does someone know about meibomian therapy?

[Alexandra]

Hi!

Ive found an interesting internetsite.
They claim that they can enhance the lipid film with some therapy.
has anyone heard about that/ tried it?

http://www.nature.com/eye/journal/v1.../6701611a.html

Thanks!

Alex

[neil0502]

My immediate reaction: this is the exact same process as use of a warmed corn/rice bag ... only you have to buy the device

[Lucy]

Amen, Neil. We like to think gadgets are always a big thing. Look at the fitness industry. I have some eye gadgets myself, most of which were a waste of money. Rice is the word, and it's very cheap. I think I feel a nap coming on and my ricebag will be zapped in the micro for a couple of minutes and ease me off into a nice nappppppppppppppp on a dreary Sunday afternoon.

[Judy]

Hi Lucy,

I'm trying to figure out a way to use a warm compress without always using hot water on a washcloth as that gets cool right away. Do you actually make your own rice bags or buy them? How long do you heat in the microwave? Thanks for any help you can provide!

[Guest]

Rice Bag

Judy,

I just used a small bag about 6cm wide and 14cm long. My mum is an extremely talented dress maker so I got her to knock me a couple up with a draw string in them so that I can replace the rice every so often and wash them when needed.

Something similar in size to a sunglass protective bag that you get with some of these sports sunglasses.

Put about 1 cup - 1 1/2 cups of rice in it any flavour (uncooked of course), don't want it too heavy but want it to stay warm for a good 10 minutes.

Pop it in the microwave (I use 90 seconds 800W microwave) but I always have a cup of water in there, this keeps the rice moist and stops it from burning.

Put it on my eyes for 10 minutes (make sure it is not too hot):

Now for the eyelid massage-

Dampened q-tip (saline solution), a fresh one for each eye (avoiding cross contamination).

Top lid first - firm pressure with the q-tip, start at the nose and work to the temple, repeat about 20 times.

Bottom lid - first wipe lid margin with fresh q-tip to get rid of any stuff,
- then firm pressure again with the q-tip, start at the nose and work to the temple, repeat about 20 times.
- the firm pressure starting about 1cm (1/2 inch) under eye and work up to lid line - repeat about 20 times along the eyelid.
- Clean the bottom lid margin again as there is quite a bit of oil there by now.

I then finish off by putting the rice bag back on for another 10 minutes or so, then I usually get up and have a shower.

I have no idea whether this is working or if I am doing it the right way, you will find countless variations and who knows which one is right.

The one that is right, is the one that works for you.

For additional moisture, I sometimes but a dampened wash cloth over my eyes then put the warm rice bag on top, this brings up the humidity and gets the oils flowing.

Hope this helps

Ian

[Judy]

Hi Ian,

Thanks, seriously for your detailed response. Wow, the eyelid massage, 20 times..... How do you find the time to do all these things? I know I must try more and take the time because my eyes ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!!! I'll give you an update of how I do once I get my rice bag(s) set up and try this out. I was very curious about the eyelid massages, so I'm really glad you went into detail. Have a GRAND DAY!

[Rebecca Petris]

Very nice explanation Ian - thanks for that. I love the drawstring idea too!!

One word of caution: Sometimes "less is more". Now and then I hear from people or see posts from people whose eyes get more irritated when they are doing a lot of lid therapy - occasionally people whose lids seem to get more irritated with any heat treatment; more commonly people who feel worse if they are doing overly aggressive lid scrubs and/or applying heat very frequently. Since there are so many other factors in our lives - from weather to drugs - it's not always obvious what's causing the irritation.

For people new to lid therapy, it might be useful start out with minimal lid treatment (like one warm compress a day, or gentle lid wipes only) and work your way up slowly step by step when you are assured that the current step is not causing any irritation.

[Guest]

Hi Ian,

Thanks, seriously for your detailed response. Wow, the eyelid massage, 20 times..... How do you find the time to do all these things?

Judy, it may sound alot but seriously the whole thing takes about 20-30 minutes including nuking the rice.

The 20 massages are quite quick but I make sure I put a bit of pressure on it and I use plastic q-tip. If it feels uncomfortable at any time - STOP!!

I must point out that my Dr's (x2) have told me that I don't have Blepharitis (scales, flakes, yukky bits etc), I am 100% certain that I have some form of MGD as I believe this goes a long way to explain my very fast TBUT and the compress seems to be helping over the past couple of days.

As Rebecca said, you may find it irritating, I hated it at first but I know it is doing something good for me, I used to sometimes follow the warm routine with a cold compress (cold wet face washer in the freezer for a few minutes)after I had a shower just to settle my eyes down. The coolness acts as a natural vasoconstrictor.

I do the warm compress 2Xdaily (before I get out of bed and when I go to bed). I use the time to relax, ponder my future without dry eyes, reminisce about my life before laser surgery and reassure myself that I will return to that person soon, VERY soon - very good therapy.

For me, for today, this seems to be working, tomorrow could be a different story.

I wish you well with it and hope you get some relief from this horrid condition.

Cheers

Ian