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Sore, puffy, dry, red eyelids... Help needed, as my pharmascist is the definition of useless!

Apologiies in advance for this crazily long post- perhaps if I had forced my pharmacist to read all of this, he might have actually been helpful.....


For the last few weeks I have been suffering from incredibly sensitive eyes/eyelids which are red, dry and sore, similar to sunburn. I initially thought it was because of some cheap make-up remover wipes that I used to take off my mascara. Although I had been using them for a while, they soon started to sting and burn the area around my eyes whenever I used them. The use of any eye make-up other than mascara would result in a stinging sensation, which varied in terms of severity. Moisturiser and even baby-lotion would burn my skin. Since then however, I have been using some Garnier make-up wipes, made for sensitive skin and the problem seemed to get a bit better, although eyeshadow was still strictly off-limits. But then, last Sunday, my eyes had gone back to their previous state, of being very red and sore. I hadn't worn any make-up or used any products on or near my eyes at all on Sunday, so I'm confused as to what caused it to return.

On Monday and Tuesday, several people commented on the state of my eyes, especially the right one, which seemed to be in a worse condition. My eyelids were dry and painful to touch, especially in the corner and it was continuously weeping, until yesterday afternoon when it seemed to heal up to the point where it looked sore, but no longer felt it.

And then today- my awful eyes are worse than ever. While my actual eyes are fine, my eyelids are large,  puffy and as per usual- RED. My left one was expectionally bad, where it was almost hard to keep open. Since the day has gone on, they've somewhat improved, although they remain puffy and red.

One more thing- it may or may not be related but yesterday morning I woke up with a dry, red, sore patch of skin around the left corner of my mouth. When covered up with makeup, it's not so bad, but still notciable and sometimes itchy. I put on some E45 cream today, as I thought this would help, but I think it made it worse as it started stinging and burning almost immediatley. I never had this before, only since the problem has returned to my eyelids. Related, perhaps?

What is going on with my evil, crazy eyes?! I look awful, as I'm very pale and the contrast between my pale face with the random red patch near my mouth and my dry, puffy eyelids makes me resemble something out of a horror film... :( Any ideas of what the problem could be or how to fix it? Or has anyone else suffered similar symptoms? All help would be greatly appreciated. :)

Alex.
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Avatar universal
I looked up the Mario Badescu Control Cream, they took the original product off the market because they did not list steroids in the ingredients, now you know why it was so good.  But anyway, I have the same problem as the rest of you and have narrow it down to a fungal infections.  I thought I would share how I have controlled it.  I started off using Monistat 7, yes the product for women's yeast infection, I used a thin layer 2x a day (yes on my eyelid) for a view days and then 1x a day for an additional 5 days, because we all know it takes a good 7 days to clear up a yeast infection even though you fill a lot better in a couple of days. It did completely clear up, but a couple weeks later it came back, full force.  Then it hit me, I was cleaning out my dog's ears who has chronic yeasty ears until I tried a product called Zymox. It's a natural enzymatic Solution that destroy's yeast.  On my 3rd day and the infection is 90% gone. It also contains 1% Hydrocortisone so it stops the irritation and itching.  One of the ingredients is a emzymes found in natural tears to combat infections.  They also make a shampoo, ear cleanser, and cream.  I just ordered the cream. My dog has been free of ear infections for a year now, just read the reviews on the product on Amazon. I was spending $60-100 on antifungal products for her and then came across this procduct for around $12.  Dog ears have a very thin layer of skin, so I can't imagine why you could not use this product on your eyelid making sure you don't get it in your eyes.  I will keep you posted on my progress with treating the condition.
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Avatar universal
I have the problem right now with just one eye being red all around and puffy with a more red spot of puffiness just under the eye about 1/2 down. I did cry for days so thinking it might have something to do with that.. not sure. Help? The other thing I wanted to say is I had the scaly red swollen thing with both eyes for years and it was always around Christmas time and lasted for months. Went to 3 skin doctors, had allergy tests done, no answers. I started thinking about allergies and what do I do that time of year? For one, I get out my wool but I get it out 2-3 months before Christmas. It does make me itch but thought that's what happens with everyone, no big deal. So, I stopped wearing it that year, didn't even touch anything and I didn't have it. Same thing next year, problem solved. Asked my skin doctor and he said but we tested you for that? I said, well, I guess the test didn't work, right? Never had that problem again and I don't wear wool at all. It takes time for your resistance to really YELL at you, so it took a couple of months for it to build up and then go crazy on me, especially when I don't wear it any other time of year. So hope this helps someone! It was horrible for me to go through the holidays like that EVERY year!! Had to wear sunglasses indoors. That's fun at parties!
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Avatar universal
I realise it's two years since you posted your message, but I have exactly the same problem (including cracked and weeping ears!). After you mentioned the ingredients in shampoos, I thought the culprit was a new one I'd recently been using (and could still be), but I just wondered if you have a memory foam pillow, as this has been suggested as a possible cause, and mine is over 8 years old. I have also ordered some "Mario Badescu Control Creme", and I'm hoping that will sort out the skin problem.
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Avatar universal
I'm 15 and have always had seasonal allergies as well as to cats, dust, and a few other things. The inside of my eyes itched for years but when i was younger either the antihistamine eyedrops worked or my allergies werent severe enough to bother me. Last year my allergies got much worse, no eyedrops or medicine would stop the itching. I went to the doctor who prescribed steroid eyedrops. the bottle says Pred Mild but idk the official name. these didnt work and i was worried about the side affects. my eyes itched, but nothing else happened so i just waited for the season to end and it was fine by september/october ish. this year my allergies got even worse. one day i went to bed with itchy eyes, as usual, and woke up the next morning with extremely swollen, sore, dry/flaking, and red eyelids. I went to the doctor and i told him i thought it was allergies. he agreed and prescribed a $350 eczema cream which we didnt get and some steroid pills that i was reluctant to try because when my dad used them, they deprived him of sleep. he literally could not sleep all night. This medicine was for the swelling, which went down alot by the next morning so i decided not to get those pills either. i did get some allergy eyedrops for the itch inside my eyes but those didnt work. My eyes would puff up like this whenever i would rub my eyes before bed. Not only were they puffy but really red and after the swelling went down the redness stayed. i have to go to school and it's seriously bright red so i had no chouce but to wear concealer (which ive worn for years and am not allergic to) and the redness is still here as well as really itchy eyelids. Aquaphor (a petroleum jelly cream) helps with the dryness. i try to resist itching them but i let myslef lightly itch them sometimes which probably prolongs the redness. I am going to try switching my shampoos and see what happens. hopefully my parents will agree to take me to get a proper allergy tests and hopefully the allergy shots (which are the only possible cure)
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Avatar universal
Hello,

I have recently just discovered what has finally worked for me, for the past 6 months i have suffered swollen, itchy, dry and sore eyelids, and i tried going to the doctor who told me it was a form of Eczema and perscribed me an emollient that didn't work, and not only did it not work it made my eyelids worse!!

Than i decided to go to the health store and buy a whole heap of products that didn't have harsh ingredients in them only natural oils and perfume free, this helped a little and it got better but it did not get rid of it, at least i could go out without bright red eyelids at least.

Then for some reason i thought one day i'd just try putting Vaseline on at night. I did this after putting cold teabags on my eyes for half an hour then layering on thick Vaseline. OMG i'd found my cure, just simple everyday Vaseline did it, mind you it's best to use it at night because you have to layer it on real thick, and it took about three days for my eyelids to look like they were back to normal. Amazing! My mum has always told me Vaseline is an amazing product that has so many uses and is a product that no one seems to embrace!

Try it for a week on your eyelids and you will see the difference.

Good Luck.
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Avatar universal
I Emailed Mario Badescu as I have been ordering control cream for 3 years. They have not d/c it but they are 'reformulating' it. It's the only thing that's seemed to help my eyes and behind my ears. After reading this forum I am going to try tinactin. It makes sense it is candida related.
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