Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDefinitionTypesConditions TreatedHow They WorkProcessWho Can Use One?OutcomesWarnings
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Definition
Types
Conditions Treated
How They Work
Process
Who Can Use One?
Outcomes
Warnings
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.
Amana Images Inc / Getty Images
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.
However, you have to be careful not to make the compress too warm around the delicate area of the eye. The last thing you want to do is to injure the ocular surface. Also, the skin of the eyelid is very thin and can easily be burned or damaged. In this case, you want to limit the 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:
Warm eye compresses can be used for a number of maladies. These can include the following:
How to Treat a Broken Blood Vessel in the 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.
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:
Another possibility is to heat a couple of moist towels in the microwave. However, this can risk scalding or burning yourself as it’s easy to overheat the towels.
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:
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.
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.
How to Make a Dry or Moist Warm Compress
Dry Eye
It is recommended that warm compresses be applied daily. They can be used alone or in combination with other dry eye remedies, such asartificial 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 ownwithout your squeezing it.
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 healthcare provider to prescribe other treatments.However, if you have intense pain, seek care as soon as possible.
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 withother treatments, such as medication even using a cold compress to reduce any swelling. A warm compress can help clear any discharge building up on the eyelids.
Remember to use separate compresses for each eye to lower the risk of spreading the infection from one to the other.
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 injure the ocular surface or your eyelids.
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 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.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.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?Murakami DK, Blackie CA, Korb DR.All warm compresses are not equally efficacious.Optom Vis Sci. 2015;92(9):e327-33. doi:10.1097/OPX.0000000000000675NYU Langone Health.Home treatment for stye.New York University Langone Health.Home treatments for conjunctivitis.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.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?Murakami DK, Blackie CA, Korb DR.All warm compresses are not equally efficacious.Optom Vis Sci. 2015;92(9):e327-33. doi:10.1097/OPX.0000000000000675NYU Langone Health.Home treatment for stye.New York University Langone Health.Home treatments for conjunctivitis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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?Murakami DK, Blackie CA, Korb DR.All warm compresses are not equally efficacious.Optom Vis Sci. 2015;92(9):e327-33. doi:10.1097/OPX.0000000000000675NYU Langone Health.Home treatment for stye.New York University Langone Health.Home treatments for conjunctivitis.
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?
Murakami DK, Blackie CA, Korb DR.All warm compresses are not equally efficacious.Optom Vis Sci. 2015;92(9):e327-33. doi:10.1097/OPX.0000000000000675
NYU Langone Health.Home treatment for stye.
New York University Langone Health.Home treatments for conjunctivitis.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
