Randall Fuerst, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Earlier this month, I had a patient complain about her eyes looking tired. “When I look in the mirror, it really looks like I’m tired—and I’m not!”, she insisted. “I have co-workers asking me if I am tired. It drives me crazy!”
In these days of COVID and social distancing, your body language is reduced to the expressiveness of your eyes.
A wry smile? Gone behind the mask.
Wide grin? Not discernable.
Just your eyes to give meaning to your tone of voice, verbiage, and volume. So we study each other’s eyes—especially if their words are slightly muffled by the mask.
Looking (and feeling tired) is, unfortunately, part of the assault on our skin tone as we age. This is oftentimes caused by mild drooping of the upper eyelids. The elastic, wafer-thin skin around the eyes starts to, in essence, stretch out. The adhesion to the cartilage plate can loosen. The result is that the three muscles tasked with keeping your eyes wide open find it much more difficult.
The medical term for this is called ptosis. According to recent research, approximately 11.5% of adults past 50 years of age have acquired ptosis. Up until now, this has only been able to be corrected surgically. Unless the lid drooping is so bad that your peripheral vision is impacted, insurance companies are loathe to pay for ptosis surgery, considering this cosmetic and only for vanity improvement. Upneeq is a newly FDA-approved eyedrop that stimulates one of the eyelid muscles (Mueller’s muscle) to further open. The results are pretty remarkable.
“So what do you think?“ I asked. I had placed a drop of Upneeq in her two eyes five minutes earlier.
“This is amazing,” she gushed. “They’re noticeably better!”
The drops can be used daily, and the effect lasts all day.
So, if you have some concern regarding your eyelids drooping enough to where it is bothersome to you, and you are not ready for surgery, you may be a great candidate for Upneeq.
Please don’t hesitate to ask your doctor to try Upneeq. If it is right for you, the cost is about $75 for a months’ supply (when bought in a three-month kit). If you don’t choose to use it daily, this results in a per use cost of slightly more than $2.00.
If droopy eyelids make you feel tired, please ask our EYEcenter Optometric about Upneeq!
Read more about Upneeq in this month's Elle Magazine: https://www.elle.com/beauty/health-fitness/a35607625/ptosis-for-awake-eye/