
#Warm eye compress diy skin
17 WCs applied to the outer lid surface must maintain a consistent 45☌ (113☏) in order for the therapeutic heat to reach the MGs, ideally >40☌ (104☏).įorty-five degrees Celsius, when the heat source is steadily cooling from the time of application, can be applied safely against the external eyelid skin without risking thermal injury for the duration of a treatment, but heat needs to be applied for a minimum of four to six minutes in order for the heat to pass through anatomical barriers that naturally shield the glands, e.g., skin, fat, the tarsal plate, and vasculature of the eyelids.

#Warm eye compress diy how to
Unfortunately, most patients performing WCs find themselves unenthusiastic about the procedure due in part to the lack of personal results, the laborious nature of the application, and/or the lack of instructions about how to optimize their efficacy.Ī 2008 study determined the following key features to increase the effectiveness of a WC. Some unique methods have been described to heat eyelids, including hard-boiled eggs, heating lamps, and even baked potatoes. Warm compresses come in many designs, ranging from various homemade versions heated in a microwave to self-heating, commercially available masks and goggles. Related: Diagnosing and treating dry eye with technology The challenge with any form of front surface lid heating is to transfer therapeutic levels of heat to the meibomian glands (>40☌/104☏), 14 while not risking thermal injury to the ocular surface or the skin. However, warmer is not better for the ocular surface. This is especially true for more advanced disease.

8-13 In terms of supporting gland function, it has been established that warmer is better when it comes to WCs. The goal is to stabilize the tear film and provide the ocular surface with adequate defense against evaporative stress. 7 While the core therapy for MGD is to remove obstruction, which requires an in-office procedure, the therapeutic goal of adjunctive WC use is to heat the eyelids to help soften and partially melt any remaining material obstructing the glands. Warm compresses (WCs) are commonly recommended as supplementary therapy for MGD as well as a number of other conditions of the eyelid. 3-5 Recent data from a general Caucasian clinical population, using appropriate metrics for diagnosis, indicates similarly high prevalence ~70 percent. 2 The prevalence of MGD in several large general Asian population-based studies has been found to be as high as 69 percent. PO Box, APO/FPO, Afghanistan, Alaska/Hawaii, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Congo, Republic of the, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Iraq, Jamaica, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, US Protectorates, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (U.S.Meibomian gland disease (MGD) is a chronic, progressive disease and the leading cause of dry eye 1 (up to 86 percent of all dry eye sufferers have MGD).
