Meibomians overproducing oil

[tommyk]

Hello all,
I had for a long time red eyes. I went to many ophthalmologists but no solution until the last one that told me that my glands overproduce oil (also my face skin is very oily). He prescribed me vibramycin for 4 months. I want to ask you how can i reduce oil production in my glands or my face. Should i visit a dermatologist too? Should i check if it is a hormone problem? I think vibramycin will help me but what else can i do to additionally help my problem?
Thank you. All these months were like a nightmare not knowing what is the problem.

[dijon84]

I have been told by an ophthamologist that my meibomian glands are 'working overtime' and that my tear film was very oily. My skin also looks and appears very greasy around my eyes. As I understand it, the meibomian glands and the sebaceous glands in the skin are quite similar in nature, so that explains a bit about the greasiness around my eyelids. I have seborrheic blepharitis and MGD.

I'm 28 now and have also had mild acne problems since I was a teenager. I was using Clean and Clear products for 10 years but was still getting acne issues. A month ago, I started using jojoba oil on my facial skin and it's made a big difference. It seems to be a fantastic product. I no longer use the Clean and Clear products. I started using it on my eyelids a few weeks ago but possibly I was using too much of it as I think it was leaking into my eyes. This was then disrupting the tear film - not so good. I've also started using jojoba oil on my scalp to try and sort out the dandruff. Apparently argan oil is another oil that can help - I've not been using it for long enough to see what effect it has. In the past few days, I've also started using Mario Bedescu control cream on my eyelids instead of the jojoba oil (but carried on with the jojoba oil + argan oil mixture on the face).

I would recommend giving jojoba oil a try (to use on just your face for now, at least). As I understand it, the composition of jojoba oil is quite similar to the composition of sebum, so the sebaceous glands secrete less sebum (as if they are being tricked?). Can't say anything about the other products as I've not been using them for long enough.

Hope my ramblings about my issues have been of some use and you might be able to see some parallels between your situation and mine!

I did see a dermatologist a few months ago but it reminded me of my experiences with ophthamologists and optometrists in dealing with these related conditions. These 3 types of professionals don't seem to collaborate much and it is really hit or miss whether you get a good doc. The dermatologist I saw never would have recommended jojoba oil but that is what has helped me the most.

[tommyk]

Hello dijon, i am almost 28 too and i think we got the same problem. Have your eyes been red? I started washing my face with cold-freezing water and i saw big difference in little time. Maybe i will check my hormones. I will try jojoba oil for sure. Can one find it in pharmacies?

[unicorn]

Health food stores and the like often sell jojoba oil.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, have a look at www.makeupalley.com (ignore the name! lots of skin care advice here on the boards). You will find lots of info about products which help oily skin, acne etc. Lots of people here rave about using oils, surprisingly, to help oily skin (and dry skin too!). Argan oil is also a good one but there are loads of others to try. You could read up on the 'oil cleansing method' too.

[dijon84]

Thanks for that link Unicorn, will definitely check that out.

Tommyk - yes, you can buy jojoba oil and the like from health food stores. In the UK, I bought mine from Holland and Barrett - not sure where you are. I also ordered argan oil off eBay - there seem to be a few companies that sell these sort of products on eBay.

I don't really have red eyes (assume you mean the white of the eyes turning red). There are a few red veins in the white of my eyes but not many. The insides of my eyelid are quite red though, lots of blood vessels etc.

[HYPERHEAD]

Hey all....

Unfortunately the majority of dermatologists and eye doctors in the UK are useless and offer dated advice which only helps to worsen our eyes. Damn I wish I lived in USA! Why can't these eye docs educate themselves more about this complex condition.No UK eye doc has ever performed meibography or gland expression!

Trouble is there are so many variables with this condition..diet,allergies,skin problems,immune disorders,yeast problems etc.

It's only through my own research that I discovered N acetyl Cystiene which has certainly improved my dry eyes, also using jojoba oil and sulphate and paraben free shampoos. Honey and colloidal oatmeal has definetly helped ease inflammation caused by seborrhea. Reducing lid inflammation has definetly helped to reduce Meibomiam gland secretion quality and output.

My condition is definetly seborheic blepharitis so I need to work on the yeast problem first.

Also I must credit littlemermaid for helping me understand the complexity of this condition and external factors etc.

[MeibomianGlandman]

Heres something I would like to mention that would help, My Meibomian Gland Dysfunction/blepharitis which is over production of meibum oils was caused by seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp and eye brows, This stuff is terrible, cause bad dandruff and is caused by yeast called malassezia furfur, the only treatment of this is ketoconazole shampoo and jojoba oil for the scalp. If you don't take care of that, trust me it stick around forever and it get worse, see a dermatologist right away for that treatment, make sure its not bacterial dermatitis either...Trust me nothing to mess round with, your talking possibility of blindness which i have to use eye drops all the time now.

[MeibomianGlandman]

New information, make sure you consider mineral oil as a possible culprit blepharitis just found out after 3 years mineral oil cause of inflammation and over production of oils.