Tweet
I was recently diagnosed with blepharitis, most likely due to rosacea even though I have dust, mold and dust mite allergies and many sensitivies it's apparently not related (which makes sense when I look back on previous attempts to get things out of control).
Over the past two years I had gone to no less than EIGHT doctors, specialists of all kinds at times desperate and in pain. Nobody knew what was wrong or how to help me in spite of all their guessing.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I was walking around with swollen, flaking, cracked, weeping fluorescent pink eyelids! People stared at me in public. Helpful cosmetics clerks would seek me out far from their stations to try to talk to me and help me, offering product samples. It was so sad.
They all guessed things like eczema, allergies (to particularly preservatives in eyedrops), was tested for eye herpes (negative) and sebborheac dermatitis which was SO close but was attempted treatment with Elidel and Patanol which no go.
At their suggestions I had tried antibiotics (oral and topical), steroid eyedrops, Patanol, Zaditor, Protopic, Elidel. None worked.
I refused oral steroids and took 3 tablets of Diflucan every other day. That seemed to calm things down along with a regimen of Avene no rub cleanser, Avene Mineral Water Mist, Natural Eye Mist, Bausch & Lomb Preservative Free drops and Jojoba Oil (eyelids). The only eye moisturizer I could use was La Roche Posay Hydrophase Eye Gel. For maintenance I like Clarins eye products.
Well things were pretty much under control until this past fall when things got bad again. The weather turned chilly and the indoor heat was dry. After a few weeks of trying to manage things myself I went to a new very bright eye dr. She heard my history and looked at my eyes and said she knew exactly what was wrong because she could literally SEE it. She said think of it like hard cold butter and you want to put warm wet compresses on it to liquify the butter so that it drains out. (Ew, but ok good imagery, I get it!) So I got on a twice a day regimen and things cleared up pretty well. I still have to do this every day.
Now I do get a secondary issue which will be chapping due to cold weather/wet skin or injury from rubbing/scratching which seems to only respond to 0.5% OTC hydrocortisone cream applied a few times a day over a few days. I don't like to use it on my eyelids but it's the only thing I've tried that heals the injured skin.
Anyways! Enough about me. Hello!
Over the past two years I had gone to no less than EIGHT doctors, specialists of all kinds at times desperate and in pain. Nobody knew what was wrong or how to help me in spite of all their guessing.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I was walking around with swollen, flaking, cracked, weeping fluorescent pink eyelids! People stared at me in public. Helpful cosmetics clerks would seek me out far from their stations to try to talk to me and help me, offering product samples. It was so sad.
They all guessed things like eczema, allergies (to particularly preservatives in eyedrops), was tested for eye herpes (negative) and sebborheac dermatitis which was SO close but was attempted treatment with Elidel and Patanol which no go.
At their suggestions I had tried antibiotics (oral and topical), steroid eyedrops, Patanol, Zaditor, Protopic, Elidel. None worked.
I refused oral steroids and took 3 tablets of Diflucan every other day. That seemed to calm things down along with a regimen of Avene no rub cleanser, Avene Mineral Water Mist, Natural Eye Mist, Bausch & Lomb Preservative Free drops and Jojoba Oil (eyelids). The only eye moisturizer I could use was La Roche Posay Hydrophase Eye Gel. For maintenance I like Clarins eye products.
Well things were pretty much under control until this past fall when things got bad again. The weather turned chilly and the indoor heat was dry. After a few weeks of trying to manage things myself I went to a new very bright eye dr. She heard my history and looked at my eyes and said she knew exactly what was wrong because she could literally SEE it. She said think of it like hard cold butter and you want to put warm wet compresses on it to liquify the butter so that it drains out. (Ew, but ok good imagery, I get it!) So I got on a twice a day regimen and things cleared up pretty well. I still have to do this every day.
Now I do get a secondary issue which will be chapping due to cold weather/wet skin or injury from rubbing/scratching which seems to only respond to 0.5% OTC hydrocortisone cream applied a few times a day over a few days. I don't like to use it on my eyelids but it's the only thing I've tried that heals the injured skin.
Anyways! Enough about me. Hello!
Comment