Warm Compress For Eyes

One tried-and-true method involves using a large bowl or water basin. With this method you should:

Can a Warm Compress Relieve Dry Eye?

Kelly Burch is a freelance journalist who has covered health topics for more than 10 years. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and more.

Published on November 08, 2021

Johnstone M. Kim, MD, is board-certified in ophthalmology. He’s a practicing physician at Midwest Retina in Dublin, Ohio and previously served as a full-time faculty member at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit, Michigan.

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Table of Contents

Millions of people grapple with dry eye—an itchy, burning, and painful condition that happens when the eye doesn’t stay lubricated enough. Dry eye is a chronic condition, but many people experience flare-ups caused by too much time on a screen, dry air, or other environmental factors.

If you’re looking for a way to quickly relieve the itchiness and burning, a warm compress for dry eyes can help.

Warm compresses relax the eye, reduce muscle spasms, and encourage the production of meibum, the oil that combines with water to make tears. This makes warm compresses a quick, easy, and effective—although temporary—treatment for dry eyes.

This article reviews how to treat the symptoms of dry eyes using a warm compress.

What Is a Warm Compress?

A warm compress for dry eyes is a moist towel that is placed on the eyes. The towel expels heat for five to 10 minutes. Although you can also use a warm compress that is dry, like a heating pad, the added moisture from a wet towel can be particularly soothing for dry eye.

How Do Warm Compresses Help Dry Eye?

Warm compresses provide relief in four different ways. All of these are nearly instant effects, so using a warm compress for dry eyes is a good treatment option when you need immediate relief. Within five to 10 minutes of using a warm compress, you should feel much better.

Here’s what a warm compress does:

Hydrates the eye: When you use a moist cloth, your eyes receive hydration from the steam and water within the cloth. Tears are mostly water, so this extra hydration can help boost your tear function and soothe your eyes.
Prevents natural oils from clogging: One cause of dry eye is tears that are not particularly effective at lubricating the eye. This can happen when tears don’t have enough meibum (a fat-rich compound produced by oil-producing glands in the eyelid. Using a warm compress helps these glands unclog, promoting healthier, more effective tears.
Relieves muscle spasms: When dry eye is severe, it can lead to eye twitching. Using a warm compress to relax muscles around the eye can reduce twitching.
Relieves pain: For many people, a warm compress is soothing. It also helps relieve pain by encouraging blood flow and relaxing muscles. This is important with dry eye, since rubbing at your eyes can make symptoms worse.

How to Make a Warm Compress for Eyes

Making an eye compress for dry eyes is simple. You’ll need a bowl, a washcloth or dish towel, a zip-close bag if you have one, and five to 10 minutes of time to sit with your eyes covered.

The most effective way to make a warm compress for dry eyes is using a wet cloth. There are two ways to do this:

Fill a bowl with water that is very warm to the touch but not so hot that it’s uncomfortable.
Submerge a towel in the water until it is saturated.
Squeeze out excess water, then fold the towel into thirds or a size that fits comfortably on your eyes.

Wet two wash cloths or towels with cool water.
Place one in a zip-close bag, but leave the bag open.
Microwave the bagged washcloth on high for two minutes.
Carefully seal the bag—it will be hot.
Wrap the second cloth around the bag.

Once you have your compress, lay with your head back and place the towel on your eyes for five to 10 minutes or until it no longer feels warm.

Eye-friendly compresses

There are a few safety tips to consider while making an eye compress:

Create a warm compress—not one that is too hot to touch.
Use only water, no chemicals or soaps. If you use eye drops to treat dry eye, talk to your healthcare provider about whether to apply them before or after using a compress.
Use a clean towel, water, and bowl each time.
Only leave the compress on for five to 10 minutes. Too much time can cause more irritation.

Summary

Warm compresses can offer temporary relief from dry eye symptoms such as itchiness, burning, twitching, and spasms. Just be sure to use a clean towel or washcloth and avoid any chemicals and soap when preparing your compress. This helps prevent infection or irritating the eyes further.

A Word From Verywell

Dry eyes can be painful and frustrating. When you need quick relief, making a warm compress at home can help soothe your eyes. Although it’s good to control your symptoms, remember to talk to your healthcare about more proactive treatments for dry eye, including eye drops. Although dry eye is common and chronic, there are treatments that work.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should you do warm compresses for dry eye?

It’s safe to use a warm compress for dry eye as often as you have symptoms. However, it’s also important to talk to your healthcare provider about preventative care to help reduce the amount of times that you feel a dry, itchy, or burning sensation. Treatments like eye drops or tear duct plugs can help reduce how often you need a warm compress.

How long should you leave a warm compress on your eye?

You should leave a warm compress on your eye for five to 10 minutes. The compress should never be too hot, and after five to 10 minutes it will likely have cooled to a room temperature. That’s when you should remove it from your eyes.

What Are Warm Compresses for Eyes?

Maxine Lipner is a long-time health and medical writer with over 30 years of experience covering ophthalmology, oncology, and general health and wellness.

Published on December 02, 2021

Chris Vincent, MD, is board-certified in family medicine. He is a clinical professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and practices at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

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Warm compresses are a time-honored, go-to treatment for a number of eye-related issues. Warm compresses can be used for conditions varying from styes to dry eye and beyond. Here’s what you need to know to get the most from this helpful home remedy.

Definition

While you may intuitively know what a hot compress is, by definition this involves a pad or piece of flannel or gauze that is dipped in hot water or saline.

For warm compresses on most parts of the body, the temperature of the water should range between 107 degrees and 115 degrees Fahrenheit. After wringing out, the compress is then placed against the body to promote pain relief, to drain an abscess, or for muscle relaxation.

For around the delicate area of the eye, however, you have to be careful not to make the compress too warm. The last thing you want to do is to injure the ocular surface. In this case, you want to limit the amount of heat to just 104 degrees.

Types of Warm Compresses

Warm compresses for eye problems are a way of strategically applying heat to the area. This can be either dry or wet heat. The two different types of compresses are:

Dry heat doesn’t involve any moisture on the skin. You can use a heating pad, or a hot-water bottle. With either method, it’s advisable to place a piece of cloth between the item and your skin.
Moist heat uses warm water. This usually involves first soaking a washcloth or towel in warm water and then squeezing out the excess before placing it over or near your eyes.

Conditions Treated

Warm eye compresses can be used for a number of maladies. These can include the following:

Dry eye from meibomian gland disease: In this condition, the tiny glands along the edges of the eyelids are unable to provide good quality oil needed for the tear film that protects the eye.
Styes or chalazion: These are two types of painful bumps on your eyelid or lash line.
Pink eye: Also called conjunctivitis, it is inflammation or infection of the membrane covering the white of your eye.

How Warm Compresses Work

Warming the eye with the compress can help to bring more circulation to the area. It can also help relieve muscle spasms and pain.

For those with dry eyes, the heat from the compress can improve oil gland function by helping to open the meibomian glands. The improvement in oil flow can in turn slow down tear evaporation and stabilize the tear film.

Process

Depending on what you need the warm eye compress for, the compress can be very straightforward to prepare. The process takes just a few minutes.

One tried-and-true method involves using a large bowl or water basin. With this method you should:

Fill the receptacle with warm water. Make sure that the water is warm but not hot enough to burn the delicate skin around the eye.
Place a clean towel or cloth into the warm water and allow the material to soak it up.
Lift the towel out of the bowl and wring it out until it no longer drips.
Fold the towel, and drape it over your eyes for up to 10 minutes.

Another possibility is to heat a couple of moist towels in the microwave. With this method do the following:

Run two towels under the faucet. Then, wring each of them out.
Fold one of the towels and place it in an open ziplock bag.
Put the open bag into the microwave on high for two minutes.
Using care not to burn yourself, take the bag from the microwave and zip it closed.
Take the other moist towel and wrap it around the hot bag.
Use the compress on your eyes for up to 10 minutes.

For conditions such as meibomian gland dysfunction that require keeping the warm compresses at a steady level of warmth for as long as possible, a technique known as the “bundle method” can be used. This technique also makes use of the microwave. Here’s how it works:

Take five or six microfiber towels and run them under water. Then wring out any excess.
Fold each of the towels into a long rectangular shape.
Stack one towel on top of the first and roll these into a tight cylinder. Then wrap a third towel around the first two. Continue doing this with each remaining towel.
Take this bundle and put it in a nonmetal container in the microwave and cover it. Heat the bundle for 1 minute and 50 seconds. Depending on the power of your microwave, you may want to adjust this time. The idea is to make it as warm as possible without causing discomfort.
With the lid sealed, give the towels one to two minutes to cool before using.
Peel the outermost towel off the bundle and seal the rest back in the container before placing this towel on your eyes.
After two minutes, remove the compress from your lids and replace it with the next heated towel from the bundle, while keeping the rest sealed in the container.
Continue this process until the last warm towel is used.

Who Can Use a Compress?

Use of warm compresses is a home remedy that is accessible to anyone. This is something that you can fairly easily do yourself at your own convenience. If you are unsure about the process or whether it should be used for your condition, discuss it with your healthcare professional.

Outcomes

How you fare with a warm eye compress depends on just what you are using this for and how severe your condition is at the outset. Some people may only need to use this a few times, while others may need to make this a daily regimen for a while.

Dry Eye

If you have dry eye from meibomian gland disease, the warm compress can help to open up the glands, which can in turn release more oil into the eye. This improves the tear film by slowing evaporation and stabilizing it.

It is recommended that warm compresses be applied daily. They can be used alone or in combination with other dry eye remedies, such as artificial tears, gels, or ointments. The compresses can also soothe the eyes and keep them healthy.

Styes or Chalazion

If you have a stye along your lash line, the idea of using these warm compresses is to allow it to rupture naturally to drain the pus. It’s important that this be allowed to happen on its own without your squeezing it.

Likewise, if you have a chalazion caused by a blocked oil gland on your lid, the warm compress can help unclog the gland by loosening any material blocking it, allowing it to drain.

It usually only takes a few days for styes or chalazion to begin to shrink. If after three or four weeks they persist, contact your doctor to prescribe other treatments.

Pink Eye

If you have pink eye, otherwise known as conjunctivitis, your healthcare provider may suggest that you use a warm compress three or four times a day, possibly along with other treatments, such as medication. This can help clear any discharge building up on the eyelids.

Keep in mind that you should use separate compresses for each of your eyes to lower the risk of spreading the infection from one to the other.

Warnings

Avoid using commercial warm compresses. Not only are these heavy on the eyes but, potentially, they can leach chemicals into your eyes.

Also, while you want the compress to be warm, never put anything that feels too hot near your eye. If this feels at all painful, remove the mask immediately. The last thing you want to do is to injure the ocular surface.

Summary

A warm eye compress is a home remedy that can help for conditions such as styes, dry eye, and pink eye. Such warm compresses can bring more circulation to the area and help to soothe pain.

Making a warm compress is something that anyone can do. There are different approaches to try, ranging from simply dipping a cloth in a bowl of warm water to rolling up a bundle and heating it in the microwave.

A Word From Verywell

A warm compress is something you can have at the ready if you have an occasional issue with your eyes. This can provide relief in many instances and may be just what you need. But if you find you aren’t improving as you should, be sure to promptly contact your healthcare provider for assistance.

Medical Dictionary. Hot compress.
Optometry Times. Using warm compresses to treat meibomian gland disease.
University of Michigan Health. Warm compresses for eye problems. Updated August 31, 2020.
Johns Hopkins Medicine. Ice packs vs warm compresses for pain.
Optometrists Network. Can warm compresses help dry eyes?
NYU Langone Health. Home treatment for stye.
New York University Langone Health. Home treatments for conjunctivitis.

By Maxine Lipner
Maxine Lipner is a long-time health and medical writer with over 30 years of experience covering ophthalmology, oncology, and general health and wellness.

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Warm Compress For Eyes

Can a Warm Compress Relieve Dry Eye?

What Is a Warm Compress?

How Do Warm Compresses Help Dry Eye?

How to Make a Warm Compress for Eyes

Eye-friendly compresses

Summary