How to massage the lids without irritating them

[Randolph]

I use moist warm compresses and by the time I'm done the moisture has dried up the skin on both my lids and my fingers and I when I perform the massage there's a lot of traction and it hurts and irritates my lids.

Does anybody know a good way to solve this problem? I've tried wrapping my finger (the one I massage with) in a tissue, I tried using that thing ladies use to remove makeup but there was still a lot of traction. I need something that would glide over the skin.

[msienkiewicz]

I'll await an answer too because I think I'm doing more harm than good.

Wish I had the answer for you.

[elvishthistle]

I am also interested in this answer! I tried it but it made my eyelids puffy and itchy...

[eva b]

Hi y'all,

what I do is I massage THROUGH the same face cloth I've just used to do the warm compress. That is, I unfold it so it's just one layer, lay it over both my closed eyelids, and gently rub finger tips up and down over the eyeballs, so that I'm not actually rubbing the skin itself....just the eyelid through the cloth.

You could do the same using those round flat pads that are used to remove make up...just make sure it's moistened with warm water first.

This way, you don't get any friction on the skin, just the massaging action on the glands inside the lids.

This method was recommended by my optometrist, and it seems to work quite well - doesn't make my lids sore, and I ususally get a cloudy film on the eyeball straight after I've finished which means some oil has been expressed from the glands.

It's rather hard to describe in words...any questions, just ask!

hope this helps

[James M]

Hi,

I think wat Eva just said is certainly an option. I think there are also one or two other options.

I struggled with the same problem a year ago or so. At the end the friction on the skin was so bad that it was damaging the skin, which is something to avoid obviously.

Anyway, I would suggest to try massaging with a q-tip. After the warm compresses just place a wet (warm water) q-tip horizontly on the eyelids, just above the exits of the glands, where the lashes are. Then gently press. This is all you need to do basicly. You really dont need to press hard, the oil will come out this way and there is zero risc of damaging or even irritating the skin on the eyelids.

Also possible is to just press and massage whilst keeping the fingers at one place on the skin but at the same time moving them over the meibomian glands. Make use of the fact that your eyelid skin is loose above the glands. You are then just using the little space that there is between the skin and glands, so the fingers kan stay in the same place on the skin, but are moving over the glands at the same time.

Another option is to combine it with eyelid cleaning. In the shower, clean the eyelids with ocusoft (available in the drye eye shop) and whilst cleaning them you are also massaging them ofcourse. The ocusoft foam is like a lubricant between the fingers and the eyelids, they just gently glide over the skin without friction. First the q-tip and then the ocusoft is probably sufficient, it works for me anyway. The one with the q-tip is (by far) the most effective for me.
Hope it helps, good luck.

[elvishthistle]

Excellent, thanks for the tips! I am going to try these methods out and see which one works. I tried the q-tip one before but did it w/out any warm compresses and probably used more(a lot more) pressure than I needed. That could explain the red irritated eyelids.

[stella]

Have you tried steaming ? your eyes are much wetter and you can steam and then massage and steam and massage OR put a smear of vasaline on your lids