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So here is what has helped me quite a bit, I know many of us have a lot of things to do that require a considerable amount of time in our day. I have personally found it hard to know when to do what and how to do it, so I wanted to offer what's helped me lately. I'll lost my regimen then explain how and why I do things in a specific manner.
Hot compress 2x
lid scrub avenova 2x
left eye antibiotic 2x (had an erosion on the 10th)
both eyes alrex 2x
both eyes restasis 2x
So here is what I was doing wrong, compress was too hot or too cold, so I got a laser thermometer to read the temp. Should be no greater than 45C maybe 50C if you have thick meibum but always check on your wrist first and always use the heat gun in multiple spots on each eye pad to make sure temp is consistent.
Afterward I used a cotton round to clean the dirty oil off my lids and lashes...I spray avenova on the pad and then two sprays directly on the closed eye. Wipe clean but don't be too aggressive, it'll dry out your lids and possibly cause more inflammation.
Ok, so if my eyes are dry from the compress/lid scrub, most of the time they are not. But if they are dry afterward, I put in serum tears. You could use any tear you prefer. I feel like the heat is great for the lids but bad for the ocular surface so giving the eye a quick bath after the heat wouldn't hurt if you need it. If you don't and feel good however, don't apply anything.
Heres where the big change came for me. I used to do the compress, scrub lids and dump all my meds in right after. This made my dry eye worse I think because it was just too much at once. So I wait 2-4 hours after my compress to instill my meds (antibiotic, alrex and restasis). I notice way less irritation this way.
I just wanted to write this in hopes it helps someone else, we don't always have the ability to do this because of our life getting in the way. But if you can, try to give your eyes a break in between that heat and the installation of medical drops.
Couple more tips I just want to add in here...I love serum tears, however, if you have MGD and sticky lids, avoid serum before bed. I feel as if it makes them stick worse. I would almost go as far as to say I feel it feeds that bad bacteria and causes a great bio film on the lid margins. If you have stick eyes after the compress and lid scrub, you can spray avenova on the tip of two q tips, pull the lid from the eye like you're putting in drops and GENTLY run across the bottom lid margin. Most importantly, don't let the lid touch the ocular surface until the avenova has dried. I just hold the lid down and open for 20-30 seconds. If I don't, oh i feel it burn. I haven't needed to clean the top lid and probably feel it would be unsafe just due to awkwardness.
Again, for those that have sticky lids at night, I suggest Thera tears at night. For me, I feel like the sodium and electrolytes prevent that biofilm. I think of it like salting meat to keep it fresh before we had refrigerators. The sodium just makes it an inhospitable environment for the bacteria. I use the regular drops as gels do not work well for me. But theratears makes a gel too, so if you need gel, they have that option.
When i shower, I am going to start to wear goggles. I notice the less I shower, the better my eyes feel. I'll let you know how the goggles work out. But I know that if you have water with a high ppm of dissolved solids, and that gets in your eyes, it will dehydrate you like no other. My water at my house post water softener is 650ppm...that's insanely high. EPA standards for drinking water maximum is 500ppm. But even if you don't drink it, having salt water and god knows what else wash over your body and enter your eyes is bad.
Change pillow cases eases daily if you can.
I may add to thos list list as I go on...but these are minor tweaks that really helped me. I'm feeling really good physically and mentally. I was reading a lot of studies on lotoprednol .5% (lotemax) that said it can be taken for 6 years twice a day and almost every participant had almost no significant increase in IOP. I take alrex which is lotoprednol .2% so much weaker than alrex. So reading that let me say to myself...hey, you can take these, if you get them compounded preservative free, for 10+ years and probably not have any issues with glaucoma or cataracts. Just knowing that took so much stress off my life. Bevause one of my biggest fears is for my future. I want to be ok...we all do...and sadly this disease really throws life off kilter. It won't kill you, it'll just **** with you every day until you want to die. So knowing we have a way out of a bad situation definitely makes me feel better.
Hope everyone is doing well, if you have any questions feel free.
Hot compress 2x
lid scrub avenova 2x
left eye antibiotic 2x (had an erosion on the 10th)
both eyes alrex 2x
both eyes restasis 2x
So here is what I was doing wrong, compress was too hot or too cold, so I got a laser thermometer to read the temp. Should be no greater than 45C maybe 50C if you have thick meibum but always check on your wrist first and always use the heat gun in multiple spots on each eye pad to make sure temp is consistent.
Afterward I used a cotton round to clean the dirty oil off my lids and lashes...I spray avenova on the pad and then two sprays directly on the closed eye. Wipe clean but don't be too aggressive, it'll dry out your lids and possibly cause more inflammation.
Ok, so if my eyes are dry from the compress/lid scrub, most of the time they are not. But if they are dry afterward, I put in serum tears. You could use any tear you prefer. I feel like the heat is great for the lids but bad for the ocular surface so giving the eye a quick bath after the heat wouldn't hurt if you need it. If you don't and feel good however, don't apply anything.
Heres where the big change came for me. I used to do the compress, scrub lids and dump all my meds in right after. This made my dry eye worse I think because it was just too much at once. So I wait 2-4 hours after my compress to instill my meds (antibiotic, alrex and restasis). I notice way less irritation this way.
I just wanted to write this in hopes it helps someone else, we don't always have the ability to do this because of our life getting in the way. But if you can, try to give your eyes a break in between that heat and the installation of medical drops.
Couple more tips I just want to add in here...I love serum tears, however, if you have MGD and sticky lids, avoid serum before bed. I feel as if it makes them stick worse. I would almost go as far as to say I feel it feeds that bad bacteria and causes a great bio film on the lid margins. If you have stick eyes after the compress and lid scrub, you can spray avenova on the tip of two q tips, pull the lid from the eye like you're putting in drops and GENTLY run across the bottom lid margin. Most importantly, don't let the lid touch the ocular surface until the avenova has dried. I just hold the lid down and open for 20-30 seconds. If I don't, oh i feel it burn. I haven't needed to clean the top lid and probably feel it would be unsafe just due to awkwardness.
Again, for those that have sticky lids at night, I suggest Thera tears at night. For me, I feel like the sodium and electrolytes prevent that biofilm. I think of it like salting meat to keep it fresh before we had refrigerators. The sodium just makes it an inhospitable environment for the bacteria. I use the regular drops as gels do not work well for me. But theratears makes a gel too, so if you need gel, they have that option.
When i shower, I am going to start to wear goggles. I notice the less I shower, the better my eyes feel. I'll let you know how the goggles work out. But I know that if you have water with a high ppm of dissolved solids, and that gets in your eyes, it will dehydrate you like no other. My water at my house post water softener is 650ppm...that's insanely high. EPA standards for drinking water maximum is 500ppm. But even if you don't drink it, having salt water and god knows what else wash over your body and enter your eyes is bad.
Change pillow cases eases daily if you can.
I may add to thos list list as I go on...but these are minor tweaks that really helped me. I'm feeling really good physically and mentally. I was reading a lot of studies on lotoprednol .5% (lotemax) that said it can be taken for 6 years twice a day and almost every participant had almost no significant increase in IOP. I take alrex which is lotoprednol .2% so much weaker than alrex. So reading that let me say to myself...hey, you can take these, if you get them compounded preservative free, for 10+ years and probably not have any issues with glaucoma or cataracts. Just knowing that took so much stress off my life. Bevause one of my biggest fears is for my future. I want to be ok...we all do...and sadly this disease really throws life off kilter. It won't kill you, it'll just **** with you every day until you want to die. So knowing we have a way out of a bad situation definitely makes me feel better.
Hope everyone is doing well, if you have any questions feel free.