Your upper and lower eyelids have 45 tiny organs inside them known as Meibomian glands. The said organs secrete an oil forming part of the tear film that keeps your eyes moisturized. However, any decrease in the amount and quality of the oil produced by those glands can cause your eyes to dry out and suffer from a medical condition known as MGD – or Meibomian gland dysfunction – which is more common than you think. In fact, as much as 60 percent of all dry eye cases in the United States last 2012 might have been caused by MGD. If you currently have MGD yourself, here are some key tips that you could use to treat and solve it:
- Place a warm compress over your eyelids.
If you’ve experienced MGD and you can’t go to an eye doctor just yet, you can soak a clean washcloth in warm water and put it over your eyelids for four to five minutes twice a day to help loosen any oil that’s blocking your Meibomian glands. You should note though that this is only a first-aid solution and shouldn’t completely replace having your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist.
2. Have yourself screened by an eye doctor for MGD even if your eyes aren’t dry.
MGD typically manifests itself in the form of dry eyes. However, your lacrimal glands might overproduce tears instead to compensate for the lack of oil put out by your Meibomian glands, thus causing you to have watery eyes until your MGD starts appearing years later.
If you aren’t sure at all as to whether you’ve got MGD or not, you should go to a qualified eye doctor and get yourself screened for the said medical condition. Your ophthalmologist would check your Meibomian glands using a slit lamp and take images of them for further assessment.
3. Consider adding foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids to your usual diet.
Your Meibomian glands would benefit much once you include foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as chia and flax seeds, walnuts, sardines, salmon, and mackerel to your daily food intake. The said fatty acids could boost the quality of the oil that your Meibomian glands are producing and reduce the risk of your eyes suffering again from MGD.
You can also opt to take omega-3 fatty acid supplements, though you might suffer some side effects afterward ranging from belching to nosebleeds if you’re susceptible to this. To be safe, you should stick to finding omega-3-rich food sources instead.
Conclusion
When your eyes get dry, your gut reaction might be to rub your fingers along them so that you can get teary-eyed. However, aside from opening your eyes up to the risk of possible infection, rubbing them would accomplish nothing, most especially if you’ve got MGD. What you can do instead is to follow the above-listed key tips to better MGD treatment and solutions so that your eyes won’t have to stay dry too long. For further information on MGD and other treatment options available for your eyes, you can visit Dryeyesclinic.co.uk – MGD Treatment online and find the best one that can get rid of the said medical condition for good.
Lily Pierce
Lily Pierce’s creative and enthusiastic writing spirit remains in all of her pieces, and this is evident with her contributions for Dry Eyes Clinic. Her passion to create informative and accessible materials for her readers have motivated her to continuously find ways to improve upon her craft. As a writer, Lily loves writing on issues about health and fitness, and outside of work you can find Lily enjoying a good meal in one of the local restaurants.
