Abstract
Purpose :
The Bruder Moist Heat Eye Compress is a treatment for Meibomian gland dysfunction(MGD). The Bruder mask is heated using a microwave oven. The instructions for the device differ between the package insert and the manufacturer’s website. This study determined how the temperature of this device varies as a function of time in the microwave.
Methods :
A Bruder Moist Heat Eye Compress was microwaved using a single residential microwave. The mask was microwaved for 7 different lengths of time, and 3 temperature trials were conducted for each heating duration. The microwave time was set at 5 second increments between and including the extreme values specified by the manufacturer’s website (15-20 seconds, 20-25 seconds, and 20-30 seconds; the last being printed on the package insert), with durations of 35 to 45 seconds added to examine the possible effect of exceeding the recommended heating time. After heating, the mask was placed with the outside of one eye pad down on a wooden surface, a temperature sensor (DS18B20, Maxim Integrated Products, San Jose, CA) was placed on top of the inside surface of the eye pad and the second eye pad was folded over on top of the temperature sensor, sandwiching the sensor between the inside surfaces of the two pads. The temperature of the mask was monitored every 500ms for 1 hour after removal from the microwave.
Results :
Average temperatures achieved were 35.67°C at 15 sec, 39.54 °C at 20 sec, 42.17 °C at 25 sec, 46.75 °C at 30 sec, 47.50 °C at 35 sec, 48.21 °C at 40 sec.
Conclusions :
There are numerous studies that have examined performance of commercially available warm compresses for treatment of MGD. Beaded masks are a less expensive option than other methods, are more convenient than compresses done with a facecloth, and are commonly recommended by practitioners. We show the Bruder product does not reach a consistent temperature, even with the same microwave, mask, and heating times. At 15 seconds, the average maximum temperature reached did not approach the average human body temperature. At 30 seconds, temperatures that have been shown to cause cutaneous burns after 4-9 minutes of exposure in vivo in human experiments are within the 95% confidence interval. Time in the microwave which exceeds the manufacturer’s specific instructions could cause thermal damage to eyelid tissue. Consumers require more specific guidance for the heating of beaded eye-warming masks.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.