Normally, the eyelashes should grow away from the eyes, but in some cases, the eyelashes are misdirected and grow towards the eyes. This condition is known as trichiasis, and it's a serious problem. The misdirected lashes can cause pain and damage to the eyes, so they need to be treated. Laser treatment is available for this condition; here are four things trichiasis sufferers need to know about laser treatment.
How is laser treatment performed?
This procedure is performed with the assistance of a slit lamp, a device which you are probably familiar with from your regular eye exams. This device magnifies your eyes and produces a thin beam of intense light, so it makes it easier for your optometrist to get a good look at your eyelashes and target the laser properly.
Your optometrist will rotate your eyelid outward slightly to allow easier access to the follicles. They will then hold a blue-green argon laser unit against the problematic follicles. This unit releases pulses of blue-green laser beams which target your eyelash follicles. The average eyelash requires between 30 and 40 pulses of the laser beam to be destroyed, and each eyelash will be treated individually, so this is a time-consuming process.
How do lasers destroy follicles?
Lasers produce intense beams of light. Since dark objects absorb light, the light of the laser is able to target the dark eyelash follicles within your skin. These follicles take the brunt of the damage from the laser beams, while the surrounding skin is minimally effected. The damage from the laser beams kills the hair follicles and prevents eyelashes from growing from the treated follicles in the future.
Due to the way lasers therapy works, not everyone is a good candidate for it. Laser therapy works best for people with light skin and dark eyelashes. This is because the lasers are easily able to target the dark eyelashes without damaging the nearby pale skin. If you have light eyelashes, or dark skin, your optometrist can offer different treatments that have a better chance of giving you the results you want.
What complications are associated with laser treatment?
During your recovery period, you'll experience discomfort and inflammation in the treated area. You may feel like you have a sunburn on your eyelids, but this feeling will go away within 14 days. If this discomfort doesn't go away, or if it gets worse, make sure to tell your optometrist.
Sometimes, more long-term complications can occur. Some people experience hypopigmentation as a result of laser treatment. Hypopigmentation is the lack of pigmentation on your skin, and it occurs if the lasers damage the cells within your skin that produce pigment.
Lid notching can also occur. This means that the treated area becomes indented and dimpled. You may notice tiny craters at the sites where your eyelashes used to be.
Complications tend to occur in people who've previously undergone treatments for trichiasis, according to NIH. If you've had treatments like cryotherapy or lid surgery in the past to try to treat your condition, make sure your current optometrist knows abut it.
How effective is laser treatment?
Laser treatment is very effective against trichiasis. One study followed 45 patients for between four and 12 months to determine the success of the therapy. A total of 60 eyelids were treated during the study, and only 15 eyelids experienced a recurrence of trichiasis. This means that 75% of people had no recurrence and were fully treated. The 15 eyelids that experienced a recurrence were retreated with lasers, and 8 (53.3%) of them were cured after the second treatment.
If you have trichiasis, ask your optometrist if you're a good candidate for laser treatment.
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