How to know if hot compresses are working

[LaDiva]

It is not known what causes Rosacea. Triggers can be food, temperature, drugs, or stress. It can also be exasperated by other health conditions such as menopause and is sometimes accompanied by auto-immune issues. I have both Rosacea and MGD. They feed off of one another. It is like the chicken or the egg with regard to which came first, but I am guessing in my case it was the Rosacea. Ocular Rosacea is difficult to diagnose, and I saw three or four different eye doctors before one finally nailed it. Minni is right about dry eye products. You must be careful which you use if you have Rosacea, although I think most of the eye scrubs are about the same. I'd definitely stay away from baby shampoo as an eye scrub.

I've read Sandra Brown's article several times. It contains an important caveat, but there is the hint of an angry edge there as well and it was my feeling that she went a little overboard. What does one do if the gunk simply won't come out? I am not sure whether everyone's MGD is related to over-production of oil or not. In my case, I believe it is more likely the production of very bad quality oil and not necessarily over-production. The bottom line is that we all must experiment to find the best solutions for our individual situations. In my case, even with Rosacea, the warm compresses are much more helpful in bringing down inflammation than cold. Please let us know how things go for you Boston. Sending good wishes.

[JJdryeye]

Inflammation is caused by an unbalanced lipid layer. If your oil is not solidified I would not recommend warm/hot compresses because it will make your inflammation worse. The oil flow you get from a warm compress can be achieved by gently pushing a q-tip against the eyelid. You don't have to do all of the glands. Just enough to get the oil flowing. Also it is my understanding that the temperature of heat required to melt the solidified oil is so high that it would actually damage the cornea. So a standard warm compress has very little effect.

I'm not sure I agree with this. I've found that compresses in moderation, as I described above, keep my condition at a more manageable level. Without them my really bad days are more frequent. As far as self-expression goes, there is some debate as to whether or not people should do it.