what do docs do for severe MGD if they dont express the glands???

[jenny2008]

i have called so many corneal specialists and about 99% of them say they do not express glands--and this in larger cities.. i dont get it..

does anyone on here manage their MGD without gland expression? do some docs just not agree with it?? please help me understand. I am allergic to preservatives like BAK so i cannot do azasite.. what else can be done??? thanks...

[PotatoCakes]

Maybe this? http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ance-or-murder

IMO, a lot of terms like MGD have a variety of symptoms and two people with MGD may have very different issues. For instance, I have been diagnosed with MGD and while warm compresses are soothing, anytime I press on my glands, I rarely see anything come out or if I do, it looks like a super light version of what should happen with normal eyelids. I've pressed VERY hard and lightly, all with the same result. Other people on the Dry Eye Zone describe toothpaste-like excretions when they press on their lids. I think it would be easier on doctors and patients if they further distinguished what some of these terms mean but until then, we, as patients, are left a little blind (no pun intended).

[Cindy]

I have had my glands expressed by optometrists who saw they were plugged during a slit lamp exam and expressed them. Easy peasy. No need for a specialist. Only once (the first time) did a surprising amount of crud come out. Surprising to me, anyway since it clouded my vison when the crud squirted free . I am much more diligent about gland maintenance now; consequently, the gland expressions by the doc are not so dramatic.

[mgshutterbug]

I've been told that I have MGD, but no ophthalmologist has ever recommended that I express the glands, or do lid scrubs. They have encouraged me to use warm compresses, which I did for awhile. I noticed no difference. What makes my eyes feel the best is to to take a hot shower, and let the steam steep in my eyes. That feels the best - for a brief time, the time I take a shower. After I get out, I must use drops because my eyes are once again miserable. The steam, of course, moisturizes the eye, but since it is totally aqueous, it does not stay in the eye. I make no/virtually no oil, so there's nothing to prevent evaporation. I wonder if my goblet cells have also given up the ghost...

Maria

[jenny2008]

hey there
finally found someone in my little town who expressed my glands--it is really tough to find a doc to do it.. a lot that i called (corneal specialists) flat out told me they didnt believe in it!!

anyway, i found a reg opthamlogist -he did a good job but is semi retired which means he is gone sometimes up to 8 weeks.. the other 2 guys in his practice do it too but not the same technique.. o well. hpeflly i eventually wont have to have it done so much..

[jadavispcfl]

Another tip is to wear a moisture barrier at night. I use Onyix. They are comfortable, and don't move around at night. The barriers over the eyes at night create a moisture chamber, that reduces evaporation, reducing the MGD. Eyes should be more comfortable in the morning.

[jenny2008]

i have never heard of that? did your doctor tell you that wearing a moisture chamber reduces MGD?

[mgshutterbug]

My corneal docs never even mentioned wearing moisture chamber glasses. My one corneal specialist, who was at U MD at the time, had never even seen them til I came in wearing them. We truly have alot of work to do in educating our docs. I never have had any thought that moisture chamber glasses improve the Meibomian gland production. I can't see why they would. But maybe someone else on the forum knows more about it. They do enable me to keep my eyes open inside, which is a blessing. My L eye was so dry, I could barely keep it open (and often didn't) before I found this type of glasses.

Maria