Hygiene? And next steps?

[Cindedilly]

Hello, does anyone know where you can get lacrisert in the UK eg: any doctors known?

[savino]

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[savino]

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[Teary824]

My advice to you would be:

- educate yourself about Malassezia and seborrheic dermatitis
- use a climbazole based product to wash your face and hair everyday
- try 50% Selsun for 3min on your eyelids to see if you get any relief (use it every 2-3 days)
- change your pillowcase every two days (flip the pillow every night)
- ditch the erythomycin ointment
- stay away from oil based creams except the ones that contain caprylic triglycerids

Hi Savino, thanks so much for writing back and for all the helpful information! I read through the links you gave me and many seemed to think this is an internal issue. I have read that SD is often triggered by stress/poor diet, so I don't know if simply just building up my immune system can fix all of this. I don't have any redness or even much itching since it's mostly hair loss and flakes. Sometimes a few flakes make their way to the middle or tip of my hairs but mainly it resides in the pores, so I have to scrape or brush the hair back and forth for it to show up.

I've only recently put 100% TTO (in place of bleach) with detergent in my laundry for towels and pillowcases. And here are the ingredients for what I'm currently using:

Cleanser:

Water, Glycerin, Lauryl Glucoside, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycereth-7, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate, Glycol Stearate, Cocamide MEA, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance

Shampoo: Aqua (Water), Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Parfum, Glycol Distearate, Dimethicone Copolyol, Cetyl Alcohol, Cocamide DEA, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-11, DMDM Hydantoin, Panthenol, Silk Amino Acids, Organic Cherry Blossom Extract, Organic Ginseng Extract, Albumen, Bamboo Extract (Oil), Hydrolyzed Rice Milk, Protein, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Coumarin

Can I still use these or should I throw them out for new ones since the TTO won't mix? The other TTO product I use are the Cliradex wipes after I do my hot compresses. I'll ditch the erythomycin since it seemed to make my eyes redder and the upper margins more swollen. The only oil-based product I can think of that I use is for removing makeup, which I tried not wearing for the past few days.

I managed to set up an appointment with a derm this Wednesday, so I will update you if I manage to find anything. Take care.

[savino]

What is everyone's hygiene routine like: How often do you wash pillowcases? Towels? etc.

I've been losing eyebrow/eyelash hairs since mid-Jan everyday, so I thought maybe it was demodex. My ophthalmologist didn't think so since she didn't see any collarettes or movement - she didn't have the tools to check me anyway. Since I couldn't find any eye clinics that checked for demodex in my area, I decided to buy a toy microscope (40x) to check myself.

When I scrape at my eyelash follicles, these little white flakes (?) in the shape of a round dot or slim grain comes out. Same goes for my eyebrow hairs but the size is a little bigger. The eyelash debris is too small but I managed to put the ones from my brows on the microscope. My skin looks normal unless you look right up-close and scratch the surface, then these little dot-like flakes show up in the pores.

http://i.imgur.com/LgdoPT5.gif
http://i.imgur.com/qpjUrNK.gif

Doesn't seem like demodex, I think... What does this look like..? Seborrhea? Since my eye infection and dry eye issues, I've had immense anxiety and stress so it could've affected my immune system. I also wasn't sleeping or eating too well but I'm fixing all of that now.

I had my blood tested for thyroid issues and the results came back normal. I should have a derm appointment set up in a week or two but doctors have been so dismissive ("it's normal to lose eyelashes with age" ..I'm 26!) and I'm tired of waiting in confusion :/ Using Cliradex wipes definitely helped.. I even put a few drops of 100% TTO in my cleanser, shampoo, and conditioner. Also started using Erythromycin ointment last night as my ophthalmologist says it'll help with eye bacteria/redness. Going to try going without makeup for a bit, too.

Other than that I'm just sticking to fish oil supplements, Refresh artificial tears, and warm compresses. Should I ask my doctor about taking doxycycline? Any other recommended next steps? When I first went to my ophthalmologist she only suggested Lipiflow and Restasis - she didn't even tell me about warm compresses, which is disappointingly shady.

Thanks, everyone. Hope you're all well.

[meibomian]

Demodex usually isn't found on the lid margin surface and scrapping "skin" will not produce any mites. The mites are found in the lash root and you have to pull out a lash to find the mites. You can try twirling the lash in a circular fashion while tugging on the lash without completely pulling out the lash to extract the mites, but this takes a bit of practice and dexterity.

[Teary824]

What is everyone's hygiene routine like: How often do you wash pillowcases? Towels? etc.

I've been losing eyebrow/eyelash hairs since mid-Jan everyday, so I thought maybe it was demodex. My ophthalmologist didn't think so since she didn't see any collarettes or movement - she didn't have the tools to check me anyway. Since I couldn't find any eye clinics that checked for demodex in my area, I decided to buy a toy microscope (40x) to check myself.

When I scrape at my eyelash follicles, these little white flakes (?) in the shape of a round dot or slim grain comes out. Same goes for my eyebrow hairs but the size is a little bigger. The eyelash debris is too small but I managed to put the ones from my brows on the microscope. My skin looks normal unless you look right up-close and scratch the surface, then these little dot-like flakes show up in the pores.

http://i.imgur.com/LgdoPT5.gif
http://i.imgur.com/qpjUrNK.gif

Doesn't seem like demodex, I think... What does this look like..? Seborrhea? Since my eye infection and dry eye issues, I've had immense anxiety and stress so it could've affected my immune system. I also wasn't sleeping or eating too well but I'm fixing all of that now.

I had my blood tested for thyroid issues and the results came back normal. I should have a derm appointment set up in a week or two but doctors have been so dismissive ("it's normal to lose eyelashes with age" ..I'm 26!) and I'm tired of waiting in confusion :/ Using Cliradex wipes definitely helped.. I even put a few drops of 100% TTO in my cleanser, shampoo, and conditioner. Also started using Erythromycin ointment last night as my ophthalmologist says it'll help with eye bacteria/redness. Going to try going without makeup for a bit, too.

Other than that I'm just sticking to fish oil supplements, Refresh artificial tears, and warm compresses. Should I ask my doctor about taking doxycycline? Any other recommended next steps? When I first went to my ophthalmologist she only suggested Lipiflow and Restasis - she didn't even tell me about warm compresses, which is disappointingly shady.

Thanks, everyone. Hope you're all well.