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Hello fellow dry eye/blepharitis/general eye issue sufferers.
Life was pretty normal until about 3 years ago when I started to develop some very painful and very visible eye issues. I am sure my story is similar to lots of people's. Anyways, from all of my looking for info/encouragement I often ended up here reading what other people were saying. Lately after many many visits to Doctors, Opthalmologists, ENTs and allergists I've had some pretty real success. I feel as though it's my duty to share my findings whether or not lots of it is common knowledge already. I understand there are lots of different kinds of bleph/dry eye. Mine seems to be staph related but I never got a diagnosis off a culture just a verbal diagnosis from the opthalmologist. He gave me all sorts of artificial tears that 'always' made things worse. I am otherwise in excellent health.
My opthalmologist was a very cryptic and fairly unhelpful person who's hand was almost always on the doorknob. But as it turns out the things he told me were pretty bang on. Here are my secrets.
The warm compress thing helps but when I did the recommended amount it was unbearable my eyes 'always' were at their worst. The occasional warm compress works best for me. I think everyone's cleaning/compress routine will differ slightly, find what works for you. The cleaning routine is very poorly defined online in my opinion the devil 'really' is in the details with this one. cotton buds can work well but they weren't the best for me. If you are using them make sure to squeeze out the extra solution from the cotton bud so it doesn't run into your eyes. I found make-up remover pads to be cheaper and more effective. Less dripping into the eye and less pokey. Also easier to clean the whole eyelid. The premade wipes from brand names are so expensive! Also for 2 of the three years I wasn't even really cleaning in the right spot. Try to really get the bases of the eyelashes that's where the money is. The cleaning takes practice. As for my other tips. More sun, less computer, better overall hygiene (hair,mouth,body). omega-3 in my diet helped. Proper levels of hydration and potassium help a lot and sometimes pretty quick. Exercise helps too. But there was a turning point and it happened recently. I started supplementing my vitamin D and my flare-ups straight up stopped. Just a little bit of supplementation. Not a lot. It's been 4 weeks of consistent eyes. I've had good weeks before but not like this. It could be a coincidence. I don't want to say it will work for anyone else. I also don't want to give false hope. I live on a farm in Canada and work a second job inside. I just started taking it because it is commonly recommended for the long canadian dark season. If your vit D is low it's worth a shot I say. I am still doing my daily routine and plan on having to do it indefinitely.
I guess the one thing I really want to say is that I understand the physical and emotional pain of eye issues. I got pretty sad when it was at it's worst. Often I see someone in the grocery store with visible eye issues and say to myself "this guy knows what's up". My eye issues left me with lots of large bulging permanent blood vessels and they bum me out still. When I complain though most people say they don't even notice. Buck-up chums! Lots of people have personal medical things they have to keep up with. My friend who is only 29 just got diagnosed with leukemia out of nowhere. So I have been thanking my lucky stars lately. Best of luck with those eyes! I will update when I can.
Joey2616
Life was pretty normal until about 3 years ago when I started to develop some very painful and very visible eye issues. I am sure my story is similar to lots of people's. Anyways, from all of my looking for info/encouragement I often ended up here reading what other people were saying. Lately after many many visits to Doctors, Opthalmologists, ENTs and allergists I've had some pretty real success. I feel as though it's my duty to share my findings whether or not lots of it is common knowledge already. I understand there are lots of different kinds of bleph/dry eye. Mine seems to be staph related but I never got a diagnosis off a culture just a verbal diagnosis from the opthalmologist. He gave me all sorts of artificial tears that 'always' made things worse. I am otherwise in excellent health.
My opthalmologist was a very cryptic and fairly unhelpful person who's hand was almost always on the doorknob. But as it turns out the things he told me were pretty bang on. Here are my secrets.
The warm compress thing helps but when I did the recommended amount it was unbearable my eyes 'always' were at their worst. The occasional warm compress works best for me. I think everyone's cleaning/compress routine will differ slightly, find what works for you. The cleaning routine is very poorly defined online in my opinion the devil 'really' is in the details with this one. cotton buds can work well but they weren't the best for me. If you are using them make sure to squeeze out the extra solution from the cotton bud so it doesn't run into your eyes. I found make-up remover pads to be cheaper and more effective. Less dripping into the eye and less pokey. Also easier to clean the whole eyelid. The premade wipes from brand names are so expensive! Also for 2 of the three years I wasn't even really cleaning in the right spot. Try to really get the bases of the eyelashes that's where the money is. The cleaning takes practice. As for my other tips. More sun, less computer, better overall hygiene (hair,mouth,body). omega-3 in my diet helped. Proper levels of hydration and potassium help a lot and sometimes pretty quick. Exercise helps too. But there was a turning point and it happened recently. I started supplementing my vitamin D and my flare-ups straight up stopped. Just a little bit of supplementation. Not a lot. It's been 4 weeks of consistent eyes. I've had good weeks before but not like this. It could be a coincidence. I don't want to say it will work for anyone else. I also don't want to give false hope. I live on a farm in Canada and work a second job inside. I just started taking it because it is commonly recommended for the long canadian dark season. If your vit D is low it's worth a shot I say. I am still doing my daily routine and plan on having to do it indefinitely.
I guess the one thing I really want to say is that I understand the physical and emotional pain of eye issues. I got pretty sad when it was at it's worst. Often I see someone in the grocery store with visible eye issues and say to myself "this guy knows what's up". My eye issues left me with lots of large bulging permanent blood vessels and they bum me out still. When I complain though most people say they don't even notice. Buck-up chums! Lots of people have personal medical things they have to keep up with. My friend who is only 29 just got diagnosed with leukemia out of nowhere. So I have been thanking my lucky stars lately. Best of luck with those eyes! I will update when I can.
Joey2616
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