Warm Compress Microwave timing

[Nevil]

Hi All,

I have been using Thermalon Warm Compress for managing my MGD for past few months, however i feel that the compress looses its heat just after 2-3 minutes. I do feel slightly better afterwards, but i think 2-3 minutes is not at all enough. I currently keep them in microwave for about 35 seconds.

The packing says not to keep it for more than 30 seconds, but they don't prescribe anything about the Power or Wattage of the microwave.
The microwave i use is of 230Volts, 1200 Watts(https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Can others please share details about how much time their warm compress stays hot for and how long do they heat it in what kind of microwave(volts, watts?) Also please mention what type of warm compress you are using.

Perhaps that can help me tune my Warm Compress routine

[deep_dry_eye]

Every microwave is different. Every warm compress is different. Heat it up to a temperature that is comfortable to your skin, if its too hot, your body will tell u (i.e., anything uncomfortable). I find that i need to reheat my warm compress every ~3 mins.

[Alix]

When I used to do warm eye compress I used a Bruder mask. Microwaved for 20 seconds as per instructions but it never stayed at the right temperature for more than a couple of minutes. So I had to reheat it at least 3 or 4 times until the 20 minutes were over.

Though protocol seems to vary, you are supposed to do warm eye compress for 20 minutes at a constant temperature of 42c. If its too hot its going to cause damage, if not warm enough its not going to be effective. But this temperature is impossible to maintain unless its summer and its warm and humid already.

So the best thing you can do is buy a thermometer and keep on monitoring the temperature of the mask, reheating as necessary. This is what I did and its the only way I could be sure the temperature was correct.

[Nevil]

Thanks for the information guys.

Alix : Are you using a special thermometer for measuring the warm compress temperature? The usual ones have a range of upto 42c and i fear they might burst if the temperature goes beyond.

Also, i am doubtful if my compress will be okay if i reHeat it multiple times, but i think i will have to try it out and know .

[Alix]

I used a digital thermometer I cant remember which make it was. If you have to buy one, just check beforehand it can handle high temperatures.

[TARYN]

Nevil.
Have you tried a facial steamer? I use one and find it is good for both my eyes and my sinuses.

[Nevil]

I used a digital thermometer I cant remember which make it was. If you have to buy one, just check beforehand it can handle high temperatures.

Thanks!
I got a thermometer finally. It does help to evaluate that i am not using the compress at very high temperatures.

However, i also realized that its not a very easy/efficient thing to do with warm compresses. The beads at the surface loose temperature much quickly and thats what the usual thermometers measure. Also, the surfacial beads is what impact the eyelids...so perhaps a little higher than the required temperature seems to be a good idea.

I am now reHeating my compress every 3 minutes and it seems to hold up fine .

TARYN : Never tried a facial steamer for this purpose. Since i have finally(hopefully) got the hang of warm compress, i will try to stick with it and then explore other options. Thanks for sharing, i didn't know facial steamers are used for this purpose.

[woodart]

What I do is to wrap either a hand towel or facecloth around what I am heating. Then I unroll it to where the heat is what I want and when that cools I unwrap it some more. For me I like that. Actually saves the trouble of reheating.

[Nevil]

woodart : I believe you are Not using a warm compress & perhaps using a wet cloth? I am not sure how above can be done using a standard Warm compress?