What’s in a warm compress?

I often tell my patients: “do warm compresses.” If warm compresses are in a regimen with other treatments, I often find that they are the first things left out. I guess warm compresses are low tech and don’t have to be purchased, so patients don’t think that they are valuable? The truth is that warm compresses are an extremely beneficial treatment for the surface of the eye, but there are a few helpful hints to get the most out of them.

#1 – Keep going. Doing warm compresses twice a day for three days is not going to cause an improvement. It often takes several weeks to start seeing the benefits.

#2 – Twice a day. Ideally, warm compresses are done twice daily on a consistent basis, once in the morning and once in the evening.

#3 – Five minutes. Applying heat to the eyelids for 30 seconds isn’t going to do a whole lot. Time is important.

It is obvious that this requires a lot of dedication, but consistent warm compresses can really make a big improvement to the surface of an eye.