Dry eyes are a common issue for many patients. Thankfully, your eye doctor can diagnose and treat this condition. They can recommend treatments to help provide long-term symptom relief, like Forma.
Forma treatment uses radiofrequency to help reduce dry eye symptoms. Warming the eyelids helps restore function to your tears by unblocking your meibomian glands, improving oil flow.
Forma is just one of many dry eye treatments available.
What Is Dry Eye?
Dry eye occurs when your tears cannot effectively hydrate your eyes, potentially leading to discomfort. It’s a common condition that affects many Canadians. While dry eyes can seem like an occasional nuisance, they can be uncomfortable and often chronic.
Symptoms of dry eyes can include:
- Gritty eyes
- Eyes that sting or burn
- Redness
- Light sensitivity
- Blurry vision
What Causes Dry Eyes?
Dry eye is a multifactorial condition, meaning that there can be many factors affecting its development. Age, medications, medical conditions, and environment can influence dry eye. However, the overall cause of dry eyes is problems with your tear film.
Your tear film consists of 3 layers that protect and hydrate your eyes—mucus, water, and oil. Each layer supports the tear film, helping tears stay on the eye, protecting and hydrating the eye, and preventing tear evaporation. When issues arise in one or more of the tear film’s layers, it leads to dry, irritated eyes.
Issues with the tear film can lead to decreased tear production and increased tear evaporation.
- Decreased tear production: Decreased tear production occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough water to create tears. Tear production can slow down with age, but medical conditions and medication use can be other risk factors.
- Increased tear evaporation: Increased tear evaporation develops when your tears evaporate too quickly. Your meibomian glands in the eyelids can experience issues and affect oil flow to the tear film, leading to dry eyes. Dry air and smoke can also lead to tear evaporation.
What Is Forma Dry Eye Treatment?
The dryness, stinging, and discomfort of dry eyes can be unbearable and make day-to-day life more difficult. Thankfully, there are more ways to combat this condition than ever before.
One treatment is Forma, which provides a targeted solution to help relieve dry eye symptoms. It’s a form of radiofrequency (RF) treatment where heat helps restore function to the tear film.
How Does Forma Work?
Forma treats dry eyes through radiofrequency—a non-invasive procedure that uses heat energy to stimulate the meibomian glands in the eyelids, improving the flow of oils that help prevent tear evaporation.
Unlike treatments that only provide short-term relief, radiofrequency treatment can provide lasting results by improving the overall function of the glands. Besides dry eye treatment, radiofrequency has many aesthetic uses.
Forma’s Other Benefits
Dry eyes aren’t the only reason to receive Forma treatment—it can benefit your complexion by tightening your skin without needing Botox or other injections. It can help address crow’s feet, sagging skin, and wrinkles and improve skin texture and appearance.
The benefits of Forma treatment include:
- Increased collagen production: Collagen is essential for tight, strong skin. Production of this protein slows with age, leading to potential sagging. Heating the skin through Forma treatment can help boost collagen production and tighten your skin.
- Reduced wrinkles: Improving collagen production can help reduce the look of wrinkles and fine lines, providing a more youthful complexion.
- Rejuvenated skin: Radiofrequency treatment can help reduce the look of aging by addressing loose skin and jowls.
- Tighter skin: Radiofrequency treatments like Forma can help tighten skin noninvasively. The heat generated by the device stimulates collagen production, tightening the skin and reducing sagginess.
Other Dry Eye Treatments
Forma isn’t the only way to treat dry eyes. Your optometrist will recommend the treatments they feel best meet your needs. They’ll provide their recommendations after completing a comprehensive assessment during your eye exam.
Other dry eye treatments can include:
- Eye drops: While some patients can benefit from over-the-counter eye drops for temporary moisture, your optometrist can prescribe medicated eye drops to help improve your dry eye symptoms. These eye drops can help reduce eye inflammation and improve tear production.
- Eye nutrition: Your diet matters, especially for dry eyes. Changing what you eat can help improve your symptoms. Your eye doctor can recommend foods to prioritize or supplements for vitamins A, D, and B12 and omega-3 fatty acids.
What Can You Expect During Dry Eye Treatment?
Your optometrist must complete an initial dry eye evaluation before beginning treatment. They will use different diagnostic tests and discuss risk factors related to your lifestyle, like medical conditions, medications, diet, and digital device use, to help determine the root cause of your symptoms. After assessing your eyes, they will create a report and recommend a customized treatment plan to help address your symptoms.
What to Expect During Forma Treatment
During Forma treatment, your eye doctor applies gentle heat to your eyelids. This heat helps melt blockages affecting oil flow to the tear film. If needed, your optometrist may manually express the meibomian glands after warming the eyelids—gently squeezing them to help restore function to your tear film.
After completing the recommended number of treatments, your eye doctor will likely book you in for a re-evaluation in 2 months. They can suggest additional treatment sessions or a different dry eye solution if needed.
Find Dry Eye Relief
Dry eyes can be uncomfortable and irritating, but they aren’t something you need to experience forever. There are many ways to address dry eyes, like Forma treatment. You can help improve dry eye symptoms and even benefit your skin.
We’re here for all of your dry eye-related needs through a convenient and holistic approach. Our sister company, Rejuvenate by Peak Human, is conveniently located within the Vision Care Centre clinic and offers Forma, IPL, and other dry eye treatments.
We use the latest tech and science treatments to address dry eye, wrinkles, and other aesthetic concerns. Book your appointment online and find dry eye relief.
