Blepharitis advice please

[LIZS]

Anyone have a successful treatment regime? Is heat and massage really worthwhile as seems a pita? Currently also have issue with a persistent stye despite ab drops and ointment and not sure whether to avoid eye make up or what products to try.

Try bathing eye with dilute baby shampoo. Leave off make up

Heat massage twice a day, and yes, it is a pain. You can get pafs that ypu warm up but check with ypur doc/eye clinic. Wipe with special eye wet wipes too. Its better than having the lump chopped out - ouch!

Try to avoid eye makeup for a while.

Making sure your eyelids are clean when you go to bed is key for me. I've got a lump at the minute which is annoying but thankfully not really noticeable.
I also bought an eye pad from the internet that you put in the microwave then place over your eyes. It's really good and relaxing! I think it's trial and error to be honest.

Our doctor told Ds1 to use warm/hot tea bags. He's never suffered since.

My DS had this a lot when he was younger and bathing the eyes in diluted baby shampoo, the no more tears stuff, would sort it.

Clean eyes at least twice a day using diluted baby shampoo and boiled water cooled but as hot as you can bear
Use separate pad per eye wipe once each side of pad then chuck and repeat with fresh pad DO NOT REDIP PAD
Put hot pads on eyes as many times a day as you can, or cupping hands over eyes for a few minutes helps or hold hot cup of tea on / very close to each eye for 30 secs or so quite easy to do a few times a day.
Also Vaseline over eye lashes overnight to limit oxygen to eye lashes
Be super careful with make up
Keep doing this even when obvious signs are over and for maintenance at least on alternate days.

Bit of a faff but once you get into the habit and work it into a regime pays dividends
Also the need to put hands over eyes / hold warm cup of tea over them is useful for a mini break at work or op if you need to tune out for while

I had blepharitis really badly for years, then started to take a zinc supplement and it cleared up completely. Worth a try?

Agree with the cleaning regime but TBH the only thing which brought it under control in my case was 6 months of a low dose of doxycycline. The consultant also wrote a letter to my GP saying that if it flared up again I should be prescribed another 6 months worth. Thankfully I haven't needed it. I still have it as it is a lifelong condition, but a nightly wipe with a wet cotton pad on each eye is enough to keep it in abeyance. Worth talking to your GP and asking for a referral to an eye specialist I would have thought.

It is such a long lasting and depressing condition to have that it is really worth trying to suppress it.

Thanks for all the tips. Dilute baby shampoo seems to be helping , had tried before but probably too concentrated so stung! Anyone have it alongside Rosacea?

Bought a thermal eye pack for microwave today so will see how it goes.

It gets very hot so put a clean handkie or flanel over your eyes first.

Do use hankie under hot pad
Change it regularly
Oh and 1 or 2 drops baby shampoo in say 250ml water

I probably shouldn't say, but, when I saw the doctor with it once she mentioned that they don't like to prescribe hydrocortisone creams as it is so close to you eye.
But I clocked that she said that. I had some hydrocortisone cream at home from something else. Tried it and it really helped.

I think it is common with rosacea.

DH had stye problems and the doc said it was because he had rosacea.

Fusidic acid stops the itching for me.

Me, me, yes, alongside rosacea. Both cleared up with a vitamin supplement taken daily. And (by coincidence) I had several courses of metronidazole for a tooth abcess which I later read is sometimes prescribed for rosacea. Either way, it used to be awful and is now gone. I also use sudocream for the rosacea and it worked well. Good luck, it's horrid.

Reviving this thread. Can blepharitis be an allergic reaction? Have realised that this and the Rosacea seem worse since changing work environment but could be a coincidence. Have now tried metrose gel and oral abs but only seems to make a slight and temporary difference. Just bought a sample of micellar water to try.

I think an allergic reaction or irritation can cause a similar reaction. Best to stop wearing make up for a bit, as people often become sensitive to that, even if they've been wearing it for years, and see what happens. If it's not that, change all your make up, anyway, as otherwise you might be spreading bacteria back over your eyes from contaminated make up and applicators. Have you changed soaps or creams at all? Irritatingly, a lot of antihisthamines cause dry eyes, so seeing if an antihisthamine helps to work out whether or not you are having an allergic reaction to something can itself cause similar symptoms... And sometimes, all the eye scrubbing and cleansing and heat treatments can irritate the eyes, too! And some thermal eye packs contain substances that irritate some peoples' eyes, in which case steam and warm water compresses might be safer...

Basically, eyes are tricky things because they are so sensitive and once something has gone off balance with their lubrication system and caused inflammation, it can be really hard to calm things down and get them working normally again! Some people find a high dose of pure omega 3 capsules helps - I had Omega Eye recommended to me by a consultant and did find it helped ease symptoms of blepharitis for me. I couldn't stand baby shampoo anywhere near my eyes, but a gentle massage every so often with a cotton pad and warm water to ensure my eyelids are clear is now enough for me - I think prior to that I was scrubbing too hard and making my eyes irritated and sore.