Cracked Wrinkly looking red eyelids due to blepharitis ?

[HYPERHEAD]

My eyelids have recently taken a turn for the worse lately as they have become very sensitive and inflamed and have a strange scaly lined appearance now

Even heat makes them red when putting any drop in the make my upper eyelids puff up and i find the only thing that helps now is cucumber slices and green tea bags

Is this red scaly wrinkly eyelids normal with MGD and Blephy also would aveena shea butter lotion or castor oil help on my eyelids to reduce redness and lines

[jenny2008]

my eyelids are always redder now that i have mgd/ and rosacea.. sux.. not sure about aveena .. i use eye creams but i usually just use Eucerin on the actual eyelid and i use concealer if i am going somewhere to cover the redness.. I just ordered some pure castor oil myself as i read it really helps with the wrinkles.. that may be safe near the lash line as it's used in Restasis but i am not sure-i would DEF ask your DOC before putting it too close to the eye. i just plan on using mine on my crow's feet ... I tried jojoba oil as was recommended on here and it made my eyes burn.. just be careful.... Eucerin and reg. petroleum jelly dont seem to irritate most peoples eyelids.
good luck. and i totally relate to you..

[Sammy B.]

Hyperhead,

You might try a dandruff shampoo (dilute it waaaaay down with water) on your eyelids and eyebrows. Nizoral works for me, although it has been on backorder for some time.

Also, and I say this lightly, occasional application of a standard, over the counter cortizone cream might help too. Just don't use too much and don't use it often. Maybe use it only on the worst of days.

Rose

[littlemermaid]

We are using a simple, minimum ingredients, beeswax base cream with honey (manuka honey, just in case it works). It's good. Very good. Calms redness (inflamed hypersensitive infected dry and sebaceous rosacea) immediately. No other ingredients (ie not that overpriced Burts Bees with unnecessary perfumes and essential oils to which we flare up). It's absolutely great carefully around the eyes, no adverse reactions.

Hyperh, Have you ever had eczema?

[HYPERHEAD]

Hi again

I get dry skin in my ears and in my eyebrows which i have to scrape off after a shower and i do get mild excema

Had a shower today and it really got my eyelids raw red and swollen and stretched looking?

Is it my technique:

Have shower for 10 mins wash face and eyes with simple brand facewash .. then massage eyelids in circular motions about 10 sweeps per eye ..then they i go all red eyed and get swollen eyelids...but now my skin is looking all stretched and lined

Also i used castor oil for the 1st time today and it did seem to help with the swelling and wrinkles and grittiness but my eyes had been burning tonite Also bought some steralid eye wash which i will use tommorrow

[littlemermaid]

Hyper, We have seen many derm docs and profs to ask about skin inflammation and sensitivity but got nowhere. We've tried many OTC washes and moisturisers and flared up sooner or later to all of them because of ingredients, even tap water, altho Thames is v full of chemicals. Hopefully yours is better in Wales. Your routine (detergent, water) is causing eyelid inflammation and prob making the MGD worse.

You have to discover what makes things better/worse for you. I think there might be 3 goals here with lots of different solutions:
warming the meibom
cleaning the eyes to keep MGs functioning and prevent reinfection
supporting the skin barrier (moisturising to calm skin and relieve eczema reaction)

Without causing flareups. So it's about finding the best solutions for you personally. Obviously everyone tolerates different eg detergents, esp these eyelid cleaners for bleph, eg we can't use anything like that and use gentle compress and rub with warm water cotton wool or flannel, esp with inflammation, or a flaxseed eyebag when eyes are 'quiet'. Tankie had a good suggestion for you Tankie - eye mask

We've been advised to eliminate chemicals, keep the pH neutral. No derm has ever agreed but I've read in the derm lit that as well as cleaning we need to help the skin's defensive and antimicrobial functions by moisturising with something it likes: we've done OK with vaseline, and we're loving the beeswax/honey, altho some of these oils might suit you. I'd've thought eczema on your ears would like a bit of moisturising rather than scraping. Whatever doesn't flare you up.

Bit worried that you haven't got a regular ophth + maybe derm sorted yet. Your eyes are so sensitive to so many things, inc prescription drops, you could do with some help on this aspect because IMHO that degree of sensitivity ain't gonna go away. Can only tell you from our experience with rosacea sensitivity. Also it's a worry what would happen if your eyes reinfected so it's important to get some doc advice if that happens.

[spmcc]

Hi again

I get dry skin in my ears and in my eyebrows which i have to scrape off after a shower and i do get mild excema

I think it's very important to get the correct diagnosis for your eyes and your skin.

You can take Rebecca's list of questions to an ophthalmologist:

1) How is my tear quantity?
2) Do you see any dry spots?
3) Can you check for staining?
4) Can you press on my meibomian (oil) glands? Are they releasing oil? Is the oil clear and flowing freely? If not what does it look like?
5) Do you see inflammation?
6) Do you see signs of allergy?

As for skin, IF you have seborrheic dermatitis (which often flakes in the eyebrows, in and behind the ears, on the lashline), you will want to make sure you use dandruff shampoo. You can see these posts:

dandruff shampoo

further on dandruff shampoo

Good luck.

[littlemermaid]

Had a shower today and it really got my eyelids raw red and swollen and stretched looking

Hypes, Spmcc is right. The skin is affecting your eyes so badly and difficult to try to self-manage without ongoing ophth and you need a dermatology referral for diagnosis.

See the GP when it's looking at its worst (tip a GP gave us) and tell them its sight-threatening to get dermatology + ophthalmology referrals. Maybe you're a worrier but maybe also a doc-dodger(?) but you need to get your doc-support in place.

[HYPERHEAD]

Hi all.

I started to take note of possible triggers and I found that hot showers directly over your face and using face washes on my eyelids really flared up my eyes , so I changed my method and only let the shower head run over my face a few times quickly and let the simple facewash run down my face instead of directly washing my eyelids with it and then massages the eyelids after 10 minutes and this definetly reduced redness and swelling.

Mario

[Mawsky]

Just a note here, I do not have MGD but extreme dry eyes. I was having the exact symptoms, is it ever a bit itchy on the lids? I found that my problem was the drops I was using, surprising they were the preservative free ones too, I now only have one drop I can use, all others cause problem, not sure what the ingredient is as some have the propolene glycol and others the cellulose, so I'm at a lose but I know that it was the drops, my eye area looks normal now, and now more wrinkling and the awful puffiness, which always made my eyes feel horrible. Good luch to you. Hope I've helped

[HYPERHEAD]

Omg mawsky I think I'm having the same problem and I have now quitted my drops as they were making my eyes swell I think, and my eyes weren't as swelled this morning

Natural route is the best if you Ask me

What drops are you using now ?

Thanks alot mawsky

[Mawsky]

I use the Similasan allergy relief drops, they are the only drop I can use now. Like I said when I first noticed it I switched brands, all preservative free, but picked one with a different main ingredient, I would be OK for a day or two at most and then it would start in again. When I explained it to my Opthalmologist he just said its so much better to have the preservative free, like they are stuck on that, I get it, but they were wrecking havoc on my eyes and lids. It's crazy, I don't know what it is in these drops that cause me to have such a reaction, I just know I can't use them. I first noticed it with the Restasis, of course they burned my eyes like acid too, but they started affecting my lids too. Try the Similasan and let me know what happens, you can personal msg me. Good luck!

[HYPERHEAD]

Personally I'm the hypersensitive type and tend to react to everything, others are luckier I guess. I will try similasan and hope I find some relief

I'm about to assault this condition the natural way...good diet, lots of exercise, vitamin supplementation,heat bag,etc. one thing I have learned is you can't slack with this condition you have to assault it head on to rid of the bacteria etc

[Mawsky]

Oh yeah, one more thing you might add to your attack. Coconut water, I read on here that some were being helped by it, so I've started myself, too soon to tell, but I try to drink everyday, being hydrated is so good for the body, even if no big improvement in eyes, I know I'm doing something good for myself. Good luck!

[Sammy B.]

Wanted to repost on this as I think I originally gave bad advice.

I ended up with dryness and cracking under one eyelid so bad that I had to ditch every item in my shower and start anew.

Turns out the harsh Dial soap and Nizoral I was using on my face was causing most of the irritation. I now use a SLS free gylcerin soap and vitamin E oil around my eyes, with much better results.

Rose