quality of the tears), and conjunctival hyperemia (or redness analysis to check for irritation on the whites of the eyes), we can create a profile to monitor the progress of patients who enter our 4-week Dry Eye Program.

Deep Cleaning

1) ZEST - Your eyelids play a critical part in the overall health of your eyes. Over 85% of dry eye originates from the eyelids. All the dirt, oil, dead skin, bacteria, and mites that accumulate over time on your eyelids (akin to tartar on your teeth) can lead to redness, tearing, irritation, conjunctivitis, and recurrent styes. Daily lid hygiene is often not enough to remove all the unwanted debris from your eyelids. ZEST is a newly developed in-office deep cleansing procedure performed at your eye doctor’s office that uses patented Zokrex technology with activated natural okra polysaccharide complexes to gently and effectively clear scurf and residue from your eyelids. ZEST can only be done with ZocuKit, which contains all the necessary customized instruments such as ZocuSwab along with a special okra-based gel to cleanse your eyelids without the use of any topical anesthetics. There is minimal, if any discomfort. You’ll be asked during ZEST to move your eyes in certain direction in order to precisely target the lid areas deemed clinically
important. Your eyes should feel better within about 15 minutes after ZEST. 

2) BlephEx - Blepharitis is inflammation of the eyelids, usually secondary to bacterial overgrowth. BlephEx is a safe treatment to deep clean and exfoliate the eyelids and the base of the eyelash. Ideal for removing bacteria, biofilm, demodex, dandruff, flakiness, and dead cells.

Thermal Modality

1) The Eye Massage (series of 4 sessions spaced approximately a week apart) - This treatment is a holistic approach to improving the signs and symptoms are dry eye disease by unclogging the oil glands in the eyelids. Our oil glands help produce the moisture for the eye and keep the eyes hydrated. If they are not functioning properly then problems arise. The Eye Massage is a gentle procedure that softens the harmful, hard oils and helps to unblock them. An ideal treatment to get to the root cause of Dry Eye Disease.  

2) iLux - The iLux system allows our doctors to provide safe, effective treatment using localized heat and compression therapy. Treatment is complete once cloudy or inspissated meibum is expressed or clear meibum appears on the lid margin. Depending on the severity of blockage or damage to the oil glands, the treatment may be repeated multiple times. On average, the treatment is usually repeated 2-4 times per year.  

PhotoBioModulation

1) Intense Pulse Light or IPL (series of 4 sessions spaced approximately a 2-4 weeks apart) – utilizes different intensity, frequency and wavelengths of light to close off abnormal, inflammatory producing blood vessels. Inflammation in or around the oil glands leads to poor tear film production. These abnormal, inflammatory producing vessels cause a vicious cycle of redness, irritation, and a host of eye issues. IPL is especially recommended in patients with Blepharitis, Demodex, or skin conditions (such as rosacea and dermatitis).

Drug-Free Approach - Combine different categories for optimal outcomes.