Scrubbing, Hot Compressing...there's just too many ways of doing it!

[Ben]

hello all apologies if this is a little rambling, i don't really know how to write it concisely. I am a slightly vain, in a take pride sort of way, 30 yr old English chap who's getting frustrated... You're worried i'm in the wrong forum right, i'll continue..

I have been going to the eye clinic since Jan 05 and after my 3rd visit they told me i had blepharitis and to clean my lids twice a day. For the past 2 months i've been doing the following twice a day :

Filling the basin with hot water then bathing my face and hence the eyes until everything is nice and hot, then using a sterile saline solution with cotton pad to scrub the lids. After this i rinse with hot water, then with cold.

Very refreshing i must say but can i guage opinion on if this way of doing lid scrubs is good. ?
I went back to the clinic for a check up on Friday and the doc says that althought the blepharitis has got a little better it is still quite bad. Can anyone offer a better way of doing this, i have heard of using baby shampoo, is this better ? Is bathing the eyes doing a good thing ? Guess i expected more improvement in two months, but the lids are still on their day quite red.

Also on my 4th visit on Friday( anyone detecting the frustration yet) i was told my Meibomian glands where blocked. So the order of the day here is to Hot Compress, i was told this was basically get some flannels, soak them in hot water and hold over each eye for a minute.

However as i'm already bathing my eyes in hot water is this not the same. ?

The medication she gave was Oculet 5%, one drop each eye 4 times a day, and also Betnesol Eye Ointment to put on the lids twice a day, but i keep getting that childlike 'don't want to' with the ointment as it feels uncomfortable.

Any help, simular grumbles would be most appreciated.

cheers
ben, from a very sunny England today!

[Raj]

I had to find my own way of hot compressing. Once I found something that worked for me, I stuck with it, and have gotten some results. For me, the key to successful hot compressing has been finding a way to keep heat focused on the eyes, without burning myself and without needing to get up every few minutes to reheat the compress.

I use a "bed buddy sinus pack" (you can order from Amazon, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...s=hpc&n=507846 ) It's a moist heat, and it says not to use on your eyes...probably the "McDonald's Coffee Syndrome," since an eye, once burned is almost certainly a lawsuit. Anyway, I put a single ply of wet paper towel over it, zap it for about 60 seconds in the Microwave, then lay it over my eyes.

Seems to say warm for about 10 minutes. I make sure I get it hot enough to produce reflex tearing. My eyes feel a lot better after that. I do that 2 or 3 times, so it amounts to 20-30 minutes of hot compressing.

My impression is that the oil blocking the glands has a melting point higher than the body temperature. So heating is the only way to go.

Used right before bedtime, it definitely helps me sleep through the night without waking up in pain.

Raj

[jcorbett]

heat

I use a simple hot/cold pack I bought at Wal-Mart for about $5. Throw it in the microwave for about a minute. Keeps the heat for about 10-15 minutes. Usually wears out after a couple months. I drape it over my eyes and lay back and relax. The best ones are ones with a cloth cover over them. This is not moist heat, though. If you wet the cover, then I guess you would have moist heat! Raj's idea looks interesting....I will have to check that out.

[mspirk]

Another hot compress idea

I put a washcloth rinsed in very warm water and rung out in the microwave for about 18 minutes (1,000 watt oven), drop it in a ziptop baggie, put a double or triple thickness of a moistened paper towel over the outside of the baggie, and lightly press it to my eyes for about four minutes. After removing the baggie from my eyes, I gently press up on the lower lid with my fingers toward my eyeball to help express the oils. This method works for me.

[dianat]

I have found rice in panty hose heated in the microwave to be the superior method of working those meibomian glands. I use real rice...not Minute Rice. I tie the ends of panty hose and make a pretty good sized bag. I heat in the microwave for 2 min. with a glass of water in there with it. The bag gets a little damp from the water and the water helps keep the rice from burning. Eventually the rice breaks down and after a month or so, I cut another piece off my old panty hose and start again.

[Ben]

intersting

Phew! Well i guess i'm not doing it totally wrong then.

I have been putting a face cloth under the cold tap then wringing out and wacking in the mike for around a minute. Comes out V hot. So i have to let it cool a tadge first. then fold it over a few times and then put over the eyes. Problem is it only lasts a few mins at being hot!, but those few mins are lovely!

if i put it in there for 18 mins i wouldn't be able to pick it up. But i guess if i found something to put it into.

The rice idea sounds new! Can i ask how long the heat lasts. ?

I don't have any panty hose though .Being an english chappie i'm kinda guessing what it actually is. But i'm assuming there are a few options of bags to put it in.

cheers

ben

[Lucy]

I don't have any panty hose though .Being an english chappie i'm kinda guessing what it actually is. But i'm assuming there are a few options of bags to put it in.

Ben, you can use a sock of any kind. A child's sock, man's sock or a woman's sock. I'd prefer a new one myself, but as long as it's clean it would work.

I use a terry cloth sock myself. (In case you're wondering, terry cloth is the material towels are made of.) Trust me, just experiment a bit and you'll find what works best for you!

[Ben]

Thanks Lucy

Is there a particular length of time you heat it up for. Or indeed keep it on for ?

I'll be heading for my sock draw tonight !

cheers

ben

[Steve]

Facecloth and repeated heating

Perhaps what I've been doing is totally wrong! (I certainly haven't seen any notable improvement).

As directed by my Swedish doctors, I'm running hot water (as hot as my hands can stand) on a facecloth, then putting it directly on my eyes for 10 seconds, then repeating the operation over and over for a minute or two.

[Rebecca Petris]

Nothing wrong with that, Steve. Only, it's an awful lot of work.

I find the rice baggy easiest and most effective. Uncooked rice in a thin clean sock or something, microwave it till it's hot, test carefully to make sure it won't burn and plop it on your eyes while you catch a catnap. Stays warm for a good 10-15 minutes.

[Maria1972]

Interesting. I was doing something similar to Steve. I do warm compreses 4 times aday. If I skip one time I feel it...
my sessions are short: 30 seconds lower lid, 30 seconds eyes closed. Gentle massge. I wet a washcloth with hot tap water.
I ussually go a little over the 1 minute depending on waht kind of day I have.
I always thought the the water itself was orviding doem extra benefit to the therapy....

I use a rice bag but never for my eyes...ussually for back pain, etc.

How long is safe to leave that over your eyes?

[Flick]

Bed Buddy Sinus Pack

Walgreens.com is selling 2 for $7.99 right now, which is less than half of other prices I've seen. I think I'm going to order a few and give them a try.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/produ...0&id=prod16198

Edit: Just bought one from Bed Bath and Beyond for $10 (I know it's cheaper online but I'm impatient) and tried it. It worked pretty good. Really easy to heat up - just stick in microwave for 45 seconds. Fits well over my eyes. Is supposed to emit "moist heat" but since it's reusable I guess it either produces water or is normal dry heat. I think I'll stick to this for a few weeks, since I'm just too lazy to deal with rice and socks and all that jazz. I tried hot compresses a while back just using a hot washcloth, but so far I like the my new buddy better.

[Randal]

I've been using this same product and have found it very helpful. Much less messy than wet washcloths, and its heat lasts much longer. I put mine in the microwave for about a minute to a minute and a half. It's a bit hot at first, but it lasts longer.

All in all, I really enjoy mine. The only complaint: it has a corn-like smell.

Randal

[TARYN]

warm compresses

On that sinus pack item it says in the warning section not to use it as a hot compress around the eye area...only to use it as a cold compress around the eyes. Has anyone had a problem using it when it's hot?

[Flick]

Taryn,

I think that warning is for liability, to prevent a "McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit" as somone mentioned in an earlier post. Warming the buddy up for 45 sec made it pretty warm but I wouldn't say hot, and it certainly wouldn't do any more damage than any other hot compress.

Randal - I dislike the odor as well.