Favoured method of expressing glands

[justbob]

Can't seem to get anything to come out, can't see or feel any difference. This supposed to happen?

[dominorose]

I dont get how you all manage to see the oil coming out. My doc sees mine but I havent been able to do it once in 9 months.

[Katewest]

domi do you have a high def mirror?

[dominorose]

Yes Kate but can't see anything :/

[MGD30]

For expressing my glands, after using a warm compress, I usually pull my eye lid up a bit and then slightly pinch it inwards so as not to put pressure on the eye ball. I do it hard enough for the oil to express but not enough to cause pain.

In order to see the oil being expressed I have to apply more pressure. I bought the biggest magnification I could find, I think it was advertised as 15X (although I dont think its really that much). Again, I do a warm compress. Then, I use a good quality, sterile, Q-tip, and put a bit of mineral oil on it (you dont want a dry one touching near your eyes). I then apply pressure on the inside of the lower eye lid, with the Q-tip, while applying pressure on the outside with my finger tip. If you apply enough pressure you should be able to see the oil coming out of the glands, as long as you dont have atrophy, or your openings are closed up in which case you might need probing. I dont do this often and I only do it to see what in what kind of shape my glands are. I like to see this for myself in addition to having my doctor check. If you plan on doing this I would recommend doing it closer to bed time as your eyes will feel a bit gritty, although in the morning that feeling is gone.

If I hadn't done this prior to and after lipiflow I would have assumed that it did not work because the pain level barely changed; but I could clearly see for myself that the oil being expressed was very different in consistency.

[JJdryeye]

So what do all you gland expressors think of this article by Dr. Sandra Brown?:

http://dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/mgcare.html

Worth the risk? Nothing to lose? Personally I'm torn on the subject of daily gland expression. What say you?

[LaDiva]

I read this article some time ago, and would like to clarify something. I was assuming that people on this thread have eye doctors who recommended heat and expression to them as part of their regimen. It was recommended to me by four eye doctors as a daily routine. Unfortunately, some people have oil problems that never resolve, even after trying everything on Dr. Brown's list, and more. I thought back to the very first doctor I visited for dry eye. She told me my oil glands were plugged and threw a pamphlet at me about using hot compresses and expression. Her parting words were "let's hope this resolves quickly". It did not, and continued getting worse over the course of several years. I was sporadic about expression and heat, and this was part of the problem. Three years after my original encounter with her, my cornea was in bad shape. You've got to be a consistent warrior and you've got to have a diagnosis before you can have a plan of action. If you are considering this, but don't know if you need it or not, please ask your eye doctor. I agree with Dr. Brown. If you don't need it, don't do it, and certainly if you do, don't poke your eye out!

[justbob]

So what do all you gland expressors think of this article by Dr. Sandra Brown?:

http://dryeyezone.com/encyclopedia/mgcare.html

Worth the risk? Nothing to lose? Personally I'm torn on the subject of daily gland expression. What say you?

But how else do we get normal (ish) oil flow? I'm open to suggestions.

[JJdryeye]

But how else do we get normal (ish) oil flow? I'm open to suggestions.

Don't know. Perhaps searching for the source of the inflammation, the source of the clogged glands to begin with, getting that under control, and then having a limited number of professional gland treatments (i.e. expression, lipiflow, probing, etc.) to unclog things? I wish I had the answers. I'm just skeptical of some of the doctors who suggest self expression. Dr. Brown sounds like someone who has taken a hard look at the effects of this and given an educated opinion on the possible risks. I wager that many of the ophthalmologists who are throwing out such general advice are simply repeating what they've heard/read about ways to treat it.

[justbob]

Don't know. Perhaps searching for the source of the inflammation, the source of the clogged glands to begin with, getting that under control, and then having a limited number of professional gland treatments (i.e. expression, lipiflow, probing, etc.) to unclog things? I wish I had the answers.

I'd love to get a proper diagnosis, but who from? And I need to survive till that distant time.

I'm just skeptical of some of the doctors who suggest self expression. Dr. Brown sounds like someone who has taken a hard look at the effects of this and given an educated opinion on the possible risks. I wager that many of the ophthalmologists who are throwing out such general advice are simply repeating what they've heard/read about ways to treat it.

I agree, they take the easy route, why try to help someone when you can leave them to suffer? it's so easy to do (it seems), and so typically human.

[Katewest]

Domi-It takes a while to get the glands flowing-at least in my case. I think abut 3 weeks in I started to see some oil come out.

[justbob]

How do you get an improvement that leads to oil coming out if it doesn't come out in beginning though?