Is Lid Scrubbing Suppose to Hurt? :/

[Rick]

When I scrub (for maybe ten-fifteen seconds, with medium pressure), whether I do it with a cotton swab and baby shampoo, or with commercial scrubbing pads, I end up with irritated eye lids that make my eyes feel much worse. They feel better at first, then worse and worse over the course of the day. I hear you have to scrub hard. Others say you must be gentle. Anyone knows which it is? It's a pain (literally), and I may be making the problem worse instead of better.

By the way, I can't even see the holes of my meobian glands in the mirror. And one optometrist told me she couldn't see them either. Yikes! My opthalmologist never mentioned a thing. Go figure.

Thanks!

[Stanza]

I can't even see the holes of my meobian glands in the mirror.

me neither, I hoped that was normal!!!!

I'd been doing scrubs last week and then my eyes got worse for a few days so I've lightened up on how I'm doing them, I'm being way more gentle now. Figure that each of us has to maybe find the right amount of pressure??

[Rory]

have you tried...wrapping a supranette (or other sterile lid wipe) around your index finger....and then moving your finger across the complete length of your eyelid back and forth up to 15 times (from nose to ear obviously).

This removes the need for baby shampoo and cotton buds and can be done anytime or anywhere or perhaps after using a lid scrub such as sterilid or ocusoft.

Of course everyone is different but i find this 100 times more practical and alot more effective than the baby shampoo/cotton bud option.

[Rick]

have you tried...wrapping a supranette (or other sterile lid wipe) around your index finger...

Wow. I'll have to try it now. I noticed that using a Q-tip on your upper eyelid is really tricky. The baby shampoo goes into my eyes and burn and the lid is especially sensitive there. Maybe your method will work better.

By the way, doing a search for Supranette, I found a little demonstration for lid scrubbing using a Q-tip (small video but cool):

http://www.edinburgh-eyetests.co.uk/meibomian.htm

[Rebecca Petris]

When I scrub (for maybe ten-fifteen seconds, with medium pressure), whether I do it with a cotton swab and baby shampoo, or with commercial scrubbing pads, I end up with irritated eye lids that make my eyes feel much worse. They feel better at first, then worse and worse over the course of the day. I hear you have to scrub hard. Others say you must be gentle. Anyone knows which it is? It's a pain (literally), and I may be making the problem worse instead of better.

Be gentle, IMHO. It is very easy to overdo eyelid care, which is counterproductive.

If you get irritated lids, I think there may be several possible explanations:
- Scrubbing too hard.
- Cleansing too frequently.
- Using too harsh an agent. Many of us cannot tolerate baby shampoo. It can irritate the lids and the eyes.
- Using too harsh a 'delivery mechanism'. Again, depends on the person. Lidscrub pads are too harsh for my eyelids - I prefer fingertips only - but work well for other people.

Also just to clarify... I think we need to make a distinction between "scrubbing" i.e. cleansing the lid/lash area - which should definitely be done gently - and massaging or expressing the glands, though the two things can be combined. For those who need a lot of pressure in order to clear the glands, personally I think this should be done by a professional or with training from a professional.

[Francesco]

i agree with rebecca... i think that to express clogged glands the only way is to press a lot in the right place....i almost cleaned my MGD, i just have a couple of glands left


p.s. Rebecca i was wondering what should i do to have my eyes visited by you .....i'm starting to think that you would be an amazing dry eye doctor!!!!

[Brighteyes]

i agree with rebecca... i think that to express clogged glands the only way is to press a lot in the right place....i almost cleaned my MGD, i just have a couple of glands left

Francesco, are you implying that you cleared your glands and now they are working properly (at least temporarily)?

I stopped with the lid cleansing and massage because my eyes were getting more and more sensitive and I felt like those things were doing more harm than good. Maybe I'm not doing it correctly (although I have Latkany's book)?

[Francesco]

Francesco, are you implying that you cleared your glands and now they are working properly (at least temporarily)?

I stopped with the lid cleansing and massage because my eyes were getting more and more sensitive and I felt like those things were doing more harm than good. Maybe I'm not doing it correctly (although I have Latkany's book)?

Yes, my doctor last week told me that my glands produce an oil that is more thick and that they are almost all open now....i still have 2 glands clogged that i m trying to open ehehehe ..i'm using a q-tip like a lot of us ...but i know where to press...wanna know how?!

ok ok ...time to share some tips now ....ihihihih


this is the "tool" i use often to check if my glands are doing good and to know which ones are blocked......ehehehehe yes, i'm crazy, but i just want to solve this eye problem soon since i'm tired of it.

p.s. it's a zoom lens (6x) with a little light....Ciao

[Stanza]

ah, clever

[Francesco]

ah, clever

yes, i think so.....i can't go to an eye dr. every month to check my glands in the future ...since 99% my case is chronic... Ciao

p.s. Ciao Alexandra !!!!

[Brighteyes]

Francesco,

Do you think "clearing your glands" is helping you? What method do you use to accomplish this? Thanks!

[Stanza]

Ciao Francesco !!!!

I'm getting one of those magnifying glasses off ebay, so I can scrutinize myself...

[Francesco]

Francesco,

Do you think "clearing your glands" is helping you? What method do you use to accomplish this? Thanks!

well my case was not severe MGD but i had something like 20% of the glands closed.......but yes, i feel that my eyes burn less.

Method is this (i don't like warm compresses since my eyes get more inflammed even with the cold compress after the massage);

- i simply put 2,3 qtips in warm water and then (after checking were the clogged glands are ihhihi with the zoom lens) i "put" the qtip on the gland for about 2 minutes ....i do this so i don't have to do warm compresses and so just warm the blocked glands !!

- After this i just squize them with the q-tip like pimples ihih ...takes 3,4 days of working on the same gland to open it ....it's not very easy......but it's working!!!!

Hope this helps...Ciao


p.s. Great Alexandra!!!!!!!! if you buy it about 6x or even more you can see the glands like the pictures of MGD that are on gooogle !

[Brighteyes]

Thanks Francesco!

Last one, I swear How can you tell if the glands are clogged? And where do you "put" the q-tip (on the clogged gland itself? on the outside of the lid? on the lid margin?)

[Francesco]

Thanks Francesco!

Last one, I swear How can you tell if the glands are clogged? And where do you "put" the q-tip (on the clogged gland itself? on the outside of the lid? on the lid margin?)

Brighteyes...no problem!!!!!!!!

i can see something like this with the zoom lens thing.....

no, not on the gland, the q-tip is on the outside of the lid and i press on the eye (Look at the picture..the q-tip should be where the finger is....you can see that the gland becomes even a bit bigger if you press correctly.....basically like pimples....pressing to open them...i'm sorry my english is not perfect but i think you got the idea.......


p.s. i often see girls "squizing" their boyfriends pimples eheh it's time to ask these girls "Can you please do the same with my Meibomian Glands???" ihihii