Dry-eyes no more in Australian-first treatment

The phone lines at Gold Coast optometrist Shaina Zheng's clinic have been ringing non stop. That is because Ms Zheng's centre is offering an Australian-first treatment for dry-eyes disease using radio frequency and intense pulsed light that permanently clears blocked glands in the eye and relieves people of the need for eye drops and other topical treatments. Dry-eyes disease occurs when tears are unable to provide sufficient lubrication and can be triggered by excessive screen use or if tear ducts produce poor-quality tears. It is a plight that affects one in three Australians over 50, Ms Zheng said, with many unaware they are suffering the condition. "I do explain to patients that usually the signs of dry eye occur first and then the symptoms come later," she told AAP. Symptoms include sore, red, itchy or watery eyes, gunky eyes, stinging, burning eyes or sensitivity to lights or glare. Ms Zheng said dry-eyes disease was typically found in older demographics but it was becoming more prevalent in young people. The tool known as Envision operates in a two-stage treatment process using radio frequency to heat and liquefy oils in the eyelid's glands, effectively unblocking them. Ms Zheng said the second part involved using intense pulse light on the top and lower lids of the eye, with the retina protected by a shield. "That intense light is just jumpstarting or kickstarting those oil glands - hitting the oil glands directly - to get them stimulated and producing more oils," she said. "I'm really trying to educate patients, show them their eyes, show them the deficiency in the tears and educate them why it's important for the health of the eye, because if you don't have a good healthy tear film, it affects your corneal health."