Strange Accident! Found Relief

[MeibomianGlandman]

Dear Everyone, Something Very Strange Has Happened in the Night to me By Accident.

Last night, I was so Tired, Being A sufferer With Meibomian gland Dysfunction and incurable Blepharitis I have gone through much in the last 3 years with the disease. However something Strange happened last night.

In dealing with this disease, ever since day one I have had Blepharitis, that was unmanageable. I have never been able to get over this inflammation in my eyelids no matter what I have done, You name it ointments, artificial tears, tetracycline, and Lid management my blepharitis has never gone away, the doctors have been stumped as to the cause. That is why since I have lived with that inflammation since day one things have gotten worse, I was diagnosed with meibomian gland dysfunction 6 months after having the disease. But However something Strange and Unexpected has happened in the night that I wasn't planning on that has all but cured my incurable blepharitis.

Last night I was up late, doing research as always, it had been a long day and I was very tired. Being so tired last night I feel asleep without putting in my daily regimen of nighttime ointment which is Revered by most MGD physicians, however in the lack of ointment something strange happened. When I woke Up this morning All my blepharitis was Gone! For the first time in many years my blepharitis was completely gone, no more inflammation in the eyelids, or eyeballs. My conjunctiva in my eyes were completely white as I remembered them!

Now my eyes were extremely dry no doubt, but the interesting part was the inflammation in them was all but disappeared. That lead me to one conclusion, that without a doubt it was the Night time Ointment I have been using since day one that may be the culprit in causing my blepharitis.

In particular when I confronted one of my family members whom I am related too about it, they did mention that their skin is sensitive to Mineral oil. It just made since then. However though right now I am a catch 22 when it comes to keeping my eyes lubricated at night and free from harm. I have discovered that all Nighttime ointments are made out of the same ingredients, Petroleum jelly and mineral oil. I even noticed that some nighttime ointments have more mineral oil than others. So the question remained, If Mineral oil could be causing my blepharitis, causing inflammation that could lead to my dry eye I wonder, why I hadn't thought of this before.

None of my eye Care doctors dared to question to see if it was the medicine I was on that was causing the problem. But I know this time I will be bringing this up to my Doctor to see what can be done about it.

In the mean time...Spread the word around, and see Could Mineral Oil be causing your blepharitis and inflammation in your eyes?

Experiment and see, as for me this all happened by accident, I wasn't expecting it at all.

Anyway I know now that its Great news that, the cause of the inflammation has finally been discovered, most of my practitioners have told me to get it under control, before I could see any progress. Who knew that mineral oil was the missing link in causing Inflammation in my eyes.

If Anyone Has any suggestion if there are nighttime ointments out there without petroleum jelly and mineral oil in them, It would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Meibomian gland man

[Rebecca Petris]

I don't know about mineral oil actually causing blepharitis but I have to say I hate ointments in general and I've known a lot of people who improved after quitting them. Not universal of course and most people aren't going to be 'fixed' by quitting it BUT I am so, so glad to hear that you've tracked down something causing a problem and eliminated it. Long may the benefits last :-)

Ointments vary considerably in the proportions of mineral oil to petrolatum. I've known people who could tolerate one but not another. In terms of an ointment without either, I don't think such exists (happy to be corrected if someone knows otherwise). The only other highly viscous product on the market that I know of that isn't greasy is Genteal Gel which is polymer based. A lot of the folks I know who don't use ointment use Genteal Gel (or something less viscous) plus moisture goggles, or some other kind of physical barrier at night to maximize moisture retention and minimize evaporative loss.

[Scout]

I am glad you found the source of your inflammatory reaction.

Just one word of caution from someone who has been there: Once your eyes and/or the sensitive skin around your eyes and eyelids experience an inflammatory reaction, the area often becomes highly sensitized and further inflammation can be triggered in the same area by other substances and medications, even ones that you have used in the past with no reaction.

Many of us have discovered that if you don't pay close attention to all the medications and substances that could trigger further inflammation and then remove those substances from your environment, you could be in a long cycle of inflammation.

Plus, it is very difficult to determine the difference between "dryness" and "inflammation"--the symptoms are similar and they feel the same.

So be cautious about further medications, drops and even environmental exposure (like fragrances and chemicals in soaps, detergents, lotions, etc, etc,) and work on trying to determine whether you are hypersensitive to those others substances and medications before you add new substances to your sensitive eyes and eyelids.

Maybe a nighttime eye protection would be something to try before you start an overnight drop regimen again?

Just my two cents. . . .

Scout

[farmgirl]

Hi Glandman: I am so happy for you that you have made this discovery. Having said that I hate to be the harbinger of bad news but Genteal Gel is the one thing that I am highly reactive to. I would wake up looking like something out of a bad horror flick until like you I quit using it for a short time. Within 2 days of resuming it the inflammation was back. Now I just use oniyx goggles at night and add drops every time I wake up. If that is not enough you can put a folded damp gauze underneath the goggle to provide some moisture and put some pressure on the lid to keep it from opening. Like scout says be cautious a bout further medications....cheers...F/G

[Arcadena]

Thanks for this great post. This *feels* right to me.

I am thinking of just using nothing on my eyelids for a bit and seeing what happens. Because really nothing works.

Does anyone know of ANY sunblock that you can use on your face without it causing a horrible eye reaction?

I sometimes think that these cycles of reactions are caused my me getting Ambre Solaire into my eyes far too often in my youth!