I had a freak allergic reaction at 3am this morning - eyelids like golf balls!

[QuimReaper]

My eyelids have had a couple of episodes of sensitivity lately - a bit red and swollen, nothing major - which is usually resolved with vaseline and leaving them alone. They looked and felt a bit aggravated yesterday, so in the evening I had a bath, washed my face with a gentle cleanser, applied vaseline to my eyes and Nivea cream to the rest of my face and went to bed feeling fine.

Woke up at 3am with the most extreme itching around my eyes and was shocked when I went to the bathroom by how massively swollen they were. I took antihistamines, lay awake for the rest of the night with a cold flannel on my face, and 12hrs later I still look like I have been in a bar fight!

My instinct is that this is something that I've put on my skin rather than something I've eaten or anything - is anyone familiar with a skin-contact allergy coming on as a delayed reaction like that? As above, my skin was cleansed and didn't have any active ingredients or anything on it at the time the allergy flared up. I had used a pillow spray, but I've been using it for months and am over halfway through the bottle, so it seems unlikely it was that.

As a lifelong hayfever sufferer I am confident it wasn't tree pollen - it was specifically the skin that was itching, not the eyes themselves, up to my eyebrows and all around the socket, and also not accompanied by any other classic hayfever symptoms. Also no contact with pollen for several hours, clean skin and hair, and I slept on the sheets fine the night before.

Just wondered if anyone else has ever experienced this.

Any tips on getting my eyes to deflate and stop being purple would also be very gratefully received, I have had cold compresses all day and they don't seem to be doing much - I have a board meeting tomorrow, argh!

I am absolutely not a doctor, just an allergic person, but could it be something like a skin infection/ some sort of conjunctivitis? Or a bite? My brother had absolutely terrible swelling from a mosquito bite on his eye lid. I think you might need to see your GP or a pharmacist who can have a proper look and give you some ideas on how to treat it.

Adult DD struggled like this with her eyes becoming bloodshot with swollen lids overnight this week. She has asthma and hayfever.
She bought Optrex allergy eye drops and a cooling eye mask. Both helped so assuming it was hay fever.
Can you get to a pharmacy?

Could be conjunctivitis? When I had it my eyelids were terribly swollen, I could barely open them. I went to the optician and got some antibiotic drops.

I also suffer from dry eyes, which causes a really gritty feeling and can also be very itchy. I would avoid putting vaseline on your eyes and try some hydrating eye drops instead.

Thank you for the replies!

Does conjunctivitis cause skin irritation / itching? I always thought it was more internal, but I've never had it, it might be worth considering.

I'm trying to avoid going outside with all the plane tree trichomes flying around to avoid compounding the irritation, but I need to pick up a prescription in the AM anyway so will ask the pharmacist to take a look, assuming they won't miraculously fully recover overnight.

Could it be blepharitis? I suffer with it on and off and look like I’ve been in a fight if it flares up

Oh gosh Ochre I've just had a Google and it does fit! I've been hoping it'll be behind me in a day or two, looks like I might be in it for the longer term if it is!

Do you know what it is that triggers flare-ups in your case?

@QuimReaper Sounds just like blepharitis. I used to suffer. Sorry to say the vaseline you've been putting on has made matters worse.
Think of it like this, there's little sebum producing glands along your lash line and they've got clogged. Mix up a drop of baby shampoo in some just warm water and use a cotton wool pad to sweep it along the edge of your eyelids gently. The warmth of the water will help clear away sebum (and the vaseline). Do again twice more with just warm water. Don't rub. Don't poke.
Don't use perfumed or greasy products. Go see the pharmacist. Good luck.

Thank you Turnitoff! I got the Vaseline tip from a friend who suffers with the same as a related consequence of rosacea - it did seem to help calm down the last milder flareups that left my eyelids feeling really rough and flaky, but it sounds like it might not be a good idea.

Is there anything that can be safely applied to the skin to soothe it? It does feel so tight and dry. I have some La Roche Posay cicaplast which presumably is non comedogenic.

I had this. Was also amazed at the speed of the swelling it was blepharitis.

Have you used vaseline before? I can't put it on my skin at all it's horrible stuff. Makes me come out in itchy heat lumps.

Oh and stress is my trigger. Vaseline would be a no no. I need to clean my lids twice a day. I just use Garnier miccelar water and eye drops. Occasionally a saline solution if they’re very inflamed. It can quickly start to make your actual eyes feel dry and sore too.

@QuimReaper To be honest, I'd just maybe put some cotton wool pads dampened in some cooled boiled water in a tub and refrigerate. Use those to soothe your eyelids till you can get advice from the pharmacy. Don't chance any further products as you could set up a worse inflammation.

Not any kind of expert here, but experienced enough to say: Don't mess about with your eyes! Step away from the lotions/potions and give the skin a chance to recover.

Have you used any vitamin c topically?
im not usually sensitive but omfg vit c, swelling, itching, cracked skin, could hardly open my eyes

I’ve never quite been able to work out what flares it up - but as a pp has stated, I think it might be stress related.

I ended up buying a bottle of blephasol and carefully cleaning my lash line (upper and lower) twice a day with a cotton pad. That tends to clear it up quite swiftly and I keep a bottle in the bathroom just in case for any future flare ups.

I was very alarmed by all the posts that suggest it’s a really bad chronic condition when I first got it, but actually I’ve only had a couple of flare ups and find it doesn’t affect me at all day to day.

Oh also @QuimReaperI have one of those eye masks filled with gel beads that you can either freeze or warm up in the microwave (got it from my opticians years ago due to issues with dry eyes).

I heat it for 10 seconds in the microwave and sit with that on and found it very soothing for blepharitis.

What are you spraying on your pillowcase?

Do you wear eye make up? If you use an eyeliner on the inside of your lash line, that can cause blepharitis.

Stop putting stuff on your eyelids! Search out unperfumed hypoallergenic products for routine use and see a pharmacist asap for immediate relief . They may say you need to see a GP.
Incidentally most baby products are NOT unperfumed so I really wouldn't recommend those. I use No7 eye-makup remover routinely but also have tubes of saline eyewash, from Amazon, available.

Johnson’s baby shampoo to wash your face concentrating on your eyes x2 daily. Forever. Will keep blepharitis at bay.

@Scattertrain diluted ?

No I squirt it on my hands and wash my whole face. I found this easier than messing around with cotton buds etc.

I had to use steroid cream at one point as things were so bad. The yellow Johnson’s keeps it at bay for me now. If I run out I soon know about it.