Itchy eyelids and sticky eyelashes

[Joseph]

I was told by my doctor that I have blepharitis and mgd. Does any body else have itchy eyelids and sticky eyelashes when blinking. My eyes always seem gritty, itchy and the tear film seems oily. Is this a symptom of my diagnosis. Anybody else have this and if so what helps.

[littlemermaid]

Do you have?
oily skin
yellowish flaking eg between eye brows
history of acne or skin probs
infection around eyes eg yellowish discharge
allergies

It's looking after the eyes very carefully with gentle cleaning morning and night (eg warm water, cotton wool or clean flannel) and lots of hygiene (eg clean towels no sharing, clean pillowcases). What regime are the docs recommending?

If there's no conjunctival infection (although there might be a bit by now), it's working out whether meibomian glands are clogged (warm compress 2xdaily etc), or whether it's too much sebum (sebaceous blepharitis) if that's your skin type. If it's too much sebum around the eyes, the itching could be discomfort from that, although itching is often allergy. Check under the lower lids and let us know how red it is. Also press gently with 2 fingers under the lower lash line and check the row of tiny dots along the lid margin, see what comes out if you can.

If you're using eyedrops or ointments, ask the prescribing doc for preservative-free ones (eg we get chloramphenicol PF and celluvisc PF easily from Lloyds Pharmacy) (maybe a little <ahem> exaggeration that you have sensitive or allergic skin or something).

More info please, eg what's it like under your eyelids. Someone might recognise your symptoms.

[skygoddess]

Yes all of the above. Tar shampoo on my head and eyebrows and eyelashes. I know it is not recommended for the eyes, but it helps me. Dermablend long wear makeup remover removes the sticky stuff.( No makeup use necessary ) A brow wand and a high magnification mirror removes dried stuck on buildup. I use azasite for MGD. I would also recommend asking your Dr. about doxycycline. My upper tear ducts are cauterized. Several years trial and error led me to this combination. I also use allergy pills at night as needed. I have improved to the point where I can use contacts after years and years of intolerance.

[gilligan_1434]

Itchy eyelids, yes. I get an itch in very specific parts of my lid from time to time; I can pinpoint the itch to, for example, the outer portion of my upper right eyelid, and it comes on suddenly. For a long time I didn't know what to do about it; I tried tugging at my lashes and that seemed to help some. It turns out, after many years of this going on, I can simply rub the part of the lid just inside the lash (the part where the lids touch each other when you close your eyes) gently with my fingertips (after washing my hands) and within about 30 seconds I feel a great soothing oily substance coming out of that meibomian gland! This works about half the time; it is difficult to get to that part of the eyelids except on the outermost part of the lid.

[Joseph]

Thanks for your post. They have all been helpfull. To be honest I thought I was the only one with this symptoms. Knowing that I am not along in some sort of way makes me feel better, not because you have this, but because I am not alone with some new and wierd problem. Thank you all and I love this forum. It has made me feel a lot less along with my problems.

[dijon84]

Tar shampoo on my head and eyebrows and eyelashes. I know it is not recommended for the eyes, but it helps me.

I can believe this - I've just started using tar shampoo (on my scalp only). On the days where I used it, my eyes have felt pretty good for the rest of the day. Considering using on the eyebrows and lashes too, but a little bit worried about it! I've been diagnosed with MGD and seborrheic blepharitis. Seborrheic blepharitis as I get tiny white flakes on my eyelashes when I wake up in the morning, and the ends of my eyelashes tend to clump together (upper eyelashes especially) - no matter how much cleaning I do on them.