Please tell me wtf is wrong with my eyes!

[YouPrettyThings]

In the last 4 days the skin around my eyes has flared up - dry, itchy, red, swollen with giant creased folds on my eyelids and under my eyes... I've attached a photo, sorry it's a bit blurry - the swelling is much much worse when I wake up. I don't normally have any issues with my skin with only a few fine lines around my eyes. The rest of my face is fine - my skincare isn't fancy and fairly cheap, I've been using Simple micellar cleansing water and Simple refreshing face wash to clean my face then moisturise with Cetaphil day moisturiser or night moisturiser and the eye gel-cream for the last 12 months.

After the flare up I stopped cleansing my eyes and now just rinse them in the shower and I replaced the cetaphil eye cream with a 10% urea face cream which didn't help then after some reading thought it was perhaps eczema brought on by the very cold weather so bought some hydrocortisone (1% - as recommended on eczema.org for eczema around the eyes) which caused immense swelling although the itchiness went. Maybe I need to go to the dr but they're not open until Monday and wondered if any Mumsnetters had any advice please?

Can you get to a pharmacist?

Aaahhhhh I am really suffering with my perioral dermatitis at the minute, including round my eyes, and I have been purposefully using the pink micellar water instead of any of my fancier cleaners because I thought it was nice and plain and non irritating...

Doesn't sound like it is from this thread!!! Will give it a swerve. Hope you find what has caused yours soon OP and it clears up soon

MunsteadWood. Not a doctor either but I’ve done the same thing and from time to time use hydrocortisone cream on my eyelids or face after a bit of a reaction to something or other. It hasn’t seemed to have had any dire effects and was the only thing that helped reduce swelling/itching.

I had this once with a certain shampoo - once I binned it off it was fine. Just enough of it was getting onto my face to dry my eyelids out horribly. Not saying it is that, but worth considering just in case!

i know it’s years later but did you ever find the route cause of your eyes going like this? Mine are exactly the same suddenly over the last few months! It’s driving me made and I can’t work out why.
thanks in advance!

My daughter had this once and was advised to stop using Simple products on her face, apparently it’s not uncommon for them to cause irritation

Looks a bit like Blepharitis to me, I tend to get it in the colder weather.

A heated eye mask and drops help. Boots have a number of products for it.

I did also once have a similar reaction to a L’Oréal shampoo though so could be an allergy.

I have had this on and off for over 30 years. It is a real PITA. My sequence is dry itchy eyes and then if I dare to touch them they puff up like balloons. As they go down the skin starts to peel off too. I have had doctors suggest all kinds of thing but think that this is a "weak" area you have and you will react to external factors eg mine is cat hair or extremely dry conditions. I had a privately prescribed cream from a dermatologist but it wasn't any better than a hydrocortisone minutely applied! Also the anti histamine pills. I suffered from eczema as a child.

Arrgghhh no old post !

I know this is an old post, but some of the questions are new. I too have got this really annoying condition, and it has recently flared up. I now know exactly how to cure it and exactly how to stop it appearing in the first instance. I share my secrets: To avoid it in the first instance, do not introduce any changes to your facial products at all. If the products you have been using for years have served you well, stick with them, don't introduce anything new, as there will be some ingredient in there your skin does not like. Also daily moisturising maintenance is key. Even when your eye area skin appears normal, keep up with the daily maintenance. For me, maintenance equates to a smear of Aveeno moisturising cream under the lower eye lids and on bridge of nose and a little onto top eyelid area. I am not an eye make-up wearer. By daily using Aveeno I can go multiple winters without an outbreak (I only have an outbreak this month as I stupidly let my daughter apply a face mask when she was playing at being a beautician, and this has triggered off the immune reaction). When you get the flare up, avoid eye make up (not an issue for me) keep up with the moisturising and the best possible care you can do (I know it may not be feasible for some) is to go on holiday to a sunny clime and be exposed to sun and the sea. I promise this will heal you up, and on your return to the UK resume the maintenance routine. I now need to book a holiday!

I've only just spotted your question so this is a very late response! In that instance it was the micellar water I'd started using in my new skin care routine - took a couple of weeks for my eyes to return to normal. I've had a few flare ups since - the worst was when I rubbed my eye after touching nail varnish remover (even though I'd rinsed my hands), people thought I'd been assaulted and I couldn't open one eye for a week! As @whiteshutters said above, it just seems to be an incredibly weak area so I'm really mindful about I've touched and what skincare/makeup I use.

Did you work out the cause of your issue?

I've been having success with Cerave moisturising cream. The dehydration has improved, the skin is calmer, it's restored my skid barrier somewhat. Not a miracle cure but I'm on my 2nd tube and will keep using it until some other miracle cream crops up. It's also sorted out a lot of my skin issues, my face seems less prone to flushing, my skin looks even and plump.

Proceed with caution using aqueous cream as a moisturiser,it is a soap substitute and should be washed off.

Hope it goes soon OP, I've had it before, lots of anti histamine and hydrocortisone sparingly as advised by the GP.