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Hi
I wondered if my story rings any bells with other forum users. I am 61 and have had DES for at least 10 years. I think it resulted from contact lens wearing and allergies to the various solutions I tried, plus perhaps hormonal changes with the menopause. It was first diagnosed after I had an allergic reaction to drops for conjunctivitis, and has been with me since. I have followed opthalmological advice to clean my eyelids night and morning and apply warm compresses and massage with cotton buds, and this has helped to manage my symptoms slightly.
However a few weeks ago I had something of a breakthrough. I got myself a mirror with 10x magnification, and noticed that my swollen eyelids actually consisted of lots of tiny lumps, one or two of which had what looked like small whiteheads. So I decided to steam my face (face over bowl of boiling water and towel over head) twice a day for around 10 minutes, in addition to my usual routine, and over the past two or three weeks some little cysts have popped out and also some sticky gunge (sorry for the graphic descriptions but it has been quite dramatic!).
My eyelids are now much less swollen and my eyes are less dry. I can open my eyes in the morning without discomfort, and I am more comfortable during the day. Steaming has been the most effective thing i have tried so far and yet I had not heard of this being recommended, apart from when I did a search specifically for 'steaming dry eyes' and came across this forum.
Please could other fellow steamers reply and let me know their experiences, and in particular whether there have been any untoward side effects from steaming.
Thanks
Maysidotes
I wondered if my story rings any bells with other forum users. I am 61 and have had DES for at least 10 years. I think it resulted from contact lens wearing and allergies to the various solutions I tried, plus perhaps hormonal changes with the menopause. It was first diagnosed after I had an allergic reaction to drops for conjunctivitis, and has been with me since. I have followed opthalmological advice to clean my eyelids night and morning and apply warm compresses and massage with cotton buds, and this has helped to manage my symptoms slightly.
However a few weeks ago I had something of a breakthrough. I got myself a mirror with 10x magnification, and noticed that my swollen eyelids actually consisted of lots of tiny lumps, one or two of which had what looked like small whiteheads. So I decided to steam my face (face over bowl of boiling water and towel over head) twice a day for around 10 minutes, in addition to my usual routine, and over the past two or three weeks some little cysts have popped out and also some sticky gunge (sorry for the graphic descriptions but it has been quite dramatic!).
My eyelids are now much less swollen and my eyes are less dry. I can open my eyes in the morning without discomfort, and I am more comfortable during the day. Steaming has been the most effective thing i have tried so far and yet I had not heard of this being recommended, apart from when I did a search specifically for 'steaming dry eyes' and came across this forum.
Please could other fellow steamers reply and let me know their experiences, and in particular whether there have been any untoward side effects from steaming.
Thanks
Maysidotes
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