Blepharitis - fed up! Give me your best tips?

[ScreenPrinting]

It just won't GO!

It's not absolutely terrible, but I'm doing everything I've been told to do and I just want to know if there's anything I'm not trying that might speed it up/settle it down.

It's been months now, though admittedly I was treating it wrongly for several of those months because I thought it was an eye infection.

I'm doing a heated eye mask twice a day, plus gentle massage twice a day, and have been doing so for 2 weeks now. I thought it would really help but it's only been marginal improvement. Do I need to do this for weeks more before I see much more improvement?

Wiping with Blephasol twice daily - again, I've been doing this for about 2-3 weeks, I can't tell if it's helping or not. I think I have blocked glands in the eyelids rather than any of the other reasons you get blepharitis (I don't have crusty eyes, just incredibly dry and gritty-feeling) so I don't know if the eyelid hygiene thing is so important? Are there better/more effective products? I quite liked some tea tree wipes I tried a few weeks ago but they were crazy expensive and I don't know if they were any better than blephasol.

Eye drops recommended by the optician, Hycosan, twice a day

I was wearing contact menses minimally for months but now I haven't worn them at ALL for 2 weeks - I thought this would be the clincher but it's not had the positive effect I thought, at least not noticeably. This is the hardest thing for me because I'm a diehard lens wearer and have worn them without problems for 35 years... I just want to be able to wear them again, even if I can't wear them all day every day like I used to!!

I've started taking Omega 3, only done a week but does this help eventually? Any other supplements any help?

I'm drinking more water, again, only done this for the last few days but will this help if I keep it up?

I know it's not a condition that goes away totally, but I'm feeling disheartened by the lack of improvement. It IS getting a little better, but so so slowly, and I just don't know if it will ever be kept at bay enough to wear contact lenses and NOT have a horrible gritty sore eye when I wake up in the mornings...

Mine started when I moved to a desk underneath an air conditioning unit,
The optician thinks this was the trigger for me, now menopause isn't helping.

I've tried lots of different eye treatments, currently to keep symptoms under control I use Hylo-night eye ointment at bedtime and Optive Fusion eye drops frequently during the day.I try to use the heated eye mask twice a day but sometimes forget.... but use it more frequently during a flare-up.it definitely helps. I cleanse my eyelids with an oil free Mircela water and massage my tear ducts to try and keep them unblocked.

Make up is now contraband...as my eyes run so badly that the skin swelling around my eyes and constant streaming lasts for about 3days.

Sunscreen is a nightmare no matter how careful I try to be , as soon as it gets on my hands it manages to get on my face and then blocks my tear ducts causing my eyes to stream uncontrollably.

Watching this with interest as other people's tried and tested remedies are always worth a go.

I've used these and would recommend:

Eye Doctor wipes

Literally the lot. Which, as a) a vain person, and b) a lotion/product addict was difficult ESPECIALLY when the flaky skin arrived (Hello, Lizard Lady). But I think my throwing everything including the kitchen sink at it product wise strategy meant I'd just knackered my skin barrier and until it was healed it would be hyper sensitive to anything. Including the £15 Eucerin I'd seen reccommended here

PS Working from home and a very quiet week social life wise helped me stick to this too.

Apologies if someone has suggested this. My DM suffered with this and her optician suggested tea tree wipes. She found them to greatly help with irritation and her blepharitis did clear up.

@ScreenPrinting I think you need a proper diagnosis of what’s going on with your eyes/lids.

My problems are complex. I first had issues with touche eclat. An allergy. Other makeup items joined it. Oddly only really affecting one eye though. The lid would itch like torture and be constantly wet. The whole area would be hot and swollen. Swabbing with cold black tea helps.

Next I worked at a computer screen in an office where the aircon was permanently stuck on. Those factors and age lead to dry eye syndrome. For that I use a heat mask every morning, drops through the day and a moisturising gel at night time.

Lastly I have blepharitis, which is bacterial and which, I’m also stuck with. Again the tea is soothing but the only real weapon to control it is cleanliness. I find wipes too drying so stick with dilute baby shampoo on a separate pad for each eye and really limiting makeup. Mascara has to be changed more frequently and brushes kept scrupulously clean. It hardly feels like it’s worth the effort. Again, the one eye is much worse than the other.

The other rotten thing with this condition is (did I mention I'm a little vain?! ) is a even when my eyes now seem better there's no doubt it's aged that area I f my face. And I dare not put any serious anti ageing creams near them in cases it's triggered again.

It really does suck

Just checking you've tried not wearing nail varnish? Similar symptoms can be caused by contact dermatitis/ allergies and stopping the nail varnish completely got rid of mine!

Can I just add a PSA about eyelash curlers - I used to use them, very infrequently really, but as I'm allergic to nickel (didn't know at the time) they gave me horrible contact dermatitis almost immediately. Might be useful to someone!

We tried everything with DD. In the end just prolonged use of the Optase moist heat eye mask (every night for several months) seems to have done the trick.

You need eye A&E. Probably steroid eye drops to clear it up then it’s maintenance.
I’ve found Simple or L’Oreal miscellar water the best thing to use. It’s also possible you have dry eye ( I know, blepharitis makes your eyes weep so seems a contradiction but they go together ) Hospital will prescribe drops.

Do you have Roseacea or any form of acne? That will also need treating as the two are related.

Heat made mine worse. I also don't wear any kind of sunscreen on my face, it always finds its way to my eyes.

I do a coolish wipe with flannel morning and evening, micelllar water for make up removal, and Sainsbury's dry eye drops morning and night, and sometimes during the night as well. That's my maintenance regime. When they were really bad I had some kind of stronger thicker drops from the optician.

For me completing stopping suncream, makeup and scented moisturiser and starting HRT cured me. I can now wear eye makeup again in moderation and am ok with some brands of facial sunscreen. I think HRT made a huge difference.

My DD had terrible problems and we found better than a heat mask was reusable cotton pads in boiled water. We waited for the water to cool slightly but it was hot rather than warm. Applied four times a day. Obviously wash them on a really hot wash to kill any germs.

She also responded well to antihistimes but I am not sure if this was just because she was too young to understand not to rub them but it seemed to reduce the itchy so she stopped touching her eyes so much.

To be honest though she ended up getting a chalazion and it was a long course of antibiotics that seemed to really clear things up and now she has artificial tears that she uses at any sign of dryness or irritation which seems to keep things at bay.

I have posterior blepharitis. The things that help are thealoz duo eye drops. Tried very many eye drops , lots made things worse.

When unbearable I use blephasteam goggles https://firstforcontactlenses.co.uk/blephasteam%20goggles%20for%20dry%20eye.html

expensive but I found eye masks and heat no relief and these made life much more comfortable , especially during a bad patch .

My blepharitis got infinitely worse last year after cataract surgery. I was already doing just everything mentioned and it wasn't helping, and when it got worse I got galavanised. Turns out that it wasn't blepharitis as such - the blepharaitis was a symptom of Meibomian gland dysfunction, which is commonly misdiagnosed or not even considered. It took an opthalmic specialist to diagnose, and that was a battle in itself with my GP and the optician batting me around to each other before I got assertive and demanded a referral. The specilaist told me that it is estimated that some studies suggest up to 70% of people may have it in some degree, but it is simply never diagnosed or taken seriously. In severe cases, like mine, there are surgeries (very simple ones) that can alleviate it, but there is no cure.

One thing I found, which is counter-intuitive, is that a warm compress on the forehead (as warm as tolerable without burning) can help as well. I don't fully understand the biology behind it, but the eye area draws oil etc from the wider area around the eye including the forehead, and a warm compress on the forehead as well as the eyes can help the ducts to stay clear.

Sea buckthorn supplements are meant to be good for it

I had to give up the eye makeup but it did cure it. Unless I wear make up again then it comes straight back.

If you have some £ to throw at the issue look into eyelid IPL. This plus steroid eye drops helped a lot. If you are near London I can recommend the Dry Eye Centre on Cavendish Street.

You can get antihistamine eye drops over the counter called Opticrom which might also be worth a try. Don’t get Optase allergy eye drops, they don’t actually contain antihistamine.

Also my eyes like a damp hot compress but not a hot dry compress.

You don't mention drops OP? My optician sold me wipes and the heat mask, but tbh I felt a bit ripped off. I don't think the mask helps at all, but drips do. I just use them when I feel I need them now.

I find the best thing is just thoroughly cleaning my face twice a day with micellar water and not using mascara.

I get eyelash extensions and surprisingly they are completely fine but mascara triggers it massively.

What does it look like for you? Just issues with the lash line?

If you are using the same mascara you will likely be making it flare up again.

my routine is to clean with baby shampoo and water when I first wake up. Once I’ve done my skincare, spf and make up I go over the lash line with blephagel and a cotton bud- I’ve tried loads of treatments and this has worked the best for me! At bedtime, once I’ve taken my make off and washed my face I go over again with the blephagel.

When it’s very bad, antihistamines help.

Similar to @BlueYonder57 , I had this for years until I was finally diagnosed with Meibomian gland dysfunction and (yuk alert) dermodex mites. The first line of treatment was tea tree oil wipes, but these were ineffective. I then opted for what was essentially a gentle scrubbing by the ophthalmic nurse, followed by daily use of a tea tree oil based foam wipe - I use this once daily. https://www.boots.com/boots-pharmaceuticals-blepharitis-eye-lid-foam-100-ml-10205857?cmmmc=bmm-buk-google-ppc-_-PLAs--PMax:+UK_Smart_Shopping_Health_Pharmacy_Google&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7JOpBhCfARIsAL3bobcj-sPT_ror6pZ6OZTWZFYl4DoUyl7xJbUZL3xGtnofjUWNJQzXywwaAilYEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

That was 18 months ago, I haven't had any problems since. The treatment sounds grim but was actually absolutely fine, I wish someone had suggested it earlier. I don't know whether you can get it on the NHS, but it wasn't hugely expensive privately, especially when I think of how much I'd spent in ineffective over the counter products over the years.

wow thank you so much everyone - didn't expect so many replies!!

Someone asked what it looks like... well, this is why I have to almost wonder if I even HAVE blepharitis... I have no crusting, no swelling, no redness around the eyes or on the eyelids themselves... it sounds as if many of you who do suffer from blepharitis have visible signs on the skin of the eyelid, or around it. Which I don't! All I have are the dry gritty eyes, so maybe I don't even have actual blepharitis (though this is what the optician did say it was...) My eyes do look a little bloodshot, but really not much - my husband says he can't even tell what I'm talking about when I say they look bloodshot.

Today and yday I took an oral antihistamine and I have to say it feels a lot better for that. The I woke up this morning (after taking the antihistamine yesterday afternoon) and my eyes were the least gritty-feeling they've been in months... I'm wondering if the allergy treatment is the better route to follow but I will see how that goes.

I also didn't do the hot eye mask for the first time in two weeks, and I wonder if that was a factor. I really do think they've been feeling worse as I've used the eye mask more.

I wore my contact lenses today for the first time in weeks and they have been very comfortable, I only wore them a few hours, with drops in too, so maybe I'll see how my eyes feel tomorrow morning and then I can see if the contacts was a bad idea or not. THey're always grittiest-feeling when I first wake up.

Anyway, my plan is to carry on with the antihistamines a few more days and see if it continues to help. The only thing I guess I don't really understand is, if the antihistamines help, does that mean it's caused by an allergy OR does it just mean the antihistamines are making the gritty itchy eye sensation feel better?

If I still can't work it all out I will go back to the optician and the GP.

Huge thanks everyone, this is so helpful!