itchy red swollen eyelids,,,not Blepharitis - please help me!!!!

[kwinn]

here i go....so for the last 6 months i have had itchy eyelids...my eye doctor told me it was due to mild allergies and prescribed eye drops which didnt help in the least so i turned to over the counter allergy medicine which hasn't helped either (so i dont think it's allergies) and in the last 3 weeks not only are my eyelids itchy but when i wake up in the morning my upper eye lids are bright red and swelled up so bad that its embarassing!!!! i have switched makeup brands, stopped wearing makeup all together, changed pillowcases religiously, done the compresses, used mild baby shampoo on my eyes to clean them now, i take my vitamins, gone to the dermatologist who again prescribed more allergy medication (hasnt worked) went to an Ophthalmologist who said he didnt think it wasnt blepharitis but really wasnt sure what was going on so he prescribed me bousch & lombs neomycin and polymyxin b sulfates and dexamethasone ophthalmic ointment USP to apply to my eyelids which if anything in the last 4 days of using it has actually caused the swelled upper part of my eyelids to burn...typically the swelling goes down thru the day but by the time night hits theyre back to being all swelled up again...im 25 and done as much research as i can...this is literally killing me...(and i hate not wearing makeup!!!) please oh please if you have any ideas of what i may be doing wrong or what i can do to help my poor eyes let me know!!! anything will help at this point!
thanks
~~k~~

[kebrady]

hi,

I also have been having the same problem... never had a problem before until mine started last may when i thought i was having a reaction to the chlorine at the pool we were going to...my eye would get really bad and because of the swelling i would look like i was punched out and my eye was really, really, red......

I too went to an eye dr - spent $60 on my copays and another $80 on my "medicine" and "follow up" medicine...  and i don't believe it did anything... he said i had blepharitis... but of course my flare up was gone by the time i could get into see him...i think blepharitis is a blanket diagnosis when they don't know what is going on... it's like telling me I have a cold... thanks for nothing...

Since then I have had numerous flare-ups...  and I have tried different things... one thing is for sure...baby shampoo did absolutely nothing but sting.... i have recently tried something on my own and i may have found a partial solution.....

i went out and bought 2 things...  eucerin original moisturizing creme and Olay age defying revitalizing eye gel (it's a little tub .5 oz.) You can get both at walgreen's .  The eucerin is the 2 oz tube and runs about $5 (it is the super thick one) and the eye gel is $10 9 (a friend of mine recommended this as she was having the same problem).  I have been using them daily or almost daily on the one eye where I was having the problems as well as the other eye as a precaution, and it seems to be keeping it at bay.    for example... this morning i woke up with the usual red eye that usually accompanies the horrible swelling of my eye and all I have is the red eye and not the swelling...  and granted the red eye is no walk in the park, but at least i can put the refresh liquidgel eye drops - the really thick ones - and that alleviates some of the irritation...

And to answer one of the posters above, I do not wear eye make-up...  at least we know we aren't alone...  it's just very frustrating that there are so many people out there and no one knows what is causing it...

i hope this helps... :)

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[aster77]

I also have these exact symptoms. Itchy, swollen and burning upper eyelids - much worse in the morning, gradually worsening for a week or two, then fading away and leaving me with very dry and scaly eyelids. The left one is a bit worse, but both are affected.

Began about 3 years ago - sometimes I'll go several months without a flareup, though my eyelids always seem tender even then. Lately they've been much worse, with hardly any break in between irritation. I'm a guy, don't wear makeup or apply anything to the lids, don't really have any history of allergies (skin or otherwise). I've tried to keep track of what environmental or food factors coincide with a flareup and have found no patterns at all. I do wear contacts, but found no improvement after wearing only glasses for a while.

I'm uninsured and don't want to spend the money for a doctor to misdiagnose me, which appears to've happened to many of you. Other internet folks have suggested blepharitis, which seems to be a catchall for unusual eyelid problems. And others have said might be candida, which seems like even more of a catchall. Very frustrating.

Besides the constant burning and itching, I look like ****. After reading all these comments I'm wondering how many people out there are suffering from the exact same symptoms and are not getting any accurate help from doctors...

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[fullquiver9]

After doing yard work a couple of days ago (connected or not?), I found that that evening my eye was itchy. The next morning my upper eye lid along my eye lashes was red and swollen.  No eye make up or contacts here. I also do not have dry skin near my eye at all. And I have never had any problems with allergies. I want to rub the heck out of it and am trying to refrain. I'm not sure that this is the same as everyone else but just thought I'd add in case anyone has any ideas for me. Unfortunately no insurance here either and not sure if a doctor visit will help.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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