How TearCare works
Single-use flexible strips with an embedded heating element adhere to the skin of the upper and lower lids and are connected to a small controller that holds them at a therapeutic temperature for fifteen minutes. Because nothing covers the eye, the patient blinks normally throughout, and each blink applies natural pressure to the warmed glands. After the heating phase, the clinician uses a purpose-made instrument at the slit lamp to express the softened oil from each gland, clearing the blockages while seeing exactly what comes out.
What the treatment is like
The strips feel like a warm compress that stays warm. You can sit back with your eyes open or closed. The expression stage, after numbing drops, involves gentle pressure along each lid margin and takes a few minutes; it is the part patients notice most and is well tolerated. There is no downtime, and mild lid tenderness settles within a day.
Results and maintenance
Glands resume secreting over the following weeks, with most patients reporting improvement by four to six weeks. Published studies report that TearCare improves gland function, tear break-up time and symptoms, with effect often lasting several months or longer, after which a repeat session can maintain it. Home care between treatments prolongs the benefit.
Choosing between thermal treatments
TearCare, LipiFlow and radiofrequency all address the same problem in different ways. TearCare suits patients who prefer open-eye treatment, whose lid anatomy makes an inner-lid device less comfortable, or whose glands the clinician wants to express directly under the microscope. The evaluation determines which approach is right for your glands and whether it is offered at our offices, and the choice is explained.
Is this right for your eyes?
Nothing on this page is a diagnosis. Whether this is the right choice for you is decided by a full examination at one of our 4 offices: Pasadena, Huntington Beach, Woodland Hills and Beverly Hills.
About this content: This page was written with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed for medical accuracy by Dr. Bavand Youssefzadeh, DO. It is general information, not medical advice, and does not replace an eye examination. Individual results vary. Read our medical disclaimer.
