Demodex- NOT just a myth....

[maria]

Hi everyone,
I have not posted here for a very long time, but promised myself that if I got to the bottom of my problem, I would come back and share in the hope of at least helping some of you. I had blepharitis for 3 years, but am now almost symptomless, and the symptoms I do have are fading fast. My condition was pretty bad, at one point I was being prescribed strong painkillers. After much research, I came to the conclusion that an overgrowth of the population of demodex mites around my eyes was the cause of my blepharitis. I had been seeing a professor over here in the UK for 2 years at this point, and had been taking antibiotics for 2 years. The professor was very sceptical, until I showed him a study that had been conducted in miami regarding killing these mites and curing blepharitis, and he realised that the study had been carried out by a respected friend of his. He started to use the treatment that his friend had used in this study, and in his words it 'changed his patients lives' including mine While I appreciate that there are many different reasons for having dry eyes, blepharitis is a common one, so I hope that my post will help some of you at least. The treament I recieve invloves the cleaning of the eyelid margins with diluted tea tree oil. This MUST be carried out my a doctor, as tea tree oil is a serious eye irritant!! To find out more, google tea tree oil and demodex and you should come up with the article about a study conducted at the ocular surface centre in Miami. If you suspect that demodex could be your problem, take the study to your doctor, and ask whether he/she would carry out the treatment for you.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYBODY!!!!!

[Rebecca Petris]

Maria, thank you so much for posting! We really need these reports from people who have successfully identified/isolated a problem and fought it out and won. I'm so happy for you, and you never know who/how many the information may be useful to.

[maria]

Hi,
I kept my post relatively short and to the point, but if anyone wants more information, I would be happy to help.

[GeorgeT]

Hi Maria,
Very interesting article. How many times you've had the cleaning with tea tree oil done ? I have acnea but did not take any medication, only used locally hydrogen peroxide cream.
Thanks,

George

[maria]

Hi George,
I was a very bad case, so I have had many treatments (over 20), but some people only need 4, it all depends. Interesting that you also have acne, which can also be caused my demodex. You will need to treat your face also, otherwise your eyes can become reinfected by the mites on your face. The cream you are using may well do the trick for your face, how are you getting on with it?

[kaypeeoh]

Demodex has been a subject before. Use the search mode for more info.

[maria]

When researching demodex be careful that you dont jump to the wrong conclusions. It is only just now starting to become recognised as a cause for both rosacea and blepharitis. In fact, the professor I saw will be doing collaborative reaserch with Miami due to the sucess he has had in treating patients for mites. I went to many very well respected doctors who told me that demodex were harmless, and anything to the contrary was a myth. NOT in my case, or many others. If you have itchy eyelids, are loosing lashes, have dry eyes etc.... it is quite likely that you are overpopulated with demodex. Another symptom, is an itchy face, particularly around the nose, and in the afternoon-evening time(this is when they come out to mate) It takes quite a while to beat these nasty creatures down to a 'normal' (unpathogenic) level, but its worth it believe me

[np1981]

Hi maria,

How interesting! I have seen Dr Tseng in Miami at the OSC and he found mites in my eyelashes, and instructed me to use tea tree oil scrubs and tea tree oil shampoo. It's good to hear success stories like yours.http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showp...62&postcount=1

Nik

[maria]

Hi,
you could ask for the tea tree oil in- office treatment with Professor Buckley, that certainly kills the mites. The main thing in this is persistance with treatment!!! keep up the tea tree shampoo scrubs, do them twice a day, and make sure that you massage the lids for a full 3-5 mins each time. The brevis demodex invade the glands around your eyes, so before you do the shampoo scrubs, spend a few mins massaging the glands to uproot the nasty critters The cylindrical dandruf houses mites, so to remove that also removes mites.

All the best!

Maria.

[Judy]

So, Maria or anyone,

Does anyone know how/where you can by the teatree oil scrubs in America? Does this have to be prescribed by a Dr.? Sorry if this information is in another thread! Thanks for any insight!

[maria]

Hi Judy,
all you need to do is to buy some tea tree oil shampoo, it needs to be at least 2% tea tree oil. Dilute it 50% with water and gently rub the solution along your closed eyelids for 3-5 mins, then rinse with water and dry. Do this twice a day, and be patient, your syptoms shoud start to improve. If you want the in-office procedure, you need an opth to perform it.

[np1981]

Hi Maria,

I have a few questions:

1) How long ago did you start the treatment (I have been doing it for a month)

2) How often did you get tea tree oil scrubs done? (I do them once a week)

3) How often do you use the tea tree shampoo scrubs? (I do that once a day)

4) I see you are in the UK, what brand of tea-tree shampoo and oil are you using? (Mine came from Dr Tsengs office at the OSC, but I wouldnt mind getting some more locally when that runs out)

5) Er, ....well thats it. Interesting what you say about the glands being infested too, I was told it was a possibility in my case. I have been told to stay on the treatment for at least 3 months. I do the oil scrubs myself very carefully.

[Judy]

Thanks, Maria,

I'll be definitely giving this a try!

[maria]

Hi,
I have been doing the treatment for 6 months. You have to be patient and persist!!! What did DR Tseng say about the mites in the glands? I do lid scrubs twice a day and the oil treatment twice a week. I do my own also, but would advise people not to, as I burnt my cornea twice OUUUUCH!!! MAN THAT HURTS!! Do you use anesthtic to do yours?
Do not be discouraged, it takes time to beat these horrible things back!
I use faith in nature shampoo( on the net), but you can also get a good one from Holland and Barrat. It would be a good plan for you to rid your face of demodex too.

[np1981]

6 months? Wow. He told me to do it for a couple of months, and then see how it goes, and carry on if necessary. The life cycle for these things is 8 weeks apparently, I might order more oil from him and continue for a few months more just to make sure I get all the little buggers!

Dr Tseng told me I should express the junk from my glands to ensure there are no mites there. I guess they can live in there and cause disruption. I don't use anesthtic, but I am very careful with the cotton buds! The oil he gave me was 50% tea tree oil and 50% mac nut oil, but I havent foud anything like that here in the UK.

I'm using the shampoo on a daily basis as a long term preventative now.