An omega-3-rich diet helps glands in your eye called meibomian glands make the oily part of your tears. The oil helps keep your tears from drying up too quickly in your eye. Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Warm compresses are a go-to home remedy that can help alleviate your dry eye symptoms. The warmth can help unclog the meibomian glands by loosening debris and stimulating meibum production (the oil produced by the meibomian glands that helps lubricate your eyes). Think of spreading melted butter vs frozen butter.
To promote healthy meibomian gland health, ensure that you blink regularly and properly by periodically squeezing your eyes shut then relaxing the squeeze while keeping your eyes closed. Open your eyes and repeat this sequence 5 times in a row. Do this 3-4 times a day to see the best results.
There are different treatments to help MGD. These include warm compresses, antibiotic or steroid eye drops, artificial tear eye drops, and antibiotics by mouth. Your ophthalmologist may recommend one or more of these treatments depending on the severity of MGD.
Virgin coconut oil is great for those with dry eyes, as it creates a protective layer over the tear film layers, resulting in reduced evaporation. Furthermore, coconut oil has antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-parasitic, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.
Demodex mites cause significant problems when they increase into large numbers and cause an infestation. This results in severe inflammation and mechanical damage to your meibomian glands and eyelashes.
Some MGD patients report that their symptoms become worse when they spend long periods using digital devices or live or work in dry environments.
It is the result of oil depletion in your tears. The second type is called aqueous-deficient dry eye and that is associated with the lack of water in your tears. Lastly, the third type is a combination of a lack of tears and oil, which is called mixed dry eye. In this blog, we will discuss the various causes of MGD.
Poor eyelid hygiene, bad nutrition, and activities that decrease your blink rate result in clogged meibomian glands. The technology era has contributed to the increase in dry eye in all ages. The eyelid margin consists of skin, meibomian gland openings and eyelashes.
As a non-invasive treatment modality, ultrasound has both a heating and stimulating effect to improve meibomian gland secretions and MGD.
Saturated fatty acids have a higher melting point, and it is theorized that unsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3, may have an effect on meibomian lipid composition by lowering the melting point; therefore, improving its fluidity and secretion.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Specifically, omega-3s help soothe inflammation in your eyelids or on the surface of your eye. They may also help your tears do their job better. An omega-3-rich diet helps glands in your eye called meibomian glands make the oily part of your tears.
Warm Compresses: Heat is necessary to promote normal oil secretion from the Meibomian glands. Heat can be applied by using a warm, damp washcloth or a reheatable eye mask for 5 minutes while gently massaging your eyelids.
Topical azithromycin has been shown to be a potentially effective and well tolerated treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction in recent studies. Topical azithromycin therapy could lead to clinical control or relief of symptoms and signs of MGD, as well as improvement in lipid behaviors of meibomian gland secretion.
In my experience, certain foods may trigger blepharitis. These include processed or fried foods, sugar, white flour and fizzy drinks tends to aggravate the condition. I have also found that a varied diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables and high intake of natural Omega-3 containing foods helps reduce flare-ups.
If your meibomian glands become blocked by thickened oils, your eyes will become dry and may feel irritated. A blocked oil gland is more likely to get infected. This causes eyelid redness and swelling (blepharitis). This condition may take 6 to 12 months to clear up completely.
A new ophthalmic keratolytic, AZR-MD-001 (Azura Ophthalmics, Tel Aviv, Israel) may be able to loosen blockages and allow for improved meibum secretion in the upper and lower eyelids in patients with MGD.
Because meibomian glands contain stem cells, atrophy and dropout can sometimes be reversed with intraductal meibomian gland probing, breaking the cycle of inflammation and scarring, by creating an opening through which meibum can flow.
Conclusions: Patients with MGD can have various degrees of bacterial microbiota imbalance in the conjunctival sac. Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and Sphingomonas may play roles in the pathophysiology of MGD.
Although some earlier investigations offered a bit of hope that it may be possible to increase meibomian gland area and grow meibomian gland tissue, until now there has been no evidence that nonvisible or atrophied human meibomian glands can be reactivated as “regrowth” after vectored pulsation treatment.
Vitamin B6 is needed for a healthy tear film. Foods such as kale, potatoes, goose, mackerel, salmon and sardines contain high doses of vitamin B6. Vitamin B12 is also important for lubricating the eyes. It's typically found in mackerel, beef liver, calf's liver and pork liver.