Ocular Rosacea

[jenny2008]

eyelid massage technique

I scanned the technique Dr. Foulks gave me but I can't attach on here-it says it is too big of a document. If you can give me an email (or send one to me in a private message) i will email it to you.

[jenny2008]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I do the compress for a couple of minutes and than the massage.. I usually take the compress off when it cools off which is usually a few minutes. The massage I do is similiar to what i found in this link.. http://www.agingeye.net/otheragingeye/blepharitis.php

I put a washcloth on top of my finger as I sweep it across my eyelid w/ firm pressure while keeping the eyelid taut . First you need to make sure that you pull your eyelid shut and down over to the side... And then you sweep your finger (with the washcloth on it) over your closed taut eye starting at the nose and sweeping it toward your ear-do this 5-6 times.. My doctor used the analogy of unclogging a clogged tube of toothpaste--you basically are using a smoothing motion from the corner of your eye by your nose to the opposite side and repeat...

I hope the above link helps you . I can hear the oil actually come out while doing the sweep motion. I hope this makes sense.. let me know!

[NYer]

Jenny,
Please, please, please elaborate on the different massage technique that has worked for you! I find that the standard one we all use is very irritating to my eyes. After I do it, my lids are red and my eyes are burning for quite a while. That's with or without using hot compresses first. I'd love to know what you're doing that's working so well.
Thanks!

[jenny2008]

It's odd but I have ocular rosacea and my dr.. Dr. Foulks still advised me to do warm compresses followed by a technique of massage he showed me that differs somewhat from others techniques I have seen. I noticed the first time I did the massage after the heat that I heard a squishing sound in my eyes when pushing gently along my eyelids. After a few days I just kept feeling better and better.

It's been 2 and 1/2 weeks and I feel sooo much better. My eyes are never inflammed anymore and the tissue is a light pink color not red. I do the heat and massage 2x daily for now and I guess it means my oil glands are finally working-although I have to do it manually.

With that said-we all differ -as with my ocular rosacea the heat does wonders..

[NYer]

Sazy,
That's a very interesting point about the autoimmune quality of the condition. Have you spoken to Dr. L at all? His own dry eye condition was set off by a case of conjunctivitis, too. So he may be able to give you some good info. Also, there may be something to the allergy stuff even though standard logic would say not. And the reason I say this is based on Skygoddess's recent experience. The standard allergy doctors test you for for all the standard stuff (I am allergic to dust and mold, for example...so are lots of people...and that's not causing my dry eyes.) But Sky had patch tests for an astounding variety of contact allergies and found out she was allergic to things you'd never consider...and from what she has said, since staying away from that stuff, she's seen a big improvement. (and I hope that's still the case.) And her problem, I believe, was also very eyeLID oriented. So you may want to look into that.

[skygoddess]

It sounds like you suffer many of the same problems I do.
Azasite helps me tremendously. As well as Cold Compresses, and staying away from the baby shampoo.
I was mildly allergic, but when your eyelids are irritated , even a mild allergy is major.

[sazy123]

Well i definately have inflammation of the inner eyelids and you can see they are swollen abit- both signs of ocular rosacea. I also have MGD and very mild facial rosacea- im fair skinned 'keltish'. From my reading conjunctivitis means different things, acute is bacterial, chronic is usually caused by allergies or ocular rosacea. Since mine is definately not allergies, ocular rosacea makes sense. My eyes are white, but ocular rosacea can involve eyelids or the eyes, doesnt have to be both. Doctors have mentioned conjunctivitis but they dont understand the ocular rosacea connection so usually blame it on allergies.

This redness and inflammation of inner eyelids goes away when ever im ill. Wish i taken a picture now, coz the last 4 months ive had tonsilitis, so eyes have been fine. It definately does effect us, contrary to what Dr l says, i know it first hand it does, its not just a slight improvement, its 90% improvement.

I think its due to the autoimmune process of inflammation in ocular rosacea, when theres something else going on in the body that requires the immune system i.e the flu, the auto immune inflammation reaction to my eyelids stops because the immune system is focusing its resources to flu etc. its well known that an auto immune reaction occurs in facial rosacea- thats what causes all the permenant redness/inflammation in the face, which is after the first stage- vascular flushing. Only explanation that makes sense to me.

Heres a pic of eyelids (now) when they are bad, this redness goes right down when they are not bad:

[NYer]

Sazy,
Two points about what you wrote there...
1. Are you assuming that conjuntivitis and rosacea are the same thing because they are both inflammations? They are not the same thing. Do you have a diagnosis of rosacea?

2. The fact that your eyes feel better when you're sick does not mean that it is your eyelids that are causing the problem...a LOT of us, with various causes of dry eye, feel better when we are feeling terrible. In other words, when we get colds or flu, etc., all of a sudden our eyes feel great.
No straight answers on that from any of the eye docs on that. In fact, when I asked Dr. L about that, he said it's not the case...but obviously for an awful lot of people on here, that IS the case, so that is another dry eye mystery.

[sazy123]

I saw Dr. Latkany the other day and I asked him some questions that have been puzzling a number of us on here lately regarding rosacea. It's very difficult to find much info online regarding ocular rosacea - it always ends up being an explanation of facial rosacea.
According to Dr. L:
1. EVERYONE who has facial rosacea has ocular rosacea. Just some people have a higher level of inflamation
2. Ocular rosacea is an inflamation of the eyelids as well as the eyeballs.
3. Ocular rosacea doesn't directly cause dry eyes. It does, however, directly cause MGD. MGD causes dry eyes.
4. There is no cure for rosacea. Our intent should be to get it under control.
5. Doing your best to prevent flare-ups of facial rosacea should help keep ocular flare-ups under control, too.
6. Hot compresses are not good for rosacea. Warm is OK but the best option is to let the water in the shower hit your face and do the lid massages (expressing the oil glands) right after your shower.
7. Cold compresses are fine as often as you need them. Not ice cold. Just cold. Ice cold can aggravate rosacea, too.

More than this I can't tell you. I'm suffering from both facial and ocular rosacea problems currently. Just wanted to pass along the answers I got.

Mine is ocular rosacea of the inner eyelids (chronic conjunctivitis), It is the inflamed eyelids that are the problem im sure of that, because when im ill- this inflammation goes away and my glands work fine.

Unfortunately all these treatments do absolutely nothing for the inflammation when its there (i.e when i have no other illness, most recent being tonsilitis).

Its sooo frustrating, because i know these things help for other ocular rosacea sufferers because Dr lackney treats them, but not me! its like banging my head against a brick wall all the time!! I just wish i could find something that could make this dry eye manegable, not even progesterone cream can do that! Probably assuming thats because it treats the outer side of the eyelids and M glands and NOT the inner eyelid inflammation which is where the problem is. Maybe Azasite will.

4 years on and still not able to live a decent life.

[skygoddess]

I tested positive for
Black rubber mix, Ethyl Acrylate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, and fragrance.
I think the Cocamidopropyl is in Ponds. It is in most skin care products.

[curlygrl31]

Skygoddess,

Interesting bit from the nurse. Thanks for that!!

Had an allergic reaction the other night to Pond's cold cream -- I'm thinking sensitivity to mineral oil? Might explain why I also reacted poorly to Genteal.

Curlygrl

[skygoddess]

Curly,
Is it natural? Only her hairdresser knows for sure.
You guy are all probably to young to remember that one.

Something the nurse said may be of use to you.
She said people with nickle allergies need to watch out for mascara .
The inside of the tube may have nickel components.

I read in a rosacea brochure the Dr had, and it said people with rosacea often have extreme sensitivity to cosmetics.
So it makes sense to me that even a mild allergy to something in use around the eyes could be significant.

[NYer]

Poor Sky. Curly could end up with straight hair if she uses your shampoo.

[skygoddess]

Curly Girl,
How did your second round of patch testing turn out?
I was allergic to my genteal gel, never would have guessed that.
He said he may do a third round if needed.
Where are you located? NYer was looking for a Dr to do testing.
I was given a very specific list of allowed products.
I have gone broke buying all new products, and my hair care list is very short, but it all seems to be worthwhile

[NYer]

Natural Treatments for Facial Rosacea

I found some interesting information on healthline.com regarding facial rosacea and natural treatments. This is not about ocular rosacea, but apparently if we get our facial rosacea under control, it is supposed to help the ocular, too. If any of these treatments work on our facial skin, it would seem to me it would at least work on the external skin of our eyelids, too.

What caught my eye was the cold milk compress...SkyGoddess mentioned that earlier in this thread and I've been doing it for the past 3 days. It definitely is an astringent.

I'm also fascinated by the mention of low levels of stomach acid causing rosacea. I have low stomach acid (have been tested) which caused me tremendous gastric problems over the past 6 months. (GERD). It occurs to me that my eyes have been far worse during the same time than they ever were before. Hmmm! So perhaps supplementing with HCL (hydrochloric acid) (only if you are low in stomach acid) may help the ocular rosacea, which would, in turn help the dry eyes!

That said, please do not just go out and take an HCL supplement!! There are tests that certain alternative doctors can do to find out if you are low/high/normal in stomach acid. And if you take too much or if you don't need it, you can do damage to yourself.

Even though I know I have low stomach acid, at this point with my digestive disorder, I sill can't tolerate taking an uncoated HCL pill -it actually irritates my digestive tract. I may be able to take a coated pill, but I have to wait to get to that point. I mention this to reiterate the point of not just running out and trying HCL supplements without the input of a doctor or an alternative care practitioner.

Here's the info:

Treatment
There is no cure for rosacea, but alternative and complementary treatments can be helpful in reducing the skin irritation and number of outbreaks associated with the disease. Green-tinted makeup can mask the redness associated with rosacea. Because rosacea may cause psychological distress, psychotherapy or support groups can be an important component of treatment.

Patients should avoid using skin care products that contain alcohol, witch hazel, peppermint, menthol, eucalyptus oil, or clove oil. Skin care products should be fragrance-free and have a smooth, non-grainy consistency. Men can shave with an electric razor to lessen skin irritation on the face.

Persons who are treated for rosacea with antibiotics over a long period are more prone to yeast infections. Long-term antibiotic use can decrease normal bacteria populations and increase the number of yeast. Eating a yeast-free diet (eliminating breads and other yeast products and sugars) can help to restore normal bacteria to the body.

Identifying food triggers

Certain foods are known to trigger an outbreak of rosacea. Although individual triggers vary, the following foods may aggravate rosacea: hot spices (pepper, paprika, and cayenne), marinated meat, soy sauce, vanilla, vinegar, red plums, peas, lima and navy beans, sharp cheeses, cider, Asian food dishes, canned fish products, processed beef and pork, chocolate, tomatoes, citrus fruit, alcohol, and hot beverages. Nitrates, sulfites, and certain drugs can also trigger outbreaks. Food allergies can also cause rosacea. The three foods that most often cause food allergies are wheat products, sugar, and dairy products.

Rosacea patients should keep a food diary to identify the specific foods that trigger rosacea outbreaks. Outbreaks can occur hours—or as long as a day—after the offending food has been eaten. The patient should stop eating a suspect food for a few months to observe the severity of the rosacea symptoms. If the rosacea improves, the patient can then eat a small amount of the offending food to confirm whether it triggers an outbreak. Once a rosacea trigger food is identified, it can be eliminated from the patient's diet.

Other treatments

Applying liquid-filled cold packs, a washcloth soaked in ice-cold water, or a compress of cold milk and ice-cold water to the neck and face can relieve flushing. Sucking on ice chips can also help relieve flushing. A cold compress of chamomile tea can soothe irritated skin. Applying ice to the face may feel good but it can cause frostbite, which would worsen the reddening.

Some practitioners advocate gentle circular massage for several minutes daily to the nose, cheeks, and fore-head. However, controlled studies on the effectiveness of this technique are lacking.

A deficiency of hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the stomach may be a cause of rosacea, and supplementation with HCl capsules (taken after meals) may bring relief in some cases.

Hypnosis may reduce stress, promote healthful behavior, and control bad habits. Hypnotherapy is especially useful in treating skin disease that can be triggered by emotions, including rosacea. As a complementary therapy, hypnosis has been shown to improve rosacea, especially the flushing component.

Nutritionists recommend eating more dark green vegetables such as kale, broccoli, asparagus, and spinach. These foods, and others that contain high levels of vitamins A and C, bioflavonoids, and beta-carotene, can improve rosacea by increasing capillary strength and boosting the immune system. Apple juice and dark grape juice drunk at room temperature between meals can help persons with rosacea.

A deficiency of B-complex vitamins can lead to rosacea. Vitamin E's antioxidant properties can help prevent skin damage. Zinc can speed wound healing. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid deficiencies can lead to dry, irritated skin, which can worsen rosacea. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in flaxseed oil, cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel, and herring. Omega-6 fatty acid is found in evening primrose oil.