Ocular Rosacea? Huh?

[Cali]

I posted just a few days ago that I got an infection from my autologous serum drops getting too warm.

I was in so much pain having to stop my serum, that I started the whole eye protocol including warm rice baggies heated in the microwave to get my meiobian glands secreting. I was careful to only put the baggie on my eyes. Just trying to get some relief until my serum kicks in.

SURPRISE!!! My rosacea that I get on my nose (I use metrocream nightly to control it) flared up. Giant painful very attractive red bumps.

I’m wondering if in addition to everything else, could I have ocular rosacea? Since I’ve been using the rice bags, my eyes seem swollen. Seriously, I look like I’ve aged 15 years with my now hooded, hanging upper lids. What the heck?

For my face rosacea, I just avoid extreme temps, spicy foods, wind, etc. It’s ever present but under control with metrocream.

QUESTIONS
How would I know if I have ocular rosacea?
Does heated warm rice baggies aggravate ocular rosacea?

[alisonW]

It sounds like you do based on what you've posted. Yes, heat can aggravate ocular rosacea - cold/ice packs can help a bit. There is no definitive test for OR and many doctors (both eye doctors and dermatologists) are reluctant to diagnose it for that reason. (At least in my experience.) Anything that cause your facial rosacea to flare can cause your eyes to also. Fluorescent lights and stress are two big triggers for my eyes.

[Cali]

Thank you for replying. After this eye infection from my serum drops, I went into a huge anxiety panic. My nose is my stress indicator. If it flares with rosacea I know I need to calm down. I will stop the heat. My eyes have never been so slit small since the hot packs.

[dave25]

I had to stop warm compresses because of ocular rosacea too. Cold compresses work well for me. If my glands feel extra clogged on any given day I will let warm water run over my face in the shower and use a q-tip to express my glands after. That has worked pretty well for me over these last few years.

[Cali]

I had to stop warm compresses because of ocular rosacea too. Cold compresses work well for me. If my glands feel extra clogged on any given day I will let warm water run over my face in the shower and use a q-tip to express my glands after. That has worked pretty well for me over these last few years.

That was my concern. How to care for my glands yet not aggravate my eyes.

[Faith1989]

I just use the steam from my showers too. I find the compresses turn my eyes a scary shade of red which can't be a good sign. I hate fluorescent lighting too. My doc says I don't have ocular rosacea but I have MGD and I just feel like I do. No skin issues really though. Cali I'm sure your eyes will go down , try the shower thing instead. It works just as well.

[PotatoCakes]

I found that warm compresses exacerbated my rosacea so I finally stopped doing them. On occasion, I'll do a compress and follow it with cool, green tea bags, as suggested by one of my doctors. I've found the green tea does help with the inflammation that I get from warm compresses. My original doctor told me to use warm compresses for 15 minutes twice a day and when I had issues, another doctor suggested dropping down to no more than 5-8 minutes and follow up with the tea bags. It made a huge difference.

[Mike G]

Interesting, I probably have ocular rosacea (well, diagnosed with rosacea by a derm (fairly mild and only around my nose and eyes) and then chronic blepharitis by ophthamologists, one of whom said it might be OR). I also found that hot compresses made my eyes a lot worse and I have big problems with fluorescent lighting. I've had some success by ignoring all of the eye hygiene advice from the opthalmologists (apart from avoiding touching my eyes) and attempting to identify and avoid rosacea triggers.