4 ms·

I can give only anecdotal evidence. I do this reasonably regularly. It's mainly to combat meibomian gland dysfunction and works by heating up the oils in and ar

I can give only anecdotal evidence. I do this reasonably regularly. It's mainly to combat meibomian gland dysfunction and works by heating up the oils in and around the glands so that the dry build-up clears, and the glands can function a bit more normally. They should be releasing oil throughout the day to keep the surface of your eye from drying out. I think you need to be careful not to overdo compresses, and associated massage, as the glands are also delicate and you can damage them, but for me it results in much more comfortable eyes and better vision when I do it semi regularly.

soylentcola 10y ago
I've been doing this on and off for decades now, thanks to blepharitis and the associated gland dysfunction you mention. The fact that I stare at a screen all day certainly doesn't help and I've had to stop wearing contact lenses even though my prescription is quite strong and any sort of glasses screw up my peripheral vision. The downside to the compress (other than the one you mentioned) is the simple fact that I can't always just nuke my little eye-pad thing and lean back for 10 minutes several times per day at work. Even when I'm able to do it a few times per day as my eye doctors have suggested, any relief is relatively short-lived and doesn't treat anything long-term. It sucks because my eyes almost always feel irritated or dry and no manner of lubricating drops, antibiotic drops, or hot compresses have helped. I've tried a few less tested but ultimately harmless things like fish oil supplements (since they're cheap and effects seem to range from unnoticeable to possible systemic benefits in the long term). My takeaway has been that there's really no "cure" for blepharitis or chronic inflammation and meibomian gland dysfunction. All you can really do is minimize the things that exacerbate it and deal with it.
- ianai 10y ago
  Well no cure aside maybe not looking at a backlight. I really wish there were marketed displays without a backlight. There's got to be a way.
  - Bartweiss 10y ago
    I've been wanting this for ages. And more simply, I want brightness controls that go all the way down to zero.
    - ianai 10y ago
      Seems like there could be a Kickstarter. I'd want a high resolution external eink display as a secondary monitor. The refresh rate would be hell, but it'd be okay for text work.
      - Bartweiss 10y ago
        I've been wanting something like this for ages. Even as a small-scale secondary monitor, it'd be great to toss static text like tickets or APIs onto an eink display.
        anc84 10y ago
        Oh yes! At least Kobo readers are Linux and you can SSH in. You could even install another distro I believe. Some ugly hack could be rendering the display content on your machine and just sent the image over. https://github.com/koreader/koreader https://github.com/koreader/koreader uses Lua so maybe one could add some bidirectional or at least PC->Reader flow of data. edit: VNC! https://www.joachim-breitner.de/blog/660-Using_my_Kobo_eBook_reader_as_an_external_eInk_monitor https://www.joachim-breitner.de/blog/660-Using_my_Kobo_eBook...
      - yomly 10y ago
        https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e...
      - GrumpyYoungMan 10y ago
        There's the Dasung Paperlike e-ink monitor: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e... However, it's only 13.3" in size and, as you noted, it is limited by the refresh rate of e-ink.
- paublyrne 10y ago
  I feel mine started through squinting. My layman's theory is that this introduced tension to the muscles in the area, and around the glands, which inhibited them over a long period of time. It is much better now for me, but like you I can't follow the care instructions to the degree I should. I find a very gentle massage of that area after heat really helps, and I also try to relax the muscles around my eyes and being aware of them becoming tense whenever possible. Like you say though, it seems to be something you manage rather than cure.
- dvtv75 10y ago
  I was diagnosed with blepharitis two years ago. Amusing (not really...) little story: Usually, for me, it occurs in just one eye. I haven't had it for months, but I do religiously clean my eyes every day now. The last time it happened in both eyes, and I ended up on the floor holding my eyes in the most intense pain I've experienced in a while. My partner took it upon herself to fry up some onions. She hadn't friend them for more than a year before. A minor screaming fit at her for being so incredibly stupid and ignorant for doing that (I couldn't even take my hands away from my eyes for a day after she did that) and I thought she'd never do it again. 23 hours. She did it again, and claimed that it never occurred to her that it would hurt me again.

soylentcola 10y ago

I've been doing this on and off for decades now, thanks to blepharitis and the associated gland dysfunction you mention. The fact that I stare at a screen all day certainly doesn't help and I've had to stop wearing contact lenses even though my prescription is quite strong and any sort of glasses screw up my peripheral vision. The downside to the compress (other than the one you mentioned) is the simple fact that I can't always just nuke my little eye-pad thing and lean back for 10 minutes several times per day at work. Even when I'm able to do it a few times per day as my eye doctors have suggested, any relief is relatively short-lived and doesn't treat anything long-term. It sucks because my eyes almost always feel irritated or dry and no manner of lubricating drops, antibiotic drops, or hot compresses have helped. I've tried a few less tested but ultimately harmless things like fish oil supplements (since they're cheap and effects seem to range from unnoticeable to possible systemic benefits in the long term). My takeaway has been that there's really no "cure" for blepharitis or chronic inflammation and meibomian gland dysfunction. All you can really do is minimize the things that exacerbate it and deal with it.

ianai 10y ago
Well no cure aside maybe not looking at a backlight. I really wish there were marketed displays without a backlight. There's got to be a way.
- Bartweiss 10y ago
  I've been wanting this for ages. And more simply, I want brightness controls that go all the way down to zero.
  - ianai 10y ago
    Seems like there could be a Kickstarter. I'd want a high resolution external eink display as a secondary monitor. The refresh rate would be hell, but it'd be okay for text work.
    - Bartweiss 10y ago
      I've been wanting something like this for ages. Even as a small-scale secondary monitor, it'd be great to toss static text like tickets or APIs onto an eink display.
      - anc84 10y ago
        Oh yes! At least Kobo readers are Linux and you can SSH in. You could even install another distro I believe. Some ugly hack could be rendering the display content on your machine and just sent the image over. https://github.com/koreader/koreader https://github.com/koreader/koreader uses Lua so maybe one could add some bidirectional or at least PC->Reader flow of data. edit: VNC! https://www.joachim-breitner.de/blog/660-Using_my_Kobo_eBook_reader_as_an_external_eInk_monitor https://www.joachim-breitner.de/blog/660-Using_my_Kobo_eBook...
    - yomly 10y ago
      https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e...
    - GrumpyYoungMan 10y ago
      There's the Dasung Paperlike e-ink monitor: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e... However, it's only 13.3" in size and, as you noted, it is limited by the refresh rate of e-ink.
paublyrne 10y ago
I feel mine started through squinting. My layman's theory is that this introduced tension to the muscles in the area, and around the glands, which inhibited them over a long period of time. It is much better now for me, but like you I can't follow the care instructions to the degree I should. I find a very gentle massage of that area after heat really helps, and I also try to relax the muscles around my eyes and being aware of them becoming tense whenever possible. Like you say though, it seems to be something you manage rather than cure.
dvtv75 10y ago
I was diagnosed with blepharitis two years ago. Amusing (not really...) little story: Usually, for me, it occurs in just one eye. I haven't had it for months, but I do religiously clean my eyes every day now. The last time it happened in both eyes, and I ended up on the floor holding my eyes in the most intense pain I've experienced in a while. My partner took it upon herself to fry up some onions. She hadn't friend them for more than a year before. A minor screaming fit at her for being so incredibly stupid and ignorant for doing that (I couldn't even take my hands away from my eyes for a day after she did that) and I thought she'd never do it again. 23 hours. She did it again, and claimed that it never occurred to her that it would hurt me again.