Comfortable eyes again, without living on drops.
A specialised in-clinic treatment for blocked oil glands, by our experienced dry eye optometrists. Treatment can start the same day.
★★★★★ 4.9 from 600+ Google reviews
IPL at Cheadle and Middleton. Also for patients from Heald Green, Winsford and Heckmondwike.
Skin doctors first used IPL to treat rosacea, and noticed their patients’ dry eyes got better too. Short flashes of filtered light pass through the skin below your eyes. The light settles the tiny inflamed blood vessels along the lid edge and warms the oil in the glands. It is not a laser, and your eyes are shielded throughout. IPL is not suitable for brown or darker skin.
LLLT stands for low-level light therapy, the medical name for red light therapy. A soft mask of red light rests over your closed eyes for about 15 minutes. It gently warms the glands from the inside so the oil softens, and calms inflamed lids. Painless, nothing touches the eye, and it is safe for every skin type. It is part of every IPL visit, and available on its own at all five of our practices.
Our system is eye-light® by Espansione, made in Italy. It does both, IPL and red light, in one visit.
Your eyes are covered with shields. Your optometrist places gentle flashes of light across your cheeks and lower lids, on the skin below the eyes. It feels like a warm snap.
You lie back with a mask of red light over closed eyes. It warms the glands gently from inside and calms the lids. Most people find it relaxing.
Blephasteam goggles bathe your closed eyes in moist heat at about 42°C, so the oil that has set in the glands melts right before we clear it.
Under high magnification, your optometrist gently presses each gland clear while the oil is soft. You see what came out on the screen.
Most people find it comfortable. IPL feels like a warm snap. Expressing the glands can be uncomfortable for a moment, and we go at your pace.
Yes. It is not a laser. Your eyes are covered, and the light is on the skin below them.
No downtime. You can drive home and go back to work.
No sun, sunbeds or fake tan for two weeks. No make-up or contact lenses on the day. Tell us about any new medicines.
Your tears need a thin layer of oil on top, or they dry out in seconds. That oil comes from tiny glands along each eyelid. When the lid edges are inflamed, often with rosacea, tiny blood vessels there keep thickening the oil, so the glands block again however often you use drops or a heat mask. Left alone, a blocked gland shrinks and does not grow back.
Why they keep blocking: the inflammation. Drops and heat masks soften the oil for a while, but the inflamed vessels keep thickening it again. IPL is the treatment that calms those vessels. Then heat melts the oil, and your optometrist expresses every gland by hand, so it flows into your tears again. That is how your eyes get back their natural balance and comfort.
What the research says: IPL is a recommended treatment for this kind of dry eye in the latest international guidance (TFOS DEWS III). In controlled studies, IPL with gland expression improved tear stability and symptoms more than gland expression alone. That is why every visit combines them.
It sets like butter in a blocked gland. Red light and warm steam soften it, then gentle pressure clears it. Once it flows again, your tears stop drying out.
Press play if you want to see it. Skip it if you would rather not. Nothing touches the eye itself.
BeforeAfterBefore: crusty debris round the lashes and blocked gland openings. After: one EyeClean session, in the chair. Drag the line to compare.
I’m Sohail, one of the two directors here, and I have had dry eye for years. Contact lenses that dried out by lunchtime. Gritty eyes, vision that comes and goes until you blink it clear, drops that buy you ten minutes, and the frustration that builds when none of it changes. And every time I asked, the same standard answers: baby shampoo on the lids, try these drops, it’s just your age.
It is not in your head. It is not a small thing. And it is not something you have to put up with. In 2017 I decided to work out a proper solution, for myself and for my patients, and that is why we built this clinic the way we did: time to listen, your own eyes on the screen so you can see what we see, and a plan written down for you to keep.
You will be looked after here. By an optometrist who has the time, who has treated hundreds of people like you, and who knows how it feels from the inside.
Our treatment protocols are our own. They are built on the latest international research (TFOS DEWS III) and refined over hundreds of patients. 9 in 10 EyeClean patients told us their eyes improved.
We do not hand you drops and a leaflet. We take time to understand what you are going through and how it affects your life. We find your cause, build a plan around you, then guide you and manage your care, from your first visit to your follow-up.
IPL is not for every kind of dry eye, and it is not safe for every skin. So before your first flash, your optometrist checks your glands, your skin and your medicines.
You still have a proven option: EyeClean with red and blue light at every visit, £660. Three visits of about 45 minutes: warm steam goggles, every gland expressed, a BlephEx lid clean, red light, and blue light for blepharitis. No flash, no skin-type limit and nothing to stop beforehand.
We photograph every gland, test for inflammation and check your skin and medicines. If nothing rules IPL out, your first IPL treatment can be the same day. If it has to wait, we start the same day with steam, gland expression and a lid clean. £50 of the fee goes towards your programme.
IPL, red light, warm steam, then every gland expressed. Many people feel more comfortable after the first visit, because the glands are cleared each time.
Warm steam goggles, every gland expressed, and a BlephEx deep clean of the lid edges. Your home kit keeps the glands soft between visits.
We repeat your symptom score and gland photos and compare them with your first visit, so you see the change. If you have not improved, your next session is free.
Your home routine, a yearly check (£195), and a single IPL visit (£295) if your symptoms start to creep back.
Dry eye is a long-term condition. It rarely goes away completely, but it can be managed, and your symptoms can be greatly improved. Our job is to get your eyes comfortable, and then keep them that way, with you.
We developed each programme ourselves, from the latest international research (TFOS DEWS III) and what we have seen work in hundreds of patients since 2017. Already made up your mind? Book your treatment directly. You don’t need a separate assessment: your optometrist checks your eyes, skin and medicines at the start of your first visit. Not sure which suits you? Book the Essential assessment first, and we tell you. Everything below is included in the price.
We listen first, choose your treatment with you, and only suggest what will help. Then we stay with you until your eyes feel better.
Mild dry eye or mild blepharitis
or £240 today, £240 at your next visit
Home kit included. No IPL.
Moderate dry eye: red or burning lids, glands that keep blocking
or £450 today, £450 at your next visit
No BlephEx at the IPL visits. Home kit included. IPL at Cheadle and Middleton.
Advanced or long-standing dry eye, blepharitis, mites or rosacea
or £747 today, £748 at your next visit
EyeRelief, extended.
Home kit included. IPL at Cheadle and Middleton.
Book the Essential assessment first. In 45 minutes we photograph every oil gland, test for inflammation and check your skin and medicines. You leave knowing whether IPL will help, which programme suits you, and the price. £50 goes towards your programme, and if nothing rules it out, treatment can start the same day.
Not suitable for IPL? EyeClean with red and blue light: 3 visits of about 45 minutes, £660. No flash, and safe for every skin type.
Had an assessment with us first? £50 of the fee goes towards your programme. A single IPL visit is £295, the top-up if a programme is not quite enough at your follow-up. IPL is at Cheadle and Middleton. Heald Green and Winsford assess you and book your IPL at Cheadle; Heckmondwike books it at Middleton.
Questions first? Book a free 10-minute call with an optometrist
“Patience, caring and so much help. It was the best thing ever I decided to have.”Pat Smith, Middleton
Dry eye is personal. It changes how you work, drive, read and sleep, and most people have been told to put up with it. You will not be told that here. These are the words of our patients, exactly as they wrote them.
“I had the blepharitis treatment. Everything was properly explained and great care was taken to carry out the procedure. Plenty of time was taken during my appointment to put me at ease. All the staff are cheerful, helpful and welcoming. Can’t thank them all enough for an excellent experience.”
Stephanie Taylor · Middleton
“Patience, caring and so much help during the time I was having the Dry Eye Treatment Programme. It was the best thing ever I decided to have, in between and after my cataract surgery. I would highly recommend it. With all my treatment from starting to finishing it, wow. Just to say to each and every one of you, a massive thank you. You all were the very best.”
Pat Smith · Middleton
“Everyone is very attentive and caring and I have had positive results from my treatments.”
Tim Baker · Middleton
“Helpful and friendly. I had complete confidence in your actions and guidance.“
Carla Reuben
“Excellent service, extremely helpful staff. Thanks for all you have done for me, I am very grateful. A special thanks to optometrist Lara and dispenser Emily, you are a great team!”
Mr P E Garo-Jones
“I was told by two other opticians that it was just dry eye and there was nothing to be done. The imaging showed me exactly what was wrong. Seeing my blocked glands on the screen made it all make sense.“
Cheadle patient
9 in 10 EyeClean patients improved. 4.9 stars from more than 600 reviews.
Book online any time, or call us Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. Outside those hours, the number offers to ring you back when we open.
IPL clinic
Abra & Co · 19 Wilmslow Road, Cheadle SK8 1DW
Also for Stockport, Didsbury, Bramhall and Wilmslow. Free parking.
Or call 0161 428 3717 · Practice page · Directions
IPL clinic
Abra & Co · 36 Long Street, Middleton M24 6UQ
Also for Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and Prestwich.
Or call 0161 653 0771 · Practice page · Directions
Ashworth Opticians · 214 Finney Lane, Heald Green SK8 3QA
Also for Gatley, Wythenshawe and Sale.
Or call 0161 437 3400 · Practice page · Directions
Winsford Eye & Footcare · 27 Delamere Street, Winsford CW7 2LX
Also for Northwich, Middlewich and Crewe.
Or call 01606 599030 · Practice page · Directions
Armitage Opticians · 14 Market Street, Heckmondwike WF16 0JU
Also for Dewsbury, Batley, Leeds and Wakefield.
Or call 01924 403617 · Practice page · Directions
IPL is flashes of light on the skin below the eyes. It settles the inflamed blood vessels along the lid edge.
Red light (LLLT) is a mask of red light worn over closed eyes for about fifteen minutes. It warms and calms the glands. It is part of every IPL visit, because the two work best together.
Blue light targets the bacteria and mites along the lash line that cause blepharitis. Your optometrist adds it when you need it.
No. LipiFlow uses heat and pressure to clear the glands. We clear them by hand after heat, and add IPL to calm the inflammation that keeps blocking them. Here is how the two compare.
| LipiFlow | Our IPL programme | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Heat and pressure from a device placed under the eyelids | IPL and red light on the skin around the eyes, warm steam, then every gland expressed by hand |
| Touches the eye? | Yes, an eyepiece sits under the lids, after numbing drops | No. Your eyes are shielded and closed |
| Calms inflamed lid vessels (rosacea)? | Not what it is designed for | Yes, that is what IPL does |
| Visits | Usually one session | Four visits, two weeks apart, then a follow-up |
IPL treats inflamed, blocked glands. If your glands are blocked without inflammation, EyeClean clears them (more about MGD treatment). If your eyes do not make enough tears, Lacrifill or punctal plugs help. See every dry eye treatment →
The same day. Book your programme, and if the checks at the start of your first visit show nothing that rules IPL out, your first IPL treatment follows straight after. If IPL has to wait, for example because of a recent tan or a medicine, we start that day with warm steam, gland expression and a lid clean, and book your IPL for when it is safe.
Dry eye is a long-term condition, and it rarely goes away completely. IPL treats the cause, the inflamed and blocked glands, so your symptoms can be greatly improved. We then help you keep them that way, with a home routine, a yearly check and a top-up visit if you need one.
EyeRelief has 4 IPL visits two weeks apart, plus 1 EyeClean visit and your follow-up: 6 visits over about 3 months. EyeRelief Max has 5 IPL visits and 4 EyeClean visits, plus your follow-up: 10 visits over about 6 months. If you need a little more at your follow-up, a single IPL visit is £295.
Many people feel more comfortable after the first visit, because the glands are expressed at every visit. We measure the change at your end-of-treatment follow-up.
Yes. Red light therapy, also called LLLT (low-level light therapy), is part of every IPL visit at Cheadle and Middleton, and is available at all five of our practices. On its own, a red and blue light session is £95.
No. We melt the oil with red light and warm steam, then express every gland by hand, and IPL also calms the inflamed vessels that keep blocking the glands. See the comparison above.
No. It is a bright flash of filtered light on the skin below your eyes. Your eyes are covered with shields throughout.
No. IPL is not safe on brown or darker skin. We use EyeClean with red and blue light instead, which has no skin-type limit.
EyeClean is £480, EyeRelief (with IPL) £900, EyeRelief Max £1,495, and a single IPL visit £295. You can book any of these directly. If you would like an assessment first, it is £225, and £50 of that goes towards your programme. You can pay in full, or half today and half at your next visit.
No. IPL for dry eye is a private treatment in the UK. Our prices are above, and there are no hidden extras.
At our Cheadle and Middleton clinics. If Heald Green or Winsford is closer, your checks and lid treatments can be there and your IPL visits at Cheadle. From Heckmondwike, IPL is at Middleton.
No sun, sunbeds or fake tan for two weeks, no make-up or contact lenses on the day, and tell us about any new medicines, especially antibiotics or acne treatments.
Still have a question? Talk it through with one of our optometrists first. It’s free, takes 10 minutes, and there’s no obligation to book.
Choose your treatment · from £480 Not sure which? Book the Essential assessment (£225) Or book a free 10-minute call with an optometrist
