Hi Everyone,

I would like to share my (positive) story after completing 2/4 IPL treatments.

Backstory:

Like a number of people , I got "dry eyes" a few months after contracting (and recovering) from COVID in mid-2022.

Before catching COVID, I had zero dry eye problems and the whites of my eyes were wall paper white with little to no red eye veins.

I did have a bunch of other "long COVID" symptoms such as chest pains, neck pains and fatigue, which led me to believe that there was a lot of "inflammation" in my body.

Over the next 12-18 months my fatigue left my body, but my "dry eyes" kept getting worse.

Pre-IPL Treatment (2 years):

I had the usual symptoms of redness, dryness and burning and thus I found myself using Systane preservative free drops 5 times a day (waking up, lunch, afternoon, after dinner, and before bed)

I also tried FML steroid drops that didn't work, and Pataday allergy drops which surprising did help get the red out and stop the itching but only helped for 8 hours in the day and was only a temporary solution.

I also tried Ocusoft lid wipes which helped a bit.

Warm compresses made my eyes WORSE, but a cold compress made my eyes BETTER.

Also I noticed that I had dandruff on my eye lashes and that my eye lashes were falling out here and there (never happened in my life) .

I also tried to take omega 3 fish oils and eating sardines which did not help.

I also tried Manuka Honey gel which did not help, only made my eye sting and sticky.

A few months ago I went to a dry eye specialist and the results were that my "glands" were a bit inflamed.

This lead me to deduce that I probably had a combination of blepharitis, demodex mites and/or ocular rosacea (which IPL was supposed to be very effective at treating) which was probably causing inflammation and redness.

After my first treatment, I didn't notice any difference for the first 4 days post my first treatment, but on the 5th day I woke up with my eyes feeling moist. I then went 4 days without having to use eye drops, but then it was only Systane once during the day and not my usual 5 times a day.

Others also say that after each IPL session, it takes a week or two to feel the effects, and even after that most people see results only after the 3rd or 4th session.

After that I went 10 days WITHOUT having to use eye drops at all.

Moving forward:

IPL for now has been a "game changer" for me and I have not had to use eye drops at all for the past 3 weeks, compared to having to use it every day (multiple times a day) for the past 2 years.

I hope this story is helpful to everyone.

Credit: reddit.com