Anyone had their glands expressed by a Doc?

[eva b]

I think I've heard a few members mention that at Dr Latkany's clinic you can get your meibomian glands expressed as a routine procedure.

Has anyone had it done - there, or anywhere else?

My local OD expresses mine for me, just using his fingers and a tiny spatula to catch the fluid, but I wondered whether in the US there is some kind of more sophisticated gadget that they use...

[NYer]

Dr. Latkany uses a Q-Tip (I think you call it a "cotton bud" in the UK). Nothing exotic!

[Rebecca Petris]

There are one or two "paddles" on the market for expressing the glands. Me, I'd trust a good MG doc to do it with their fingers. Heck, just finding a doc who doesn't give you a funny look when you ask to have them expressed is a big enough plus!

[Jen72]

Heck, just finding a doc who doesn't give you a funny look when you ask to have them expressed is a big enough plus!

I can only imagine that conversation! ha

[Lucy]

Yes, I asked my lasik doc to do this last year. He did. I'll bet he doesn't do it often.

[rubyslippers]

Why the need to have a doctor do it?

[eva b]

Why the need to have a doctor do it?

because when the fluid is really thick, or a duct is blocked, it is almost impossible to squeeze hard enough and from the right angle yourself - particularly in the upper eyelid!

I'm not talking about the daily massage/squeezing that we do after the hot compresses...I';m talking about when there is a potential cyst forming, it really is not something you would want to undertake yourself...trust me

I guess I'm really lucky to have stumbled across this OD who has a special interest in MGD, and considerable experience in it. A few weeks ago he managed to remove a wax plug from the end of a duct in my upper eyelid which had already formed a cyst - and it subsequently drained away within a week. Otherwise there would have been a 50/50 chance I would have to have it surgically removed - it's certainly not a procedure I could have done on myself.

He just thinks it would be easier if one could warm the skin surface at the same time, I asked Dr Bazan about it, and he just emailed me a suggestion which he calls Dr Bazan's baggy...a ziploc bag filled with hot water with which you do both the compress and the squeezing. A great alternative to rice baggies, and easier to do expression with, I imagine

[stella]

I express my own glands every night after heating .I wash my hands thoroughly and take each lid between my finger and thumb and squeeze firmly along the lid You have to pull the lid well away from the eye to do this ,and obviously you need to have very short finger nails (at least on your first finger and thumb)
I learned this after i got a cyst in one of the glands - so i wanted to make sure i would'nt get any more cysts (chalazions)which i understand happens if the oil cant get out through the duct and builds up-- so far so good ,no further cysts

[eva b]

I express my own glands every night after heating .I wash my hands thoroughly and take each lid between my finger and thumb and squeeze firmly along the lid You have to pull the lid well away from the eye to do this ,and obviously you need to have very short finger nails (at least on your first finger and thumb)
I learned this after i got a cyst in one of the glands - so i wanted to make sure i would'nt get any more cysts (chalazions)which i understand happens if the oil cant get out through the duct and builds up-- so far so good ,no further cysts

you are braver than me!

[clairvoyant]

I've had a doc do mine a couple of times. I think he used a pointy like tool though, different from the paddle that has been linked here. TBH though I have read that mechanical expressing only frees them up for about 2 hours. I am not sure where the report was from, might have been from that arvo site or one of the ones linked from there.

[stella]

Eva - I reackon that at least i can stop if it starts hurting me , and use as little or as much pressure as i feel comfortable with
I would'nt trust a Doc to do this as i would be scared they would hurt me
I cant see that a Doc is doing anything different than i am doing - ie squeezing the lids to unblock the ducts, and providing i use care with hand washing and pressure i am more comfortable doing it myself
Besides i can do this every night whereas a Doc can only do a one off

[eva b]

Eva - I reackon that at least i can stop if it starts hurting me , and use as little or as much pressure as i feel comfortable with
I would'nt trust a Doc to do this as i would be scared they would hurt me
I cant see that a Doc is doing anything different than i am doing - ie squeezing the lids to unblock the ducts, and providing i use care with hand washing and pressure i am more comfortable doing it myself
Besides i can do this every night whereas a Doc can only do a one off

I guess I'm very lucky, because I have found an OD (French, but trained in the US) who has a special interest in meibomian gland dysfunction, and does mine regularly for me.

Today he gave me two little hand warmer gadgets used by skiers and other outdoorsey type people (like miniature eyelid spas I imagine) filled with the same type of gel that you press a disc inside it and it heats up instantly and stays warm for about 20 miinutes. He made me sit there with it pressed against the eye (quite comfy and not too hot) before he did his squeezing and it was much more comfortable. He's lent me them to practice with at home.

I have to say it's much more convenient than having to keep warming up face flannels...never mind washing the wretched things once a week and making sure they're rinsed out enough so there's no powder residue left!!!

I feel very luck to have found this chap, and almost feel like I've become a guinea pig for him to try new ideas on how to treat our tiresome conditions!

I wish all of you could find such a gem within 5 minutes walking distance of your home

[stella]

I'm really glad for you Eva - you have had such a bad time not being able to use any drops at all and living in GB under the NHS
Has he helped your overall symptoms?

[acarol]

I guess I'm very lucky, because I have found an OD (French, but trained in the US) who has a special interest in meibomian gland dysfunction, and does mine regularly for me.

Today he gave me two little hand warmer gadgets used by skiers and other outdoorsey type people (like miniature eyelid spas I imagine) filled with the same type of gel that you press a disc inside it and it heats up instantly and stays warm for about 20 miinutes. He made me sit there with it pressed against the eye (quite comfy and not too hot) before he did his squeezing and it was much more comfortable. He's lent me them to practice with at home.

I have to say it's much more convenient than having to keep warming up face flannels...never mind washing the wretched things once a week and making sure they're rinsed out enough so there's no powder residue left!!!

I feel very luck to have found this chap, and almost feel like I've become a guinea pig for him to try new ideas on how to treat our tiresome conditions!

I wish all of you could find such a gem within 5 minutes walking distance of your home

Thats great. I wonder is it possible to buy those miniature spas for the eyes?? Would be very handy.

[eva b]

acarol,

I think they are originally intended as hand warmers for people who do outdoor sports a lot - I had something similar when I used to ski. Try a sports shop - ski-ing, walking or climbing suppliers should have something similar.

These stay warm for about 20 minutes.