Help! Blepharitus is literally driving me insane.

[paul4peter]

Here's the deal: I am a 35 year old male and I have been suffering with this dreadful eye condition for the past  3 years.  It took a while to get a diagnosis.  At first I did not associate the discomfort I was having with the eyelids but rather the eyes themselves.  It felt like my eyes were on fire almost.  I got several hypotheses from GPs, such as allergies, eye infections, and was consequently prescribed drops, ointments and whatever else.  Finally, my own GP diagnosed it as belpharitus and once he explained the nature of the condition, it was then that I realized that it was indeed my lids and not my eyes.

I was referred to an eye specialist at the hospital who explained to me that there is no cure for it and gave me some advice on how best to manage it.  Over the past few years, I have been on 2 courses of long term antibiotics, used a warm compress on my eyes for ten minutes twice daily, and tried to cleanse them with baby shampoo.  I have even taken flaxseed supplements as I found a study that suggested that it was good for the eyes. However, sometimes I have felt the more I tamper with them the worse my symptoms are!

Despite this however, none of this has really relieved my symptoms.  I am aware that the are people in the world who are far worse off than me, but blepharirus truly has had and does have a negative impact on my well being.  Don't get me wrong, I might have a day or even sometimes two (if I'm lucky), when my eyes 'behave', but 99% of the time my eyes drive me insane.  There doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason as to why and when they flare up.  They just do it seems to irritate the hell out of me! It is almost always my left eye, and for some reason my right eye is far far less severe.  But it's always typical that they will flare up when Im going out for a night on the town or on a special occasion and I have bright red rings round my eye balls. I avoid cameras at all costs because it seems to look even worse on photos.

On a few occasions, my left eye (the actual white of the eye itself) has become sore and red and has required antibiotic ointment to treat it.

So that's that really. Blepharitus makes me miserable.  I cannot seem to control and I cannot pinpoint what makes it flare.

Does anyone's else share my experience and can anyone make any suggestions as to what I can try next?

[jaysta36]

I have it can almost cure it too,creams,drops,ointments only put a bandage on it,you need to find the root of the problem,it is allergy based histamines in your body are taking you toxins and get rid of it out of the thinnest skin of your body,ankles,back of knees,arm pits,and your face especially your eye area,just touch your eye area feel how thin it is to other parts of body.This problem doesn't start off as blepharitis,its the toxin sweated out the skin collects on eyelids,which turns crusty, reddish,which gives you an allergy,which then gives you blepharities,you also probably find your cheeks of your face get reddish too,and when you scrunch your face up ,you can feel soreness on the face.
Now the hardest part is finding your allergy..first thing you need to do is cut out alcohol this always caused me problems with eyes,and allergic reaction,few days after having it,after 2 weeks you will find your eye lids feel 10 times better.
Then you need to cut out caffeine,i.e chocolate,tea,coffee,no decaf coffee because also you could be allergic to the coffee bean,change it to a herb tea,an anti toxin,i.e white tea takes just the same as normal tea!
Food is the  hard part im a body builder and diet once a year,main things i eat is chicken,brown,rice,red potatoes,veg,salad,and cut out dairy products,egg,milk,bread,cheese so that helps me narrow food allergiesdown easier if im just eating that,ive just found out im allergic to ketchup,had some,sore eyes,stopped it it went away,so if your change your diet to these products for a few months ,take about 2 weeks for your body to get toxins out your body eat , chicken,brown rice,red,potatoes,veg,salad,you wouidnt just stop your problem you will be more healthier,then add one thing at a time.i.e the red sauce,milk etc see if this makes you lids flare up in 24hours if does leave it out...but the main things for me i have to cut out is the alcohol and the caffeine,cutting these out takes about a week for your lids to go right,so if you have alcohol on the weekend,you eyelids will never get better,due to another intake following weekend hope this is a help,p.s allergy test would be helpful from doctors,but results can be inconclusive,you need to clean your system out!

[paul4peter]

I have been referred and discharged from the eye specialist and doubt whether the GP would refer me again although I guess I could try..what are these medicines you talk about and are they available in the uk?

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Challenging blepharitis cases need to be managed by an ophthalmologist.

I would not use baby shampoo.  There are eye scrubs for this that work much better. Also, use warm compresses prior to cleaning.  Also, there are associated conditions that also need to be treated.

Topical treatments:  Azasite drops rubbed into the lashes twice a day for a week to 10 days.  Also, topical mild steroid drops.

Good luck.

Dr. O.