Improvements to tear film, meibomian gland function, and dry eye symptoms from warm compress (WC) therapy are critically affected by WC type, treatment duration and frequency, and patient compliance.

Patient-applied WC is widely available while office-based treatments can be limited by cost and access.

The variety of WC combined with frequent lack of directives for use can create uncertainty for patients accustomed to explicit dosage information and therapeutic protocols.

Hot towels retain heat poorly and require frequent reheating to keep eyelid temperatures above 40 °C, rendering them relatively ineffective for long-term use.

An advisable strategy is for patients to apply a moist-heat generating eye mask (microwavable or self-heating) to each eye for at least 10 min once a day.