Will this help my MGD

[chapster]

Hi All

I have tried warm compresses many times for my MGD however it irritates my eyes more than anything else. I also never saw any oil come out when expressing (maybe I wasn't doing it right).

For the last week I have noticed that if I press firmly on my eyelid margin with an ear bud I can express quite a few glands and for the first time I can see some thick oil coming out (very small amount for each gland). If I continue to do this will it help my MGD or are warm compresses needed? At the moment I am only doing the lower eyelid on each eye as I find the upper eyelid more difficult.

Has anyone done this and had any results? Should I continue with it? At the moment I do it about 3 times per day.

Thanks for your help,
chapster

[NeedMyEyes]

After doing many warm compresses myself, getting my glands expressed by doctors, and getting IPL and Lipiflow I have come to the conclusion that the basis for treatment of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction is this:

Heat the glands
Melt the gunk
Express the gunk to get it all out of the glands
Then the glands can function like they did when you were 7 years old

So I think you are missing an important step of heating the heck out of the glands. I really am not sure how good you can do this at home. If you heat the glands does the thick stuff come out easier? I bet it would. Also, IPL and Lipiflow (IMHO) are more effective at this than you will be at home.

Keep in mind, I haven't seen any results from any of my treatments.

[socratese]

I agree. My glands produced a lot better after a few IPL treatments. When i use a hot compress now it doesnt make it worse and my secretions come out better.