Infection and inflammation of the eyelids are common conditions that you may have experienced at some point in your lives. Your doctor may have told you that you have eyelid conditions such as blepharitis, hordeolum (stye) or chalazion.

The treatment of these conditions are largely similar. Your doctor may have prescribed you eyedrops and told you to do warm compress of the eyelids, cleaning of the eyelids as well as massage of the eyelids. However, there may not be enough time to go through how to do all these and you may not be able to remember the steps.

This article will have instructions on how to do warm compress, eyelid cleaning as well as eyelid massage. Warm compress is also useful for those with dry eyes.

Warm Compress:

1. Soak a clean wash cloth in warm (NOT hot/boiling) water (ideally around 40 degrees Celsius)
2. Squeeze the cloth to remove excess water
3. Place the cloth against your hand to make sure it is not too hot
4. Place the cloth over your eyes
5. As the cloth cools, it should be rewarmed and placed on the eyelids again
6. Warm compress should be applied for around 15 minutes each time
7. Warm compress should be applied 4 times a day until symptoms resolve

Note: Using a wash cloth is inexpensive but may be more troublesome as you will have to rewarm the cloth multiple times when the cloth cools down. Alternatives include special warm compress eye mask devices normally sold at eye clinics that can give a sustained warming effect over the whole 15 minute duration.

Eyelid Cleaning:

Eyelid cleaning should be done after warm compress.

Eyelid massage:

Eyelid massage should also be done after warm compress. Do take care not to apply too much pressure during the eyelid massage.

When to see a doctor:

• Persistence or worsening of symptoms after 6 weeks of the above treatment
• Severe eye redness, pain, or light sensitivity.
• Persistent blurring of vision

References:

• Lindsley K, Matsumura S, Hatef E, Akpek EK. Interventions for chronic blepharitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005556.pub2.
• American Academy of Ophthalmology. Blepharitis PPP-2018. Available at: https://www.aao.org/preferred-practice-pattern/blepharitis-ppp-2018.

Related: Eye Drops Made Easy: Your Ultimate Guide to Stress-Free Application!