Preparing for your Eye Spa appointment is simple and ensures you receive the maximum benefit from your treatment. Please bring all eye drops you are currently using, as well as any you have used in the past that were not effective. This information helps us understand your treatment history and tailor your eye spa experience. On the morning of your appointment, gently but thoroughly cleanse your eyelids and eyelashes using a lid scrub pad or a warm, damp washcloth. It’s important to remove any potential irritants and ensure a clean surface for the treatment. Avoid wearing makeup on the day of your eye spa, and you can apply it again after your session is complete. Comfort is key, so please wear comfortable clothing to your appointment. While you are welcome to bring a friend or family member for company, rest assured that a driver is not needed as your vision will not be blurred after the treatment.
Upon arrival, please inform our receptionist that you are here for your Eye Spa treatment. We prioritize our spa patients, so even if the waiting area is busy, you will be taken to the spa room as soon as it is ready. There is an annual Eye Spa initiation fee of $99.00, which is separate from insurance coverage. This annual fee allows you to receive up to 6 Level 1 eye spa treatments, utilizing your existing insurance plan’s office visit coverage.
To monitor your progress and tailor your treatment effectively, we will ask you to complete a brief form. Before your initial Eye Spa treatment begins, we will check your vision and eye pressure. This ensures we have a baseline understanding of your eye health.
Your First Eye Spa Treatment: A Journey to Comfortable Eyes
Your first Eye Spa treatment is the first step towards lasting relief and provides Dr. Peltzer with valuable insights into the severity of your condition. Following this initial session, Dr. Peltzer will discuss a personalized treatment plan with you. This plan might involve further Level 1 treatments or a recommendation for a more intensive TearCare Level 2 treatment, depending on your individual needs.
Our skilled technicians will ensure your comfort throughout the procedure. A disposable mask is gently placed over your eyes, followed by a specialized heat and massage mask. We want you to be completely relaxed, so feel free to recline the chair and elevate your feet. The mask can be adjusted to ensure a comfortable fit. Please inform the technician immediately if you experience any discomfort. For the next 15 blissful and relaxing minutes, the mask will gently heat and massage your eyelids, preparing them for the next step in your eye spa.
After the soothing mask treatment, Dr. Peltzer will prepare your eyelids for clearing. This may involve applying an antibacterial spray, anesthetic drops, or anesthetic gel to ensure comfort and hygiene. Using specialized, sterile, and smooth instruments, Dr. Peltzer will carefully examine and express each of the approximately 25 glands in your lower eyelids and 30 glands in your upper eyelids. The heat and massage from the mask work to soften any trapped and unhealthy material within the meibomian glands. Gentle pressure is then applied to each gland to remove this material, especially in glands that are not blocked by scar tissue. To complete your first eye spa treatment, soothing and clarifying eye drops are administered before you leave, promoting comfort and healing.
After Your Eye Spa: What to Expect
It’s normal to experience a range of initial responses after your eye spa treatment. Your eyes might feel slightly irritated for a few hours or even a couple of days following your first appointment. However, this is typically followed by a noticeable degree of relief from your dry eye symptoms. The extent of relief varies depending on the severity of your condition. In more severe cases, the initial relief might be shorter-lived before symptoms return. This is why Dr. Peltzer may recommend more frequent treatments, perhaps every 1-2 weeks initially, instead of the standard 4-6 week interval, for more severe conditions. With each subsequent eye spa treatment, the duration of relief typically increases, and the severity of discomfort decreases.
To maximize the benefits of your eye spa treatments, a simple daily eyelid care routine is essential. At your first visit, you will receive a starter kit containing three key products to support your ongoing eye health:
- HCA Spray: This antibacterial spray is applied to closed eyelids twice daily to maintain hygiene and prevent bacterial overgrowth.
- Heat Mask: For moderate to severe cases, using a heat mask once daily is highly recommended. For milder cases, less frequent use may suffice. Regular heat application helps to maintain gland function between spa visits.
- Ocusoft Lid Scrubs: These medical-grade lid scrubs are designed for daily use to cleanse the eyelids, eyelashes, and gland openings. They help normalize the flow of oils from the meibomian glands, crucial for healthy tear film.
- Your doctor may also recommend prescription or over-the-counter eye drops, and/or oral antibiotics as part of your comprehensive eye care plan, depending on your specific needs.
Spa Visit 2 and Beyond
Your second eye spa visit may be similar to your first, continuing the Level 1 treatment to build on the initial progress. However, if Dr. Peltzer determines that your meibomian gland dysfunction is more severe and requires a more intensive approach, he may recommend transitioning you to a TearCare session. TearCare represents a Level 2 treatment option, offering a more advanced heating technology, which we will detail further.
Healing and Hope with Eye Spa
Embarking on these Eye Spa treatments initiates a healing journey for your eyes. It’s a process of slowing down, then halting, and ultimately reversing years of accumulated damage to your ocular and eyelid tissues. This healing process takes time and commitment. While many patients experience significant improvement after just the first visit, it’s important not to be discouraged if your recovery takes longer. As your eyelids are treated and heal, the inflammation and damage to the ocular surface also begin to resolve, leading to increasingly comfortable eyes. Imagine a future where you are no longer constantly aware of every blink, where your eyes simply feel good, or even better, feel like nothing at all – comfortable and healthy. This is a realistic goal for most people seeking relief from dry eye. For those who have endured chronic dry eye for years, hope can sometimes fade after numerous doctors and treatments have offered little or no lasting relief. Eye Spa treatments offer a renewed path towards comfort and lasting eye health.
Level 2 Treatment: Advanced TearCare Technology
For patients who exhibit severe gland dysfunction, we offer TearCare, a cutting-edge technology designed to deliver a more intensive level of heat to the eyelids. This higher degree of heat allows for a more thorough and aggressive clearing of the meibomian glands. A TearCare session may be a one-time treatment or repeated annually, depending on individual needs and the severity of the condition. A typical TearCare session involves 15 minutes of direct, targeted heating of the eyelids, followed by a clearing heat and massage treatment, similar to the Level 1 Eye Spa.
We chose TearCare from various advanced technologies because it allows us to offer this effective procedure at an affordable price, making it more accessible compared to many other advanced dry eye treatments. To further enhance accessibility, we also provide financing options through CareCredit.
Enhanced Procedures for Complex Cases
While Eye Spa treatments and TearCare benefit the majority of patients, scar tissue within the meibomian glands can sometimes hinder recovery and the reversal of disease progression. Dr. Steven Maskin, a leading expert in the field, has developed a specialized technique and medical instruments to probe and open these scarred glands. Some patients may require probing of all glands, while others may only need specific groups of glands treated. This procedure can cause some temporary eyelid discomfort for a few days afterward, but it currently represents the most effective solution for restoring function to meibomian glands that are blocked by scar tissue and not responding to heat and massage alone. This minimally invasive procedure is conveniently performed in our office.