Newly diagnosed with Blepharitis

[itchyeyes]

Hello Everyone,

I was told I have Blepharitis a few weeks ago... it all started out with conjunctivitis in July: swollen pink lids, red eyes and discharge. I treated this homeopathically with eye drops and pills(pulsatilla), and chamomile tea bag compresses (which helped quite a bit but didn't seem to clear it up completely.) I went to two doctors at this time at my regular eye doctor's office including my regular who would not rx me antibiotic/steroids.

She suggested Baby Shampoo which I tried against my better judgement.. it made me worse. She didn't even diagnose this as blepharitis.

Finally I saw an on call doc on an emergency basis as I couldn't take it anymore and he rxed antibiotic/steroid cream, and said to use warm compresses and wash my lids/lashes with cleansing pads. This helped dramatically, but by day 8 or so I ate some tomatoes and was exposed to something in the air & things got worse again.

I went back for a follow up and general exam and he has rxd azisite. I've been using that for 3 days now and I feel much better again. I'm a little dry from these drops.

My symptoms have been after the conjunctivitis: swollen pink eye lids, itching, flakes on eyelashes, increased oil debris on lids, redness, irritation and sensation of something in the eye, pain, light sensitivity and more recently dry eye.

I have tried various lubricant drops, restane recommended by my current doc & genteal gel. I feel sometimes that the drops dry me out in the long term and irritate a bit.

I also watched a video linked here with Dr. Havanosian's recommendations of
heat 4 x a day. I'm doing that which also seems to help quite a bit.
But the dryness seems to be getting worse at times. I was already taking plenty of supplements before this all started, including flaxseed oil. I have been doing gentle massage of my lids also which seems to help.

I had started taking lutein before the conjunctivitis and I wonder if this could have caused this. I was taking 20 mg and read somewhere that too high a dose can upset the balance of chemicals in the eye. They recommended 6 mg every other day.

I do work quite a lot at a computer monitor and I've noticed people saying this exacerbates dry eye... why is that? Is it due to not blinking as much as usual?

Some other things I plan to try are increasing water intake, I had lowered it a bit recently.

And some sort of protective glasses for outdoors. I'm very sensitive to plants, dust and environmental factors.

I had had some milder dry eye for the past few years on and off, but using lubricating drops only occasionally seemed to control it.

This is horrible. I hope I can overcome this eventually.

My current doctor said to try and clean my lashes only once a day if possible at night as too much cleaning can make things worse.

I've been using ocusoft cleanse pads... I wonder if anyone has tried lidhygenix? Does this have any scent? I've tried the thera tears cleanser and that has a strong scent which irritated me.

Thanks for any advice.. this is a horrible condition.. mine is not nearly as severe as most people here... I sympathize with all of you.

Edited to add that I also have had blurred vision on and off for the past several years with no explanation other than possible fatigue.. I wonder if that could have been caused by a milder version of what's going on now.

The second night of azisite drops I also had lights flashing in my right eye when looking up and down. I'm not sure what this is... I've had optical migraines in the past but nothing like this. My eyes and vision are completely healthy apart from the blepharitis.



http://www.lidhygenix.com/



http://www.allaboutvision.com/condit...lepharitis.htm

[Teri]

Welcome to DEZ. I'm sorry you are suffering so, but I believe your eyes will calm down.

I, too, have blepharitits, and here's what has helped mine the most:

1. Warm compresses, at least 4 times a day, for ten minutes each time.

2. Lid scrubs twice a day, immediately following a warm compress. My doc recommends using the ocusoft pads, SteriLid cleanser, or Cetaphil liquid cleanser. Leave it on your eyelids for at least a minute. (I use Cetaphil, as it is very gentle, does not have an odor, and is non-drying.)

3. Mega-doses of omega-3 fish oils. I know you're already taking supplements, but I suggest reading the threads here about omega-3's.

4. Azasite and oral antibiotics. I've used Azasite at bedtime for a month, and it has helped. I'm using it periodically (e.g. one month on, three months off, or something like that). Oral minocycline or doxycycline are also common treatments.

This may have come on rather suddenly, but the eyes seem to take a while to heal. So baby them (follow your regimen religiously, limit computer time if possible, etc.) and give them time.

Teri

[itchyeyes]

Hi Teri,

Thanks for all the advice.

I have some fish oil also which I was taking, I had switched to flax seed because of worries about mercury and I heard flaxseed was better overall.. but I will read about it here and add it back in for while and see if it helps.

I can't seem to use the scrubs more than once a day now, my skin is just too sensitive. I've used Cetaphil for years but I stopped using it on my eyes when all of this flared up because I seemed to have so much excess oil now and I thought that would exacerbate things. I don't usually rinse it off... but I used it tonight and rinsed and it is less irritating than the ocusoft eyescrubs.

I was planning to use azasite for the 10 days recommended and then maybe cut down to 1-2 days every 2-3 weeks and see how that goes... my eyes are much drier with it the past 2-3 days.. and nothing is helping that... not even almost constant systane or genteal. My doc thought constant azasite or oral antibiotics would be too much and I don't tolerate oral antibiotics well.. they make me miserable after a few days... zithromax is the only one I can tolerate. My doc also discussed restatis but we don't think I'm ready for that yet.

I'm kind of concerned after reading here that this dryness can cause damage to my eyes so I need to get this under control as soon as possible.

I also forgot to mention that I had been spraying for poison ivy with roundup when all of this started. I noticed that my eyes became very irritated... I should have worn protective goggles and a vapor mask... I also wonder if that could have triggered all of this.

You're right I need to baby my eyes for the next few weeks and hopefully this will help.

I'm having trouble finding a good mask for applying moist heat... I ordered two but one is too heavy with beans inside it and it doesn't really create moist heat and the other has sticky gooey gel which smells a bit and which can't have any contact with water... I've put plastic over it anyway and then a wet wash cloth but the smell concerns me as this could be irritating.

Do you know of a good mask? I had been using wet washcloths microwaved but they don't stay warm for very long. I tried the potato also but I had an allergic reaction to it and it just ended up cooking... lol.

My boyfriend also suggested that my crt monitor could be affecting me to with some radiation. I'm sitting much further away from it now.

I'm so glad to have found this site. Here's to hoping we all have some improvement and relief.

[Teri]

Try not to get stressed! Some members have had "worst case" results, but there's no reason why that has to be you!

As for warm compresses, Rebecca sells a rice baggie in the Dry Eye Shop. I use something similar: a small cotton "pillow" filled with flax seeds. I'll bet the rice baggie is more comfortable on your eyes than a bag with beans in it!

I'm not sure about using the Azasite for 1-2 days every week. For one, the instructions say to keep it refrigerated until opened, and, once opened, it lasts 14 days. After that, I think it isn't effective. Maybe ask your doctor about this?

I doubt that your monitor is irradiating your eyes. It is very common, no matter what type of monitor one uses, to experience drier eyes while working on the computer. Your blink rate decreases when you read, and I think that reading on the computer is worse -- at least for me as I tend to scan webpages and not blink at all. It would probably help to take frequent breaks.

It also may help to wear some sort of moisture-chamber goggles. I have a pair of "onion goggles" (Rebecca sells them, too) that I wear at home. And there are some here who wear swim goggles (for a complete seal)! Not pretty, but they might provide some relief and allow you to work more on the computer.

One more thing. There has been some discussion in the past about the misnomer "lid scrubs." It only takes very gentle cleaning of the eyelids and lashes to get the job done. No need to rub hard or for very long. (I'm sure you already know that; just making sure!)

Hang in there!
Teri

[itchyeyes]

Hi Teri,

Thanks.... I'm trying not to stress... I have fought other chronic health conditions and I know that stress only makes it worse.

My eyes were better and now they seem worse again... I seem to be going through cycles like this.... they respond to treatment for 3-4 days and then they get worse again... more swelling/itching etc.

I thought I read somewhere about someone using azasite for 2-3 days every month... but I will do more reading and ask my doctor also... maybe it's not possible.

I ordered dwell and nutri tear. Dwell felt great at first but my eyes have gotten very dry over the day... nutritear seems to make them irritated... I'm not sure why. Maybe once I finish the azasite things will settle down again.

I will try the rice mask also... I did find some inexpensive gel masks... but one has leaked already from heating it a little too much... it's very hard to control the temp with these masks.

I feel generally dehydrated recenlty also... it's not just my eyes... and I'm drinking tons of water now.

I think goggles while at the computer would be a good idea.

I am very gentle with the scrubs but they still seem to irritate me... I have super sensitive skin... I'm just dabbing with now and leaving it on longer. And only once a day now... cetaphil 1x per day.

I just read a post here by someone else with allergic blepharitis and I'm wondering if mine could be allergic and bacterial. I do seem to respond to the antibiotic treatment... but then it flares up again.

Thanks for all your information and help. I'm so glad I found this website. Thanks everyone.

[EllMitcho]

Hi just a quick comment - goggles for the computer are DEFINITELY worth trying - they help me a lot. Hang in there - try not to get stressed and obsess about your eyes ( I know that's hard to do sometimes)

Oh - and exercise- it helps also!

EllMitcho

[itchyeyes]

Azasite reaction...

Hi just a quick comment - goggles for the computer are DEFINITELY worth trying - they help me a lot. Hang in there - try not to get stressed and obsess about your eyes ( I know that's hard to do sometimes)

Oh - and exercise- it helps also!

EllMitcho

Thanks,

I may order the tranquileyes with heating pads also.

I tried Panoptyx Vientro's on today and although they fit me perfectly, they were too tight at the side of the frame and very uncomfortable. There is no way I will be able to wear them.

I tried on a pair of Liberty Torque also but they were a little too large. I wonder if I can place some extra foam where the gap at the edges lets air in?

I had a 2 days of very severe dry eye at the end of my aza-site treatment which was quite frightening. I had to use a petrolatum/mineral oil ointment for a day which helped tremendously. I will not be using aza-site again. I also believe Nutri Tear added to the irritation and contributed to this episode.

I'm gradually getting better. Dwelle does seem to help. I started using cetaphil as a cleanser as I normally did, not rinsing, and this also helped I believe due to helping to moisturize my eyelids and thus keeping more mositure inside the eye. And I stopped all drops for a day. Overall, I believe they cause irritation for me in the long run unfortunately.

I hope to find glasses that fit me properly and which are also comfortable/wearable, because I believe this will help me a great deal.