MGD or Meibomian Gland Disorder is an eye condition which is very distressing for the sufferers. The glands become clogged and solid, waxy deposits are formed in the eyelids. It causes symptoms similar to Dry Eye, among other things, which makes life difficult indoors and outdoors. You have to take constant care of your eyes till you get relief.
Dealing with MGD is difficult but not impossible. The glands of the eyes get blocked in the eyes due to many reasons. The pain, irritation, dry eyes, watery eyes makes it difficult to do the simplest things such as reading, working on your computer or even watching TV. Too much strain can cause a flare up of the symptoms. Here are a few clinical and home therapies to make life manageable while suffering from MGD:
Warm compresses
This is the simplest and easiest treatment and has been prescribed by doctors for years. You have to apply warm compresses to your eyelids, followed by a massage so that the oil which is blocking the eyelids would be melted and expressed. Though applying compresses is not enough, it can provide temporary relief for a while, especially when you are tempted to rub your eyes. Rubbing the eyes may lead to a flare-up of your symptoms and doctors advise against that. You might spread the infection to your other eye too.
Lid debridement
This is a procedure can be done by your eye doctor. He or she will use an instrument to remove/extract a material known as keratin from your eyes. This process can get rid of the debris that adheres to your eyelids’ margins and clogs the meibomian glands. Statistics show that eyelid debridement produced significant relief even a month after it was done. So lid debridement is one of the therapies your eye doctor can provide, when the blockage is extreme.
Use eyelid wipes regularly
Eyelid wipes will clean your eyes, remove all the accumulated dirt, pollution, bacteria and parasites from your eyelids and ease the irritation. MGD can have many causes – bacterial or parasitic or a combination of both. Tea Tree Oil has been found to be very effective in the management of MGD, as it has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic properties.
To cope with the life disrupting symptoms of MGD, establish a daily eyelid cleaning routine. Just wipe your eyes twice a day (or more) with wipes such as Oculeaf Eyelid Wipes which contain TTO and has no alcohol, parabens, and other harmful chemicals. This is the fastest and easiest way to care for your inflamed and blocked eyelids, and you can do this anytime, anywhere as you can carry the wipes with you anywhere.
Supplement your diet
Eye doctors sometimes recommend supplementing diet with Omega 3 supplements as an additional treatment for MGD. MGD has been seen to be controlled and recurrence is also low or does not recur at all, when the diet is rich with Omega 3. The essential fatty acids are supposed to suppress the MGD related inflammation, as well as decreasing the chances of the wax build-up in meibomian glands. Fatty fish, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts and soybeans also have a high content of Omega 3 fatty acids. Including these in your diet will help to reduce the formation of wax in the eyelids.
Intense Pulsed Light treatment
One of the therapies your doctor might recommend is the IPL which was earlier used in the treatment of rosacea. Now it is being used for MGD too. Intense pulses of infrared and visible light will be applied to your eyelids, for about 20 minutes. Depending on your MGD condition, the doctor may prescribe multiple sessions one month apart. IPL reduces inflammation and decreases the obstruction of meibomian glands.
Lipiflow
Lipiflow is other therapy which eye doctors use to melt the wax deposits in the meibomian glands. Heat is used for melting the wax and then pressure is applied to the eyelids to express the clogged glands’ content.
What else should you do?
Initially, when the condition is severe, you have to take time off and rest your eyes. As almost 99% of our work is done on computers or other devices with screens, you have control the hours of working, to avoid eye strain. As you may not be able to stop working altogether, you must give yourself breaks after half an hour or twenty minutes.
Try to get permission to work from home or ask leave for a few days, till you are able to bear the pain and control the tearing eyes, as well as the itching in the eyes.
Resist the temptation to watch television or videos online or play games on the phone. Give WhatsApp, Insta, Twitter, and other social media a miss, and spend the time to relax in other ways, preferably indoors.
Apply warm compress and the medication that your doctor has prescribed so that you will get relief as soon as possible. And stick to your daily eyelid cleaning routine with Oculeaf Eyelid Wipes which has Tea Tree Oil and notice the difference within a few days!
