subject: How To Treat Meibomian Gland Dysfunction [print this page] Dry eye symptoms result from the inability of the glands that contribute to tear production to secrete adequate supply of tears or tears that have good stability. Dry eye results in chronic irritation of the eyes, especially on waking up after a night's sleep. You feel sensations of grittiness, burning, itching, foreign body lodged in the eye, and other related discomforts. Dry eye left untreated can contribute to damage of the cornea and, at worst, loss of vision.
Dry eye very often arises from meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). MGD comprises up to a quarter of dry eye patients. Despite their popularity, washcloths may not save the heat for as long as you may want. People with long experience in MGD and heat compresses have found rice baggies more helpful. A rice baggy can be made from a handful of dry uncooked rice put in a cotton bag large enough to completely cover the eyelid. Put the rice baggy in a microwave and heat until a suitable temperature is reached. You can try out different amounts of rice and heating times until you get it right. Place the heated rice bag over the closed eyelid for up to 20 minutes. Rice baggies are able to save heat much longer than washcloths and shift the heat more evenly because of their weight.
Some people use a potato also heated in a microwave but the weight (and therefore the heat) distribution is not as uniform as rice baggies. Other people have used a washcloth wrapped around a freshly boiled unshelled egg. Boiled eggs provide warmth for a long time but, like potatoes, the shape does not permit uniform distribution of heat across the eyelid.
Technology has helped produce products such as infrared devices and intense light pulse instruments contrived to supply the benefits of the heat compress.
The heat transferred from the warm compress to the eyelid liquefies the hardened meibum, making it easy to express them by finger pressure. To derive the most benefits of heat compress for MGD, it should be followed by eye lid massage to restore flow of the gland secretions so they can contribute to the stability of the tear film. Eyelid massage after heat compress also helps bring back the functions of meibomian glands once the blockages have been cleared.
