Thirty million Americans suffer from Meibomian gland dysfunction, which causes the majority of dry eye cases. Learn how the LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System can help address it—in the blink of an eye.

What many longtime dry eye sufferers may not realize is that it's often caused by Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), which occurs when the tiny Meibomian glands in eyelids become stopped up and unable to protect the tear film—a thin layer of fluid that covers the outer surface of the eye.

While MGD has traditionally been hard to treat, there’s a breakthrough therapy that’s making it far simpler to do: the LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System, which uses a cutting-edge device to heat up and massage away the blockage.

Never Heard of MGD? Let Us Break It Down for You

The most likely culprit is poor blinking. The science of blinking is downright fascinating: Every time we do so, we activate the muscles around our Meibomian glands, squeezing each one and causing the functional glands to secrete a droplet into the tear film. The droplets fall into your tear film and create its lipid layer or the outermost layer. When you’re not blinking fully or frequently enough, the lipid layer stays stagnant, turning from a nice olive oil consistency to more of a thicker oil. This blocks the gland, leading to the symptoms we classically associate with dry eyes, such as burning and itching.

Eventually, if a Meibomian gland stays plugged up with that thick white stuff for long enough, it will die off, and your symptoms will grow even worse.