Dry Eye Treatment Patient Testimonials

I came to see Dr. Mina in late October. For the last month, I had been experiencing a series of what I thought were styes in both eyes from late September through October. I was becoming concerned as I have only ever had 1 stye at a time in my eye and I’ve only ever had maybe 5 styes in my whole life (3 in the past year, 1 in elementary school, and 1 in college). During September, I had multiple stye-like bumps in both upper and lower eyelids of both my eyes. I had been doing warm compresses thinking that this would resolve everything like it had in the past, but I became very alarmed when I woke up one morning with my lash line swollen! I had not seen anything like it before. I was even missing lashes! I found Dr. Mina who was able to see me that day. She was able to confirm that my Meibomian glands were blocked (MGD) in both eyes and I was experiencing Blepharitis.

As it turns out, both of these conditions are common with dry eye (I’ve had chronic dry eyes since my Lasik surgery over 10 years ago and have had to keep preservative-free eye drops with me at all times). Dr. Mina, listened and understood what I was going through frustration and pain-wise. She clued me into certain habits I had developed in early September that were contributing to my backed-up glands and eye discomfort:
I was already working long hours in front of the computer screen without any breaks. I used to be so busy with my day that I’d forget to use my eye drops and would only remember when the dryness got to be too much to ignore.
I had started binge watching a tv series in the evenings and weekends. This put me at way too many hours of screen time.
I decided I was going jog more often AND take longer jogs after work, since the weather was so nice and breezy. It used to be normal for my eyes to feel dry, and so I had thought nothing of the dryness I felt when jogging since I would put drops in my eyes once I got back to my car. The increased frequency, longer jog time and windiness of the season were not ideal for my eyes.

Dr. Mina prescribed medication to calm the irritation that my eye was experiencing. We did iLux treatment to unclogg the Meibomian glands in my eyelids and to give them a fresh start.

Since meeting Dr. Mina:
I now wear protective eye wear for jogging and carry my eye drops with me while I jog.
I found a jogger’s fanny pack at REI that doesn’t bounce around and I can store multiple items like eye drops, keys, phone, etc.
I’ve started using my (preservative free) eye drops regularly, do blinking exercises, and take regular breaks from screens and devises
We blink less often in front of devises, and blinking helps the Meibomian glands.
I now stop where I’m at in my workflow/day and get the drops in my eyes when I feel the dryness.
I used to try and finish what I was working on, but I’d always forget to put my eyedrops in afterwards and would only remember when I was experiencing pain.
I now do warm compresses twice daily, in the morning and then again in the evening to keep the glands flowing.
I’m experimenting with electronic heat compresses as well.
I wash my eyelids regularly to help breakup the biofilm that contributes to blepharitis.

I now know that I am not just dealing with dry eyes, and I need to take extra precautions with my eye health to make sure I don’t create other conditions. I wish I had known this after my eye surgery so many years ago. There was SO MUCH more information about my health that I needed to be aware of. I’m glad Dr. Mina shed some light and I love her approach to patient education. She has been great answering all my questions and pointing me in the right direction with regards to my own search for better eye health. Now we are trying to get my glands and eyes working as close to normal as we can.

I’m happy with my results. It has been several months and I have not had a single stye, MGD or Blepharitis issue since meeting Dr. Mina!

I was falling asleep at my desk, and worst of all, behind the wheel. The need to close my eyes was overwhelming. When I went to bed, too often my eyes would be irritated. Turns out, after discussing my symptoms with Dr. Mina, that I had dry eyes. This was causing my sleepiness. Treatment was easy, but you must keep it up. Cleaned my eyes twice a day, did the warm compresses, wore a sleep mask, used the moisturizing drops, even wore blue blocking readers at work. I take time every hour to look away from my computer. I changed my contacts more often and switched my contact solution. Turns out the cheap solution I was using was contributing to the problem. I was honest with my doctor, and we got the results! I learned so much about my eyes.

Now, my eyes are cleaner, I am no longer getting sleepy in the car, and the irritation issues I was having are gone. I keep up the “maintenance” and my eyes thank me for it. Talk to your doctor. You may have and dry eye issue that is easily cured with a little TLC.

Thanks Dr. Mina!!