Guide · LipiFlow
LipiFlow in the UK: what it does, and the alternatives
LipiFlow is a machine that warms the eyelids from the inside and presses the oil glands to clear them. We don’t use LipiFlow. Here is what it does, and how the treatments we do use compare, so you can decide.
What LipiFlow does
LipiFlow, iLux and TearCare all do the same job in slightly different ways: they heat the eyelids to soften the thick oil in the glands, then press the glands to push it out. They treat blocked oil glands (meibomian gland dysfunction), the cause of most dry eye.
What it doesn’t do
Heat and pressure clear what is in the glands on the day. They do not calm the inflammation along the lid edge that blocks the glands again, and that is why many people need repeat treatments.
The alternatives we use
EyeClean, £480. Instead of LipiFlow, we warm the glands in the practice with our own heat masks and Blephasteam, clean the lid edges (BlephEx), and the optometrist clears the glands by hand under high magnification. The same aim as LipiFlow, with the lid cleaning that blepharitis needs.
EyeRelief, £900. IPL light reaches the base of each gland and warms the whole gland in one go, so it can be cleared fully, and it calms the inflammation that keeps re-blocking them. That second part is what heat-and-press machines don’t do, and why IPL results tend to last. IPL is available at all our practices. More about IPL.
Which suits you
It depends on how blocked your glands are, how inflamed your lids are, and whether blepharitis is part of it. The Dry Eye Assessment (£145) shows you all three on the screen, and £50 of it comes off any treatment. Every dry eye treatment, compared.
The short version
- LipiFlow, iLux and TearCare heat and press the oil glands
- They clear the glands but don’t calm the inflammation that re-blocks them
- EyeClean (£480) does the same job by hand, with lid cleaning
- IPL (EyeRelief £900) clears the glands and calms the inflammation