Success story

[eyespice]

I have suffered from dry red eyes for many decades, had lower punctal plugs put in after Lasik surgery, take lots of Omega3, have been doing hot soaks and scubs using a tea tree baby shampoo, humidifiers, etc etc., with a bit of improvement to agree with my Dr. that I have MGD.

Just 10 days ago I developed a chalazian infection on the lower lid. In desperation and after having previously done exhaustive research through this forum and endless hours spent on google, I tried a soak made of hot water and oregano tea. Yes, plain dried oregano from my spice rack (it happened to be organic). I had read that the thymol and carvacrol oils in oregano are very effective antiobiotics.

The infection cleared up in 3 days and my eyes started to become moist and clear as I continued this soak and scrub. When I view my eyelids with a magnifying glass put onto a magnifying mirror, I can see clear oil now coming from the Meibomian glands. I now use one drop of 100% Oregano oil stirred into one cup boiled water. WARNING: it must be VERY DILUTE! Oregano oil is potent. I dip a small cloth in the warm dilute solution and soak my lids for 2 - 4 min.

I would love to hear if anyone else gets any relief with this. I can easily say, my eyes haven’t looked and felt this good in decades.

I will post my research sources when I have more time.

[eye_allergy-kids]

I take warm water enema and immediately room temperature (15-23 c) water enema daily twice good releif.

[eyespice]

Here are a few of the sources that led me to try the oregano eye soak:

Journal of Medical Microbiology
Effects of oregano, carvacrol and thymol on Staphylococcus aureus andStaphylococcus epidermidis biofilms
Antonia Nostro1,  Andrea Sudano Roccaro2,  Giuseppe Bisignano1, Andreana Marino1,  Maria A. Cannatelli1,  Francesco C. Pizzimenti1, Pier Luigi Cioni3,  Francesca Procopio1 and  Anna Rita Blanco2
+
John A. Hovanesian, MD, http://helpmydryeyes.wordpress.com/for-professionals/ “the examiner can apply bimanual pressure to the glands of the lower lid, expressing the opaque, inspissated, staph-laden material”

Essential Oils to Fight Superbugs
ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2010) “The essential oils of thyme and cinnamon were found to be particularly efficient antibacterial agents against a range ofStaphylococcus species. Strains of these bacteria are common inhabitants of the skin and some may cause infection in immunocompromised individuals.” ..“Various scientific studies have demonstrated that essential oils are not only well tolerated, but are effective against a range of bacterial and fungal species”

I noted in my previous post that I now get clear oil from Meibomian glands, but for the first number of soaks, I could express with a Qtip the yellow and opaque oil. In fact the first morning, I woke up with quite a bit of stuff dried around my eye.

Another tip: Use a snack sized zip lock plastic bag filled with hot water to lay across the eyes if there is not a microwave available to warm a rice bag.

[dijon84]

That's great that you have been having success with this - certainly something for me to look into. A quick thing I would add is that there was another thread on this forum recently about how some mouthwashes can be very effective at dealing with the yeast responsible for dandruff. Mouthwashes that contain thymol, such as Listerine. The mouthwash thing is something that I have been trying on my scalp. But this seems to correlate with what you have found.

[eyespice]

Thank you dijon84, for linking Listerine and thymol.

[spmcc]

I posted this a little while back:

***************

I just read an article that says that mouthwash banishes dandruff (aka seborrheic dermatitis). Here it is:

Science proves it: Thymol (a key ingredient in Listerine and many store brands of mouthwash) destroys 24 strains of fungi -- the troublemakers that cause flakes, say researchers at Jilin University in China. This plant extract even kills the drug-resistant fungi that dandruff shampoos have trouble taming. To do: Pour 1/4 cup of a thymol-containing mouthwash onto damp hair and massage into your scalp. Wait 5 minutes, then rinse and shampoo as usual. Repeat daily until the flaking disappears [First Magazine, April 16, 2012, pp. 36]

****************

Here's the pubmed abstract from 2009: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19528168

I bought thymol from amazon.com and have been trying it on places where seb derm usually hits (scalp line, eyebrows, behind ears, etc.). I haven't had anything amazing happen (yet?). I am lazy though and use it full strength on a cotton round. Warning: it stings! I wouldn't put it near my eyes (altho eyespice says he/she dilutes it a lot).

[Eileen510]

Using Oregano oil even diluted next to the eyes sounds scary. I would be very interested to see if others have success. I seem to be so allergic to anything close to my eyes I'm scared to try. BTW - I can eat just about anything - but the 'ol eyes and lips are a whole different story. Hope to see more on this.

[Lacrima]

Hi eyespice,

That's great you are feeling better after this remedy! I would like to try it- but first wanted to ask you:

do you keep your eyes tightly shut and just massage the eyelid, without letting any water go into your eye- or is it actually meant to go into your eye a bit?

[farmgirl]

Interesting eyespice: How did you make the tea soak? How much oregano, how long did you steep it? How long did you leave the compress on, and does it need to be warm or does it matter?

[eyespice]

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, farmgirl and lacrima. Here is my regimin and it is working so well. Into an empty cup I put 1 or 2 drops of 100% oregano oil, which I then fill with boiled hot water trying to disperse the drops as much as possible by pouring from high up or stirring. Put a small piece of cloth (2x5", enough to cover eyes). Meanwhile fill a snack bag size zip lock with very hot water and fold into a wash cloth. Pour a little of the oregano water onto the washcloth that will face your eyes. Then I lay the oregano and water soaked small cloth onto this and lie down for 10 or more minutes with eyes closed. After the hot but not burning soak, I massage my eyelids. I have been trying various methods including 2 qtips on each side of the lower lid. Yes, one on the inside near the eye. It is easy because the lid curls out when you lightly press a qtip to the outside of the lid. This is very affective, but it bothers the eyes for a little while. Ending with a gentle scrub of the eyelids. My eyes have completely stopped itching, are much more moist and the lids no longer have tender places when I massage them. AND the good news is, I found a doctor who does Meibomian Gland Probe nearby, so I have an appointment this week. If I wouldn't have found a doctor nearby, I think that just keeping up with this way of soaking was almost good enough. Good luck with this and send any questions, I will get back.

[eyespice]

New opthamologist said that probing would not give me relief because glands were not plugged but that the oil is thick. Punctal plugs are not helpful either (I had them a few years ago) because the tears are irritating if left in the eye with the thick irritating oil. It is best to let it drain. So with the oregano soaks and message, I am on 50mg doxy and Lotemax. I am still having improvement with oregano soaks- no itching and eyes a lot clearer. hope the meds continue the improvement.

[littlemermaid]

Eyespice, Did the new ophthalmologist start you on Lotemax?

[eyespice]

Update: I had quit the Lotemax and then the 50mg of doxicyline, reading about how low doses wreck the bio flora of animals. The warm water soaking with diluted Oregano Oil and Tea Tree oil is still the best treatment for me, even after the rebound from the lotemax and doxicycline. Glad to be off medications because of what is in the literature. Once again, my method is to put a drop of Oregano oil and Tea Tree oil in the bottom of a cup, add a bit of warm water, shake or stir, add more water to reach warm but not burning. I put a small wet piece of washcloth into this mixture, lay this on a snack size ziplock full of hot tap water. I lay back and put this "sandwich" on closed my eyes (the piece of cloth with oregano and tea tree next to my closed eyes) with a dry wash on the top to keep in the warmth. Enjoy the 5-10 minutes of soaking. I get fast improvement. Good luck.