Scrubbing eyelids oil doesn't come off.

[romeodakins]

I'm pretty sure I have blepharitis. When I look at my lower eyelashes, I can see white roots on the lashes which I believe is the oil. I use a solution of small drops of baby shampoo mixed with warm water, I scrub for a couple of minutes on only the lower eyelash area. I re wet the towel multiple times and scrub for like 10 minutes sometimes to see if it helps. No matter what I do or how hard I scrub, the white roots are still there. Since I can physically see the oil, is there any way to get rid of the oil? Maybe some type of tool like tweezers where you can strip the oils off of each eye lash. One time I tried a solution with lots of baby shampoo and used a q-tip to scrub more precisely. Still the oil would not come off.

[Faith1989]

I would try to loosen whatever that is on the lashes first. I have been boiling water and doing a "steam" Once the water is boiled in the pot, take it off the element. Grab a full size towel and put your face above the boiling water (far enough away so you don't burn yourself) cover your head with the towel to trap the steam in there. Wait a few minutes until your face feels wet. This will open your pores and glands. Then go into the bathroom and preform the lid washing. this has been very effective. instead of baby shampoo you may want to use a commercial lid cleaner. I like Systane lid wipes or LIDCARE. I find Ocusoft to irritating..

Be careful not to "over wash" your eyes. If you dry out the skin on your face (and lids) the skin tries to compensate by producing more oil. I used to work in skin care for years. I had many clients that would over wash to try and get rid of the oily skin..however they were just making it worse.

Good Luck.

[romeodakins]

I would try to loosen whatever that is on the lashes first. I have been boiling water and doing a "steam" Once the water is boiled in the pot, take it off the element. Grab a full size towel and put your face above the boiling water (far enough away so you don't burn yourself) cover your head with the towel to trap the steam in there. Wait a few minutes until your face feels wet. This will open your pores and glands. Then go into the bathroom and preform the lid washing. this has been very effective. instead of baby shampoo you may want to use a commercial lid cleaner. I like Systane lid wipes or LIDCARE. I find Ocusoft to irritating..

Be careful not to "over wash" your eyes. If you dry out the skin on your face (and lids) the skin tries to compensate by producing more oil. I used to work in skin care for years. I had many clients that would over wash to try and get rid of the oily skin..however they were just making it worse.

Good Luck.

So the steam thing, how long do I trap my face in there? 5 minutes? And when you do it can you still breathe?

[romeodakins]

I just looked at those white oil stuff on the roots of my eye lashes and it looks like they are my clogged meibomian glands and not the oil from blepharitis. When I pull my lower lid down I can see some of the white dots don't follow my eye lashes down but they stay and I can see they are kind of inside the lid. How would I clean out the clogged oils in the meibomian glands if they aren't on the outside of my eyelids?

[LaDiva]

Hi romeo,
I think Faith is right on target. I'd try and be extremely consistent about treating yourself for two or three days, and more than once or twice a day. Try treating as often as possible. It sounds like the more warmth you can get on those glands, the easier it will be for you to move the oil and loosen them up. I'd give it at least 5 minutes heat per session, but be gentle. I use a Q-Tip for expression, but there are other ways to move the oil out of the glands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1LLFgdw9Z0 . Good luck. What did your eye doctor say?

[romeodakins]

I made a picture.


I can see maybe some bundles of oil on the roots of the lashes, I'm not sure if it's oil. Then behind it I seen lots of white dotted oil spots(white spots). Are these the meibomian glands? The white dotted spots are more uniform than the ones on the lashes. I do warm compresses 3 times a day, 1 in the morning, 1 at like 4 o clock pm and another at around 10 pm.

[LaDiva]

What does your eye doctor say? If there is debris around your eyelashes it can be a number of things including an eye infection or demodex mites. It could also be oil, but if it isn't coming off... I am not sure. In any case, you should have your eyes examined in case you do have an infection or demodex. It will put your mind at ease and hopefully your symptoms as well.

[romeodakins]

What does your eye doctor say? If there is debris around your eyelashes it can be a number of things including an eye infection or demodex mites. It could also be oil, but if it isn't coming off... I am not sure. In any case, you should have your eyes examined in case you do have an infection or demodex. It will put your mind at ease and hopefully your symptoms as well.

Ok I'll try to go to the doctor again, I just found out about this So if it's an infection, and I get rid of the infection, will my symptoms go away? And is the top part of the eyelid(I put it in the picutre) with the dots meibomian glands? Also I think I go blepharitis from using the computer too much. Just so you know

[MeibomianGlandman]

Ahh You have what I have meibomian gland dysfunction, are the oils solidified?

I have heard that the 2 culprets for solidifying meibum oils causing crusty little bumps along the eyelid margin is this.

Malassezia Furfur (YEAST) Staphylococcus (BACTERIA) Streptococcus (BACTERIA) and lastly Demodex Folliculorum (MITES) aka miniature insects

My best suggestion, Ask the Doc to put you on some Doxycycline for 6 Weeks. (To Kill Bacteria)
Combined with OTC non preserved Eyedrops, (For the Dry Eye)
Take a supplement of Enteric Coated Garlic Capsules (To Kill the Yeast)
Fish Oil Supplement (For Thinning the Meibomian oils)
and use Jojoba oil over the eyelids/eyelashes nightly. (To Kill the Demodex)

Clean up your Pillow Case/Bedsheets Make sure visit your Dermatologist and Allergist
Have them check for allergies, and a Scalp Infection/treat scalp infection.

Do all this let me know how things go, symptoms could disappear really quickly.

[romeodakins]

Ahh You have what I have meibomian gland dysfunction, are the oils solidified?

I have heard that the 2 culprets for solidifying meibum oils causing crusty little bumps along the eyelid margin is this.

Malassezia Furfur (YEAST) Staphylococcus (BACTERIA) Streptococcus (BACTERIA) and lastly Demodex Folliculorum (MITES) aka miniature insects

My best suggestion, Ask the Doc to put you on some Doxycycline for 6 Weeks. (To Kill Bacteria)
Combined with OTC non preserved Eyedrops, (For the Dry Eye)
Take a supplement of Enteric Coated Garlic Capsules (To Kill the Yeast)
Fish Oil Supplement (For Thinning the Meibomian oils)
and use Jojoba oil over the eyelids/eyelashes nightly. (To Kill the Demodex)

Clean up your Pillow Case/Bedsheets Make sure visit your Dermatologist and Allergist
Have them check for allergies, and a Scalp Infection/treat scalp infection.

Do all this let me know how things go, symptoms could disappear really quickly.

So those little dots I pointed out in my picture are meibomian glands? So as I stated earlier that I got these issues from using the computer too much, can that result to the things you mentioned? I don't know if I got dry eye from overuse of computer or I was slowly getting dry eye and finally noticed it when I was using the computer too much. So if I don't have those bacteria issues my white clogged meibomian glands would not be solidified and could be wiped off? Before I go to the doctor again I want to make sure I get all of my information I want to ask on a list so I don't have to keep going to the doctor

[romeodakins]

I found this thread on this forum with a picture
http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...d-MG-secretion

My eyes look exactly like this picture


The part where there are white dots. Are those meibomian glands? I can't get the white oil off no matter how hard I scrub.

[littlemermaid]

Do you mean the white dots at the eyelash bases? I think these are the glands of Zeiss and Moll, both for sweat and oils. Some have eyelashes in, some don't. All part of the eye system (see Google).

The Meibomian glands are different - the yellow dots in your drawing, very regular along the eyelid margin halfway between follicle bases and eye surface, supplying the tear film and environment when we blink. That pic has a yucky yellow blob from a Meibomian gland. Healthy oil is thin and clear.

We've found it's a question of keeping all the functions healthy without making the eyes sensitive. What you're asking reminds me of Hyperhead's experience that he did better when he didn't look too closely in his magnifying mirror and reduced the poking about to a daily eye rub in a warm shower. Many people, and doctors, don't like baby shampoo round the eyes because detergents disperse oil film and might damage the eye surface and make the eyelids sore. Maybe it depends what the problem is - do you have other sebaceous skin symptoms? Do you have an eyelid cleaner that agrees with you?

It's about noticing what makes your eyes feel better or worse. Eg if you are on the computer, put your eyes first - change the environment to moist, blink much more, take breaks, maybe wear wraparound eye protection. When did dry eye start for you, Romeodakins?

If you're worried you've got white collarettes from demodex in the sweat and oil glands at the eyelash follicle bases, we've done well with tea tree oil shampoo solution 1:50 in warm water, gently cleaning with cotton wool and cotton buds for a week or two, then maybe once or twice a week. We've also got Cliradex wipes. Maybe ask the doc - 'what does demodex look like?'

A good idea to ask someone if you can look at their 'normal' eye for comparison and see the variations.

Quality of oils is most important, I think - maybe ask the ophthalmologist 'what are the oils like?'

It's about keeping things moving. Gentle warm compress and cleaning has helped us, but we haven't been able to use commercial eye cleaners because of sensitivity. But many people find them helpful.

[romeodakins]

Do you mean the white dots at the eyelash bases? I think these are the glands of Zeiss and Moll, both for sweat and oils. Some have eyelashes in, some don't. All part of the eye system (see Google).

The Meibomian glands are different - the yellow dots in your drawing, very regular along the eyelid margin halfway between follicle bases and eye surface, supplying the tear film and environment when we blink. That pic has a yucky yellow blob from a Meibomian gland. Healthy oil is thin and clear.

We've found it's a question of keeping all the functions healthy without making the eyes sensitive. What you're asking reminds me of Hyperhead's experience that he did better when he didn't look too closely in his magnifying mirror and reduced the poking about to a daily eye rub in a warm shower. Many people, and doctors, don't like baby shampoo round the eyes because detergents disperse oil film and might damage the eye surface and make the eyelids sore. Maybe it depends what the problem is - do you have other sebaceous skin symptoms? Do you have an eyelid cleaner that agrees with you?

It's about noticing what makes your eyes feel better or worse. Eg if you are on the computer, put your eyes first - change the environment to moist, blink much more, take breaks, maybe wear wraparound eye protection. When did dry eye start for you, Romeodakins?

If you're worried you've got white collarettes from demodex in the sweat and oil glands at the eyelash follicle bases, we've done well with tea tree oil shampoo solution 1:50 in warm water, gently cleaning with cotton wool and cotton buds for a week or two, then maybe once or twice a week. We've also got Cliradex wipes. Maybe ask the doc - 'what does demodex look like?'

A good idea to ask someone if you can look at their 'normal' eye for comparison and see the variations.

Quality of oils is most important, I think - maybe ask the ophthalmologist 'what are the oils like?'

It's about keeping things moving. Gentle warm compress and cleaning has helped us, but we haven't been able to use commercial eye cleaners because of sensitivity. But many people find them helpful.

So are those white dots at the bases normal? Mine are much more apparent than on the picture. I do notice that when i excerise like play basketball I don't feel dry eye. It might be because I'm focused on something else but after I'm done playing and I'm all tired and sweating and I rest on the couch my eyes feel a bit better. Could this be a clue? I'm also trying this new thing I saw on youtube where a doctor used a cotton swab to push on the eyelid(meibomian glands) to force out the solid oils. And I first got dry eye about 6 months ago late dec early january 2013. At the end of winter break. I think I got it from using the computer too much

Also I have a question, are the clogged miebomian glands physically visible? Can I actually see the oil physically and wipe it off? When I look at my eyes after scrubbing the lids a lot, I see no oils, nothing except from those white dots I mentioned before.

[romeodakins]

I would try to loosen whatever that is on the lashes first. I have been boiling water and doing a "steam" Once the water is boiled in the pot, take it off the element. Grab a full size towel and put your face above the boiling water (far enough away so you don't burn yourself) cover your head with the towel to trap the steam in there. Wait a few minutes until your face feels wet. This will open your pores and glands. Then go into the bathroom and preform the lid washing. this has been very effective. instead of baby shampoo you may want to use a commercial lid cleaner. I like Systane lid wipes or LIDCARE. I find Ocusoft to irritating..

Be careful not to "over wash" your eyes. If you dry out the skin on your face (and lids) the skin tries to compensate by producing more oil. I used to work in skin care for years. I had many clients that would over wash to try and get rid of the oily skin..however they were just making it worse.

Good Luck.

Do you think I can use a humidifier for the steam on my eyes?