IPL Red Light Therapy for the eyes?
July 25, 2023 12:31 PM Subscribe
At a recent visit, my eye doctor recommended that I get IPL Red Light Therapy to treat my eyes. I want to do the right thing, but it's not cheap, so I just want to be careful before I commit.
My glands aren't in great shape, and I have pretty chronic blepharitis. I don't experience any symptoms (that I'm aware of - this has been going on for a long time, and I'm terrible about doing basic maintenance like heat, eye drops, etc. Maybe I've just gotten used to having unhealthy eyes?).
I understand that IPL red light therapy is used mostly for dry eyes. That term was never used in my consultation, which is confusing to me. He did explain that my glands aren't behaving the way they need to be, producing tears properly. And that they're damaged - if left untreated, will get worse.
I've been seeing this doctor for a while and I mostly trust him. I'm a little uncomfortable because the IPL Red Light Therapy equipment that they have in the office is new - does that mean that I'm just an opportunity to try out the new gear? Also, because it's a new treatment, insurance does not cover it. Of course.
I've done a little googling on the matter, and it seems that it's a newish application of IPL red light therapy, with mostly good results. But I'm curious to know if anyone else has any experience with it. Was it helpful? For how long?
Thanks!
My glands aren't in great shape, and I have pretty chronic blepharitis. I don't experience any symptoms (that I'm aware of - this has been going on for a long time, and I'm terrible about doing basic maintenance like heat, eye drops, etc. Maybe I've just gotten used to having unhealthy eyes?).
I understand that IPL red light therapy is used mostly for dry eyes. That term was never used in my consultation, which is confusing to me. He did explain that my glands aren't behaving the way they need to be, producing tears properly. And that they're damaged - if left untreated, will get worse.
I've been seeing this doctor for a while and I mostly trust him. I'm a little uncomfortable because the IPL Red Light Therapy equipment that they have in the office is new - does that mean that I'm just an opportunity to try out the new gear? Also, because it's a new treatment, insurance does not cover it. Of course.
I've done a little googling on the matter, and it seems that it's a newish application of IPL red light therapy, with mostly good results. But I'm curious to know if anyone else has any experience with it. Was it helpful? For how long?
Thanks!
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
We also get bonus face treatment (shh!) as part of the procedure. Different settings/wavelengths on the same machine. The setting for the eyes doesn't hurt at all, at least for us.
I'd say that my dry eyes definitely feel better for a few weeks after the treatment, but after that it kind of fades. (Also not great about all of the heat compresses/drops/maintenance stuff. Might last longer if I kept up with that, I don't know.)
If I weren't getting the derm/facial aspect as part of it, I don't know that I would persist as it helps but it goes away and isn't life changing or anything. Again, this is for dry eye, so don't know if you would have more impact. Were it me, I'd try it one or twice to see if it helped.
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 1:18 PM on July 25, 2023