Questions about MGD

[bradwiggo]

I was worried a few months ago that I may have dry eyes, I went to the opticians and they concluded that I didn't, one of my eyes was a tiny bit dry but I guess that isn't really abnormal. However I am concerned about the possibility of MGD and have a few questions.

1) If your glands are blocked, and they get unblocked, is it fine then? (assuming you make some effort to stop doing the thing that caused them to get blocked)

2) Can an optician tell if you have MGD without doing one of those scans? When I went they just looked at my eyes with a slit lamp and some dye in them, I'm pretty sure I remember them saying the glands were fine as I think I asked.

3) How long does MGD take to get irreversible once it starts hurting? ATM I have no idea a) when the pain in my eyes started, although I 100% didn't have it 4 months ago, this is because I have anxiety and am getting a lot of psychosomatic pain so that tends to mask anything else and b) whether the pain I have now is even real, because it could just be psychosomatic cause I was stressed about it, it was before (at least I assume it was, unless dry eye can suddenly appear in 3 days but then not get any worse for 3 months even though I didn't change anything, which seems unlikely)

[jack1988]

I was worried a few months ago that I may have dry eyes, I went to the opticians and they concluded that I didn't, one of my eyes was a tiny bit dry but I guess that isn't really abnormal. However I am concerned about the possibility of MGD and have a few questions.

1) If your glands are blocked, and they get unblocked, is it fine then? (assuming you make some effort to stop doing the thing that caused them to get blocked)

2) Can an optician tell if you have MGD without doing one of those scans? When I went they just looked at my eyes with a slit lamp and some dye in them, I'm pretty sure I remember them saying the glands were fine as I think I asked.

3) How long does MGD take to get irreversible once it starts hurting? ATM I have no idea a) when the pain in my eyes started, although I 100% didn't have it 4 months ago, this is because I have anxiety and am getting a lot of psychosomatic pain so that tends to mask anything else and b) whether the pain I have now is even real, because it could just be psychosomatic cause I was stressed about it, it was before (at least I assume it was, unless dry eye can suddenly appear in 3 days but then not get any worse for 3 months even though I didn't change anything, which seems unlikely)

You need to go to a dry eye specialist. Forgot doctors and opticians that don't deal specifically with dry eye. Where in the UK are you based?

To keep your glands unblocked you would need to continue warm compress and gland expression, as well as eyelid hygiene on a daily basis.

Yes, you can look at your glands and the rim of your eyelid to tell if you have MGD.

It can take a good year to get it under control, but it really depends on the severity of your MGD

[bradwiggo]

You need to go to a dry eye specialist. Forgot doctors and opticians that don't deal specifically with dry eye. Where in the UK are you based?

To keep your glands unblocked you would need to continue warm compress and gland expression, as well as eyelid hygiene on a daily basis.

Yes, you can look at your glands and the rim of your eyelid to tell if you have MGD.

It can take a good year to get it under control, but it really depends on the severity of your MGD

Thanks for the info.

Presumably I at least didn't have it back in December then as the optician did examine my eyelids.

Why do you need to keep using the compress once it's unblocked? If you managed to stop the thing that was causing it (which in my case is probably looking at screens for long periods of time without breaks) then surely it wouldn't happen anymore.

The optician also said my eyes didn't really seem dry back in December, given I have changed pretty much nothing about my life since then, I assume it's fairly unlikely it would develop quickly, as from what I've read the glands only block if your eyes are dry, assuming of course it isn't caused by some other factor (like an autoimmune condition or infection, which I don't really have any reason to assume I have)

[jack1988]

Thanks for the info.

Presumably I at least didn't have it back in December then as the optician did examine my eyelids.

Why do you need to keep using the compress once it's unblocked? If you managed to stop the thing that was causing it (which in my case is probably looking at screens for long periods of time without breaks) then surely it wouldn't happen anymore.

The optician also said my eyes didn't really seem dry back in December, given I have changed pretty much nothing about my life since then, I assume it's fairly unlikely it would develop quickly, as from what I've read the glands only block if your eyes are dry, assuming of course it isn't caused by some other factor (like an autoimmune condition or infection, which I don't really have any reason to assume I have)

The reason why youre glands become blocked is myriad and complex. It's an underlying health issue, inflammation, bacteria etc.. They will most likely harden if you don't use warm compresses. It's not a case of changing one thing and then it's fixed

[bradwiggo]

The reason why youre glands become blocked is myriad and complex. It's an underlying health issue, inflammation, bacteria etc.. They will most likely harden if you don't use warm compresses. It's not a case of changing one thing and then it's fixed

I have heard that they can become blocked from just looking at a screen as they get dryer which causes blockage. If this happened would there then not be an underlying cause, so it would go away?

[jack1988]

I have heard that they can become blocked from just looking at a screen as they get dryer which causes blockage. If this happened would there then not be an underlying cause, so it would go away?

That is just one reason. Blepharitis is another reason.

[bradwiggo]

That is just one reason. Blepharitis is another reason.

Assuming it wasn't Blepharitis or some other underlying thing though, would it go away once you unblock them and practise looking at your computer less I guess?