Cause of Inflammation?

[elltrev]

Hello all,

I've been suffering from blepharitis and MGD for 4-5 years to varying degrees. This last year I've been trying to do as much reading on these problems as I can, as its in my nature to want to have a 100% understanding of what causes problems such as these. The one thing that really sticks out to me is that there doesn't seem to be that much, or at least that much definitive, information on what causes the chronic inflammation of the eyelid?!

I really struggle to accept that once upon a time my eyes were 100% healthy, but now they're not and never will be. (I'm 25 years old and am not aware of any obvious causes for the deterioration in my eyes). Does anyone have good information of what exactly this inflammation of the eyelid is, and what causes it? Whether from their own research or via direct weblinks?

I'm so sick of this problem, though I know that it is not even nearly as bad as some people on this board have it. My heart really does go out to all of you! In this modern age of medicine I just can't accept that there is no way of curing this problem.

[sanna]

I think it has to do with the veins some people have inflammation in the eyes first and than MGD and some people have MGD and than inflammation in the eyes. You can only have inflammation if you have veins. Maybe there are new veins growing and blocking the glands and that is why you have this....do you have ocular rosacea too ? Do you know about this Dr Rolando Toyos ? Do you know about IPL for dry eyes ? There are a few people on this website that has done ipl and it sounds like it is working. The IPL removes the veins, whitout the veins no inflammation. (I have haerd that ipl can remove the fat in your face too and that is not a god thing, you could end up looking like an old lady but i am not an expert)

I am only a dry eye patient not a doctor.

[odydnas]

I think the answer is that we don't really know. A lot of diseases like cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, etc are linked to a cycle of inflammation, but no one knows what came first, the chicken or the egg. But we do know that DE can exacerbate inflammation, which would in turn make DE worse, etc etc. Omega 3's can help. But the exact cause of chronic DE is pretty much unknown I believe. I don't think that veins CAUSE inflammation, I think that they bring inflammatory particles to the eye, which is why getting rid of the extra veins during IPL can help (I think?). I don't know what causes these extra blood vessels to grow in the first place though. We're only patients here, so this would be a good question to direct to Dr. Latkany.

[sanna]

In my case it is the veins that cause the inflammation, but i do not have any inflammation in my eyelids at all. I also know why i have the veins but not everyone knows why they have the veins. I do not know why some people have vessels in the eyelid.

How can you have inflammation if you do not have any blodvessels ? Don´t you think that the inflammation in one part of your eye can start the vessels to grow in another part of your eye ? and when it is to many veesels it is easy to have inflammation. More inflammation more veins, and more veins more inflammation...

I am not saying i am right (only about what my cause is).

[stella]

Sorry but i cant for the life of me understand the logic which blames veins in the eye for inflamation
Blepharitis which most of us have means inflamation of the eyelids ie "blepher "refers to lids "itis" means inflamion of --- therefor inflamation of the lids leads to meibomian gland dysfunction which leads to insuficient meibum - oil to the eye surface making the tear film evaporate too quickly which in turn causes dry eye Where do the veins come in ??There seem to be several reasons why we get blepharitis -- I quote 3 only which spring to mind
1-- Skin disorders which affect the lids such as seborrhoea dermatitis (which i probably have )and rosacia (sorry for spelling)
2 -- allergies
3 ---bacterial overload to the lids -- thats why we use lid cleansers regularly
There are other contributing factors like hormonal imbalance , environmental factors and of course surgically induced like Lasik

[sanna]

You are probably right about that the skindisorder that can cause blehparitis like rosacea and other things and the bacterial overload and things.

But do you mean you have no veins in the eyelids ? What is inflammation ?
Why is it that some people feel better after IPL ? And is rosace not a disorder making your face red ? Why is someones face red ? I thought it was because of the veins... i wonder why veins start to grow in the first place like why do some people have rosacea ? ...

(2008 i had perfect white eyes and now i have veins and sometimes inflammation but that is only because of some iritation like dry eyes at night and because the veins are in the conjunctiva my eyes gets more dry. If the veins were gone i am sure my eyes would not be as dry. Normal cojunctiva is clear. )

elltrev did not mean veins in the eyes and was talking about the eyelid i was just talking about inflammation and this is just what i think but please let me know what you think.

[fed up kate]

Elltrev

I understand your frustration as do us all im still seeking to find the answer to that question and unfortunatly been unsuccessful but there are so many things to try or to get tested for.
im also 26 and have had it for nearly 2 years and have seen a million eye doctors,i would recomend you see a good one but in my expericence they have all been a waste of money and this website and the lovley people on it help me more than they have.
i to have got inflammtion under my lids but dont have blocked glands so its either hot compreses to unblock yours but with havin inflammtion heat could make it worse so i feel cold feels alot nicer..
also keepin your lashes and eyes clean i use some good wipes that help alot.
i feel like there are so many problems within your body that can effect your eyes its just trial and error of finding out if theres an underlying problem.

but dont stop searchin theres gota b an answer somewhere but its just a case of daily routine to help the symptoms.

take care

kate

[stella]

We certainly have a blood supply to the eyelids in the form of tiny arteries(capillaries) which nourish and oxygenate, as in all living tissue and tiny veins which remove waste products into the venous circulation back to the heart and lungs
In Rosacea presumably the face becomes red due to increased blood supply via capillaries due to inflamation.
If anything is inflamed it gets an icreased blood supply and swells -- probably a response to injury, disease ,foreign body (Im getting in too deep here)
Then there seems to be a thing called a histamine cascade in inflamation caused by allergies.
Veins are only half of the blood system and they remove blood and take it away from the tissues - venous blood is blueish in colour whereas arterial blood is bright red
Help - i would need to revise the anatomy and physiology of the circulation and the function and properties of blood -- but I feel pretty sure that inflamation is not caused by veins

[alisonW]

I truly believe that the prominent veins are the *result* of inflammation not the *cause* of it. It's our eyes response to the irritation, dryness, etc. My eyes are constantly red now and never were until my eyes first became dry and irritated. I think determining what sets off the cycle of of irritation/dryness/redness is a million dollar question. If that were readily known and easy to determine, treatment would be much easier.

[rhad]

elltrev,

The cause of inflammation is the Immune System, you've got to remember, that almost all inflammation comes from the immune sytem. Where the inflammation originates from, I think it is the Gut, or the intestines. as 80% of the immune system is in the Intestines/Gut. also, if you do a little bit of research you will find that even the medical community recognizes the Connection of the Gut or intestinal inflammation affecting the Eyes, and Joints. In Crohn's Disease, which is an inflammatory Disease of the Intestines. They note that Eye inflammation is common, peoples eyes begin to have inflammation which causes them eye problems as well. and joint inflammation. Arthritis has been noted to be caused by food sensitivities from an immune response, as noted by Author Barbara Allan. Called "Conquering Arthritis". she suffered for 4 and a half years with Arthritis, but found that conventional medicine failed her, Which doesn't look for the actual underlying cause. that she had to find out on her own. through trial and error, she made a food journal and found that her arthritis completely went away after identifying and eliminating certain foods that she had a sensitivity to, which is an immune response to certain foods. causing inflammation.

really, I believe that the answer lies in the Gut, or the intestines, as 80% of the body's immune system is in the Intestines. Inflammation is an immune response.

Others on this site have noted a connection between Chronic Candida Yeast inffections and their dry eye improving after treating that... I don't know for sure the solution, but I think the Gut is the key. it's almost all of your immune system.

Note to all: I am not a Medical Doctor, and I am not giving medical advice, this is just for informational purposes only.

Good luck on your search for answers,

rhad

[stella]

Ways of building up your immune system are excercise,cutting out sugar ,taking echinasia and vit C + zinc That builds up your resistance to disease in general --- not sure if it would help bleph/MGD/DE

[calli66]

Inflammation from the immune system means there's "too much" response.

I have auto immune disease (Sjogren's) and elevated Rheumatoid Factor. With auto-immune, you shouldn't use extra echinacea since that riles up the immune response even more.

I tend to agree with Rhad regarding the GI system---at least that has been true for me. My digestion and my dry eyes have been my worst symptoms. I finally have my eyes to where they are stable (dry, but not affecting my life adversely most of the time). I am still working on my Gut Problems.

My newest thing is to avoid fructose and fructans in foods, and it is definitely helping stabilize my GI tract. It's a rather limited diet, and I resist having to do this, but it's probably for the best. I'll know better in a couple of months when I get further along, whether it's going to work long-term.

I'm adding back certain fruit on a limited basis, and am eating more vegetables than I used to, so that's all good.

Have a great HOLIDAY, everybody!

Calli