Dry skin around eyes....help!

[TAFKAtheUrbanDryad]

I posted about this earlier in the year, when i was pg, and the general consensus was that it was hormonal and it would go away when i had the baby. Well the baby is 7 months old now and I have horrendously flaky, dry, manky skin all round my eyes - mainly on my eyelids. It looks gross.

I use Nivea oil free moisturiser as I have v greasy skin for the rest of it, and have tried baby lotion too, but it really stings when I put stuff on it and I've started to leave it alone now. I can't exactly exfoliate my eyes, can i?

Luckily I wear specs so it doesn't show much, but it's also itchy and uncomfortable. I don't wear make up so that can't be the cause, but should I change my moisturiser or see my GP?

have you tried BioOil? Or maybe pure almond oil? Just a teeny bit ... and no, do not exfoliate around your eyes!!!

My mum gets dryness around the eyes and her GP told her to wipe with cotton wool that has been moistened with cooled boiled water. He also gave her some eye drops.

Do you think I should go to my GP then? I've not liked to try too much stuff on it because if i get it in my eye it'll really bloody hurt!

I had something similar a few years ago, it got really sore. Went to GP who told me it was some sort of stress related excema - gave me some cream (steroid I think) which cleared it up although since then I have to be a bit careful as the skin around my eyes seems more sensitive now and flares up if I use eye creams etc. HTH. I would def go to GP.

nooo don't use baby lotion, or anything with lanolin in it-which baby lotion has. have you tried oilaytum junior cream? works wonders on my dry patches and eczema, which are flared at this time of year

yes I would go to GP - eyes are very sensitive. Does sound ezczema-related - do you have exzema elsewhere?

Same as eshermummy above - I tried lots of different creams that I bought but nothing worked. Got some steroid cream from GP and it cleared up straight away

Try Ebenol. It's a light steroid cream but I used to buy it OTC. Only thing that really worked for me.

Hi

I have the same dry skin around the eyes which the doctor says is hormonal. He prescribed CETRABEN emollient cream which I believe you can also get without a prescription.
Anyway, I have to use it at least 5 times a day as he says twice daily simply isn't enough and it is working.

When you put it on be very gentle and pat it on, don't rub it in hard.

Hope it helps.

I had something similar last year - perhaps caused initially by an allergen (reacted particularly badly to Jane Iredale mineral foundation) but persisted for about 6 months.

Anyway, I got some of this lovely stuff from a wee shop in the Lakes which was pricey but really calmed the skin down amazingly well and feels great... Once it healed lots I then moved on to good old Simple Soothing Eye Balm from Boots which has been brilliant (and lots lots lots cheaper) and have been using that ever since - skin is practically all better now.

Good luck with it.

I have similar skin - greasy, except dry around the eyes. I just use Vaseline, a good generous smear around both eyes every morning and night.

(I even get comments on my lack of eye wrinkles and get asked what I use! - though I don't do it for wrinkle reasons)

I had this a few years ago- it was Blepharitis

Regular bathing the eye area with boiled water and baby shampoo helped- but what really made the difference was changing to MAC make-up. I don't know why.

The doctor also prescribed lacrilube, an ointment which is supposed to go in the eye, but he said to use it on the skin around the eye. It helped somewhat.

I had really sore itchy inflamed eyes a couple of years ago and eventually came across aqueous cream (any chemist should have it, in a wee tube or a big tub). I use it to remove eye makeup and as a moisturiser and have had lovely soft non-itchy skin since!

I use Epaderm, available without prescription from pharmacy - a thick emollient cream for eczema and dry skin conditions. It is brilliant for me and dd2, but I've found that lots of creams that others recommend don't work for me. It's a v personal thing and trial and error until you find something that works for you.

For a real flare up, I use 0.5% hydrocortisone followed by Epaderm and it clears up after a day or two, but I'd consult the GP before using a steroid cream on/near your eyelids.