Significant Improvements with a simple regimine

[mjf79]

I have had severe dry eye for over a year now. I went to various doctors and tried various remedies, such as restasis, doxy, etc. I have my lower tear ducts plugged, which has helped tremendously. I was still having itchy, dry eyes with poor vision due to blepharitis. I had to quit taking doxy due to getting pregnant, and then felt discouraged.

I then stopped using all things on my face except cetaphil and sterilid. I do warm compresses in the morning and at night (to loosen up gunk and soften the lid margins.) Immediately following these I was my face and soak my eyelids with sterilid and cleanse it well with lukewarm water. I then take a q-tip and dip it in hot tap water and wipe each lid margin both ways about 4times starting in the corner of my eye (sort of like Dr. Latkany's method, but more focused on cleaning the lid margin thoroughly). I then follow up with preservative-free systane. This has helped TREMENDOUSLY and is so easy to do. The iching which I felt was ruining my life is mostly gone, so I assume it was due to unmanaged blepharitis (I was told I had a lot of dandruff in my lid margin, but simple lid soaking wasn't doing the trick, it took the "scrubs" to do it.) I still do Systane 3-4 times per day, but that is an improvement from every hour!

I also sleep with a humidifier and am careful of drafts and such, and clean with goggles on so the dust, etc. doesn't cause problems, but I can live with these things.

[sandra lee]

Hi, It is really uplifting to hear that you are making progress and showing improvement!!!I am happy for you.I will ask my doc about your regime,as he has me just doing 3 hot soaks daily and immediately lightly scrubbing my eyelids with the washcloth.He doesn't believe in baby shampoo,etc. Don't know why.Do you find that wearing wraparound sunglasses or goggles aggravate your eyes?When I wear them,my eyes and cheeks get really red,so I am assuming they are holding in the heat and flaring the inflammation.I was being treated for meibomitis by another doc and my new one wrote blepharitis on his paperwork.Anyway I think it's great you are improving!!!!!

[mjf79]

Hi, It is really uplifting to hear that you are making progress and showing improvement!!!I am happy for you.I will ask my doc about your regime,as he has me just doing 3 hot soaks daily and immediately lightly scrubbing my eyelids with the washcloth.He doesn't believe in baby shampoo,etc. Don't know why.Do you find that wearing wraparound sunglasses or goggles aggravate your eyes?When I wear them,my eyes and cheeks get really red,so I am assuming they are holding in the heat and flaring the inflammation.I was being treated for meibomitis by another doc and my new one wrote blepharitis on his paperwork.Anyway I think it's great you are improving!!!!!

You don't have to do any cleansing agent on your eyes, just the scrub with a q-tip following your warm compresses. Sterilid is a great ph-balanced foam that comes in a pump that is easy to use. It has anti-bacterial properties, which helps with the build up of dandruff in the eyelid margin. I only wear goggles to clean, so I don't use them outside or for longer periods of time. I did wear a sleep mask at night for a while and my eyes got more inflamed from the heat, etc, so I just switched to the humidifier and redirected the vents to not blow right on us. I think blepharitis is the generic term for inflammation of the eyes and eyelids, so you probably have both! And FYI, I have a great doc, but I did most of the research on my own and found out what works through trial and error, so just give things a try and see what works for you....you have to be your own researcher and advocate. If you can control the bleph on the eyelids, then the meibomian glands are less inflamed, which creates better oil flow, which then creates less dry eyes...it all effects the overall health of your eyes.

[SallyP]

I have been using Systane recently, and have noticed an improvement, and it's definitely the best drop I've used (it's the preservative free single dose ones).

I'm not sure about just using hot tap water. Think it should be cooled boiled water, but more sterile than tap water, and I wouldn't put baby shampoo anywhere near my eyes, let alone bath with it. Somebody on this site said it still has harsh chemicals in it, especially the one that makes the bubbles.

I do that and follow it with expressing the oil manually, which is also helping alot, and I get a surprising amount of oil out!!

[mjf79]

I have been using Systane recently, and have noticed an improvement, and it's definitely the best drop I've used (it's the preservative free single dose ones).

I'm not sure about just using hot tap water. Think it should be cooled boiled water, but more sterile than tap water, and I wouldn't put baby shampoo anywhere near my eyes, let alone bath with it. Somebody on this site said it still has harsh chemicals in it, especially the one that makes the bubbles.

I do that and follow it with expressing the oil manually, which is also helping alot, and I get a surprising amount of oil out!!

I wash my face with the tap water, so the q tip is just another way to get the dandruff off my eyes instead of using a washcloth. We live in Baton Rouge, which has great water that comes from a natural spring, so I'm not so concerned about it. The heat is just to help loosen the gunk and it doesn't stay hot for long...it is cooled by the time it gets to my eyelid, in fact. If you are concenred about the water then you could buy gallons of distilled water at the grocery store. But, this was just to tell you about what worked for me and how it has benefited my life. You can take what you want out of it and change it to fit your needs, or of course, not use any of the tips at all.

[SallyP]

I apologise unreservedly if my post sounded like I was arguing with your suggestions. I suffer with this awful thing, and am open to any suggestions that may help. I just read my post and it did sound a bit rude actually. Ironically my eyes were getting bad, and I just speeded it up, and didn't read it after I'd written it, so I'm really sorry. I'd hate to offend anybody on this site, as believe me, it's helped me no end, and as you quite rightly pointed out, you can take as much or as little from people's suggestions as necessary.

[mjf79]

And I apologize for sounding so defensive! As I said, this is just what benefited me after tons of trial and error. We each have to find what works for us. I just adapted some of the stuff from Dr. Latkany's book (a great resource) and found what works...and the simple act of cleansing with the q-tip has almost eliminated horrible itching that was plagueing me. The cetaphil is the mildest facial cleanser on the market and was recommended by the dermatologist for rosacea (I have both facial and ocular rosacea.) Sterilid is a form of lid scrub that does not involve the pads, which is great as i find the pads abrasive...hence the q-tip after washing the face. I hope we can all find relief from this horrible affliction and am glad we have a place to learn things together and offer suggestions.