Welcome back to the show.
You know one thing we really need to
take care of as we age is our eyes.
I recently spoke with Doctor Evie Lawson
at eyes on you in downtown Seattle
about dry eye, which I suffer from,
and how modern treatments these days
can also have aesthetic benefits, OK?
OK, Doctor Ivy, what are some
of the most common problems
that your patients experience?
You know through COVID it became really,
really evident to me how many
people are struggling with the
amount of screen time they have.
Yes, and the three most common
things are that we talk about
are blue light and then how
their eyes are working together,
their accommodation and and the
strain that they feel at the
end of the day and then the dry
eye dry eye is such a huge
problem right now talking about it.
Let's feel dry. Absolutely,
we were talking about this. I was
saying I suffer from dry eye. So
how can you help? Patients can
dry eye be treated absolutely?
You know that it it.
I went on a mission a couple of years ago
because I didn't have great treatments.
I mean, let's face it, I dropped.
There's lots of different eye drops,
but it's overwhelming and they only
last about 5 minutes, so it's relief.
But it's very, very temporary.
It's not treating the underlying condition,
so I went on a mission to
find what is that thing.
What are some things number one?
How can I treat it?
And and diagnose it better.
But then how can I treat the
underlying condition and get your
eyes back to what they used to be?
Did you figure this out?
I did OK. Who gave?
What are excited treatment?
Well, first of all,
the great diagnosis getting an
eye exam is the first step is
figuring out what layer to that
tear film is creating that problem.
Then the second thing is, well,
90% of patients are suffering
because they're meibomian glands are
not working the way they should.
So they're oil part of their glands.
OK, OK,
so we've got these meibomian
glands that are the problem.
The best way to treat it.
Winsmith really deep heat and then
I'm treating the inflammation that
comes around it because it can't
becomes almost an autoimmune condition,
so treating that inflammation
that's there is so so important.
So we have two machines in office that
are absolutely changing patients lives.
It's so exciting it's radiofrequency.
That's the deep heat and then IPO.
It's intense pulse light and
not stopping the inflammation.
I'm amazed. So what are the treatments
like when you come in? Like what is the
IPL? So IPL is the intense pulse light
we call it that it's it's a little
bit similar to a rubber band snap.
It is not the most comfortable thing,
but we make sure that you're
comfortable through the whole thing.
With some topical anesthesia,
the RF treatment is DPT.
It's like a hot stone massage.
It's like going to the spa.
It's OK. Yeah, it feels lovely.
The really cool thing about these
treatments is that the side effect,
if you will,
is decreasing your fine lines and
wrinkles and evening out your skin tone.
Darn it. No.
Sharks sign me up please
for the dry eye treatment.
So circle back it's developed
for aesthetics though right? It's 100%.
I've heard I peel before. Yep, absolutely.
So how did I mean?
How did you figure this out?
Does it mean that this is
something that you kind of
figured out along the way?
Not me people much smarter than me,
but I took their ideas.
So what was interesting is we have started
to collaborate a ton in Medi SPA settings,
but between dermatologists and
ophthalmologists and one of the
dermatologists. Mentioning hey,
my patients are reporting that their
dry eye is so much more comfortable,
so doing the research behind it,
the IPL is actually treating that
inflammation of those blood vessels and the
that that are in those meibomian glands,
and then the RF are actually
getting deep down into that.
My bonyan gland and it's increasing
the collagen and elastin and really
helping to get that that Maybin out,
which is the Whaley part of the tear film,
is what makes you feel
comfortable when you're blinking.
I'm I'm amazed by your field.
Because it's not just this.
I mean I feel like ophthalmology
ophthalmologist have figured out a lot
of things when it comes to where beauty
and treatment meet absolutely real quick.
Before I let you go,
I used to stain all the time.
OK, every morning I feel like it.
It's making it worse for me.
So is it. Is there ever gonna be
a time when it's going to help?
Or no?
I mean sustain is really really
good for or any eye drops.
Artificial tears are really great for that.
Very temporary relief.
OK so if you're on an airplane and
your eyes are just burning and
they're red and I and I see it in,
you know, when I'm on the airplane,
I see people all around me
just really struggling.
I feel like I wanna hand out those eye
drops so that people can feel that really.
But really we want to get
your tear film healthy again.
It's not gonna help if it's
just draining out of your eyes.
So stop at the eye drops.
Come see you yes and you have
a special offer I do yes.
So when we're doing any sort
of aesthetic treatment,
we're giving away a sunscreen
because that's incredibly important.
It's keeping your skin really.
Protected from the UB cause that
can cause damage to those meibomian
glands and then a small moisturizer,
a lipid moisturizer which is delightful.
It's our own skin care line, it's wonderful.
Well there you go.
So to get in touch with Doctor Lawson
and the eyes on you Seattle team.
Just visit the website on your screen
or visit the link on New Day's website.
Do you feel like your eyes are dry now?
Because I do all right?
Well it does get harder
to keep your weight steady
as you get older, but coming up we're going
to head into the kitchen. Nutritionist
Haley Pomeroy, for advice on how
to help speed up that metabolism.
We'll be right back.
This portion of new day.
Northwest is sponsored
by Eyes on you Seattle.