Putting pressure on MGD

At the annual conference of the American Academy of Optometry back in 2015, I came across a novel heat treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction and associated dry eye problems. As a typical sufferer myself (figure 1), I was impressed by the system and found it both easy to use (figure 2) and, as clearly demonstrated by use of a thermal imaging device immediately after treatment (figure 3), effective in delivering a controlled heat source with pressure to the affected area for a set period of time.

At the time, I was not aware of the unit being available in the UK. Since then, the Heated Eye Pad (from Digital Heat) has received a CE marking and is currently in use at a number of dry eye specialist clinics, such the Manchester Dry Eyes Clinic, who kindly loaned me one for trial (figure 4).