Per viewer’s request this week I’m going to show you acupressure for dry eyes.
Dry eyes are caused by lack lubrication from tear glands. That can be caused by looking at the monitor or screen for a long time, from aging, or from a disease.
If you are under a medical care for certain eye conditions, this is not a replacement for the medical treatment. Please consult your doctor first if this is safe to do.
Here’s a diagram of tear glands and the flow of tears. Tears are made of oil, water, and mucous and they come out of the tear gland or lacrimal gland under the upper outer part of your eyelid. They flow over the eyes and they are drained through the tear ducts into the lacrimal sac and to the nasolacrimal duct and out from your nose. Of course, the excess tears will come out of your eyes.
First warm your eyes to improve circulation and secretion of tears with hot wet towel. Wet the towel with hot water or microwave a wet towel to the temperature that’s not too hot for your eyes and cover and compress your eyes for a minute or longer if it feels good but re-heat the towel as needed.
If you don’t have access to a hot wet towel, rub your hands to create energy and cover your eyes with your hands. When you rub your hands, it creates heat from the friction. I believe there is also healing energy coming out of your hands besides heat.
I’ll show you three acupressure points that are good for dry eyes around the eyes. Gently press these points for one minute as you breathe deeply. I would close your eyes because it’s a good opportunity for your eyes to relax and rest.
晴明 (UB 1) – The first one is in the inner corner of your eye. This is called Urinary Bladder 1 or UB 1. Press these points with your thumb and index finger or both index fingers.
太陽 (EX – Taiyang) – The next one is in the depression in the temple. To be exact, it’s one cun or one thumb width from the midpoint between the outer corner of your eye and the outer end of your eyebrow. This is an extra point not on the major meridians. It’s called taiyo in Japanese and Taiyang in Chinese.
承泣 (ST 1) – The next one is under the pupil of your eye on the eye socket. This is called Stomach 1 or ST 1.
Other things that may help with dry eyes. Clean the base of your eyelashes especially if you wear lot of makeup. Even if you think it’s clean there may be some leftover makeup or dirt that may be clogging the oil gland for tears. Gently wash the eyelids especially by the eyelashes with mild shampoo with your fingers or cotton swab.
And drink lots of water to hydrate yourself and intentionally blink a lot.
Massage Monday #429 – Acupressure for Dry Eyes http://bit.ly/mm-429