Fox News Promotes 6 Effective Dry Eye Treatments

April 10th, 2012 → 3:00 am @ esirignano

There was recently an article on foxnews.com that gave some decent information on dry eye treatment techniques located here http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/04/05/6-effective-dry-eye-treatments/.

The article does a good job, except for the part about warm compresses.  See below:

4. Warm Compresses
Best for: Dryness that drops can’t seem to tackle.

How they work: Tears, your eyes’ own lubrication, are made up of water and an oily substance produced by glands along the eyelids. “If cells in the glands harden and plug the opening, it can keep the oil from getting into the tear film,” says Stephen Pflugfelder, an ophthalmologist in Houston. “Without that oil, the water in tears evaporates too quickly, leaving eyes feeling dry.” A warm compress helps liquefy plugs so the oil can flow into tears.

How to use them: Place a warm, wet washcloth over your eyelids for up to 10 minutes once a day as needed.

The problems with these directions: “Place a warm, wet washcloth over your eyelids for up to 10 minutes once a day as needed” are three fold.

The first problem is that a wet facecloth does not provide 10 minutes of continued warmth, it simply cools down too quickly.

Second, the wet facecloth tends to be drying to the skin around your eyes – the same way that licking chap lips makes them more chap.

Third warm compresses should be done on a more consistent basis than “AS NEEDED” since the goal behind warm compresses for dry eye syndrome is to target the underlying cause, NOT to relieve symptoms.

The Directions should have read: Warm compresses should be done twice a day for 5-10 minutes at a time, and should be done using a safe and effective EyeWarmer from our online store.

 

Tags: dry eye, dryness, effective, eyewarmer, fox news, glands, oil, online store, ophthalmologist, Stephen Pflugfelder, syndrome, treatment, twice a day, warm compress, washcloth, wet