Staph infection/damage plus blepharitis

[How]

Hi,

I posted an intro here but didn't get any responses so I hope it's okay if I try again here.

I have had blepharitis for ten years. For most of those ten years it was manageable just once a day warm compresses. Baby shampoo hurt so I didn't do it. Then middle of last year it started to get worse. Every now and again I would have to put on a second cloth. I also had an amazing opportunity given to me last year that meant I had to use the computer a lot, which I normally could stay away from.

In January things started to get super bad. I was not able to leave the house, and I had to do three cloths and my eyes were constantly bothering me. It was very cold here but when it warmed up a bit I ran off to a doc and he gave me fucithalmic drops with preservatives and said I had an infection. I have rosacea so suppose he meant a staph infection.

I also likely have seborrheic dermatitis but am not sure yet as I have yet to get in to see someone about that. But I have had bad dry skin for a long time, and this winter it got really bad. If I don't exfoliate I will get dandruff on my face (ugh.) I also get it in my eyebrows and have lost some of the hair in my eyebrows, and there's a purplish patch of skin in one brow. Has happened before but nothing about my eyes changed that time.

Reason I am writing this is tonight I went on to research the possible causes of this worsening and came on another photo of someone with apparent staph and it does look a bit like what I had/have.

I have some obviously inflamed areas along my lash lines, worse on left eye (though at time of writing right eye is bothering me, feels toxic.) No matter what I do this does not completely go away.

If I do cloths, run eyes in water in shower, etc the whites of my eyes though will usually be pretty clear.

Yet I'm still at two cloths (sometimes three) and at night worried my eyes are going to get stuck together. They've felt like that sometimes.

What I wondered was...could it be even if my eyes often look white that I still have a staph infection?

Has this done permanent damage, is there no way to reverse that inflammation? Sometimes it goes down a bit, and right eye is almost normal...but it's not fully healed.

Does anyone know if fucithalmic drops can cause cataracts? I tolerated them okay so thought I might get another course, possibly without preservatives.

Given possibility of staph is it a bad idea to put on an eye mask at night to protect from further drying out or to leave a cloth on for a long period?

Will cleaning with blephagel do anything to push off staph?

Given honey can deal with staph infections would this be an option (I have regular pasteurized honey and also raw honey, no manuka right now.) I read someone report a good eye specialist they saw claimed he regularly sees people who have done damage to their eyes with honey. Has anyone heard a professional say that?

I'm also developing dry mouth which I realize could point to Sjorgen's syndrome. It comes and goes and seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it will occur. I was trying to eat healthy and it was showing up then. So last night I decided to have ice cream and no dry mouth. A few days before I stopped every vitamin and tea I take except chamomile (which is anti-inflammatory and soothing), thinking one of them may be at fault. I have had joint issues before but nothing at all lately. Dry mouth was so bad one night I could not swallow at all. I also get strange bouts where my mouth feels both dry and moist, and one day it went from bone dry to practically foaming. (No I don't have rabies!)

I will be hopefully seeing someone on Tues, my GP, and will pretty well demand fast referral to an ophthalmologist.

Overall I'm just really scared and frustrated because I can't get in to see anyone easily (due to weather) and if I can even get out at all the only fast person to see is usually a walk-in clinic doctor.Walk-in people don't have the time to go deeply into your problems.

I realize there are people with far more serious cases than mine here..and I feel for you and everyone else. What a horrid nightmare this is..it's shocking that dry eye issues are not more widely known about given how serious this can get.

[wakeupscreaming]

Just responding to say i can relate to your frustration about the lack of support and knowledge about so many things effecting peoples eyes.
I have tried Manuka honey eyedrops for several months on and off. And quite frankly, I didn't notice any difference. I got concerned after awhile that I was making my condition worse, actually. So I've stopped using it entirely.

The only thing I tried that has worked was minocycline antibiotics for 2 months. For the first time in more than 10 years, my eyes felt "normal". I was hoping the minocycline had cured them, but as soon as the 2 month cycle was over, it was only 2 or 3 days after I stopped taking them, my eyelids felt gunky and heavy again. I was so disappointed. The minocycline is a low-level antibiotic, originally created for acne sufferers, that only reduces the inflammation.

[How]

Thanks for responding wakeupscreaming. I was beginning to think two posts and already I'm a pariah on the dry eye forum and I have no idea why ha ha. I'm sorry the drops did not work for you. I did suspect though that they maybe were not the grand cure that some are claiming they are.

I was offered oral ABs when I took topical ones, but thing is there are side effects I usually can't handle so I turned them down. I'm now so unsure what to do...Today I got up and realized part of my eyebrow has fallen out without my even noticing (one corner.) Whatever the flaky skin condition is that I have I'm convinced it's linked to the dry eye issues. But I can't even get in to see my doctor for weeks...worried I won't have one of my brows by the time I get there.

Also I read over some of your posts and I agree it would be great if they could tell us what kind of infection (or infections) we have. I believe you too about some cases possibly being contagious though in my case thus far no one seems to be getting anything from me.

[How]

Well, I've had it with Blephagel. It doesn't seem to hurt my eyes at all but the design of the tube sucks. The dispenser is at the base so that I have to try to wrestle the thing open with one hand while holding my sterilized Q-tip with the other and tonight managed to contaminate the part where the gel comes out doing this.

If anyone has any tips about natural cleansers for eyelids please post, something that is safe and easy to put on.

[How]

I cleaned my eyes with sterilized Q-tips, trying to get rid of eyelash flakes, and no sooner am I done but I find more flakes appearing. I'm so sick of this condition...

[hopeful_hiker]

Have you tried Avenova or Hypochlor from Ocusoft? You mentioned Staph. I assumed it’s the bacteria that lives on skin. Hypochlorous acid can help reduce their numbers. In general, people who have meibomian gland dysfunction suffer are likely to suffer from bacterial issues.

As for Sjogren’s. You gotta do the biopsy to rule it out. I did and it was not a bad experience. Dental procedures are much more unpleasant. Another option is Sjo test (blood).

Dry mouth could be medication related or stress related. I never got it to the point of not being able to swallow but I remember it being dry (tests show negative for Sjogren’s). Eventually, this symptom went away pretty much (hopefully it will not return). I totally remember the foamy sensation, too. I was super stressed because of sudden dry eyes at the time. I opted for a biopsy in the end because I wanted a peace of mind (to an extent).

[How]

Hi hopeful_hiker,

I haven't tried Avenova or Hypochlor yet. I had heard of them though, but someone wrote they were a mild bleach solution so the idea of trying it freaked me out. Researching it a bit more I found hypochlorous acid is produced naturally by the body? If true then I will likely try it, as I'm getting pretty fed up with this situation. I think I have demodex issues too, not sure if hypochlorous acid helps for that too?

And I'm not sure what to make of the dry mouth now. It seems to have improved a fair bit since I posted that. For whatever reason eating ice cream is helping. I am always concerned I'm going to wind up with diabetes as when I get into sugar I eat way too much, so this was not exactly the solution I was looking for...

So you never figured out what caused your dry mouth? I think I read hypothyroidism could be a cause too, which I should get tested for as I have not been in years. But I don't really totally fit that profile (no major weight gain, for instance.) Maybe you are right, maybe it is just stress. It can't be medication for me as I don't take any pills.

[How]

Well it seems possible if not probable that one of the main problems I have is demodex. I've lost so many lashes, I have an itchy feeling at times now in my eyes, flaking all over face and eyebrows...it would explain a lot.

I think I am going to try the hypocholous acid and maybe cliradex too.

About Sjogren's, the optometrist thought I might have it but I have a sneaking suspicion I don't. Doctor didn't think I had it either.

[How]

Just responding to say i can relate to your frustration about the lack of support and knowledge about so many things effecting peoples eyes.
I have tried Manuka honey eyedrops for several months on and off. And quite frankly, I didn't notice any difference. I got concerned after awhile that I was making my condition worse, actually. So I've stopped using it entirely.

The only thing I tried that has worked was minocycline antibiotics for 2 months. For the first time in more than 10 years, my eyes felt "normal". I was hoping the minocycline had cured them, but as soon as the 2 month cycle was over, it was only 2 or 3 days after I stopped taking them, my eyelids felt gunky and heavy again. I was so disappointed. The minocycline is a low-level antibiotic, originally created for acne sufferers, that only reduces the inflammation.

wakeup, have you got symptoms of demodex mites like itching and lash loss?

[wakeupscreaming]

wakeup, have you got symptoms of demodex mites like itching and lash loss?

Eyelash loss -- Yes.
Itching -- no.
I have had my eyes checked by 3 different Ophthalmologists over the years. I think they would have identified it, if I had it.

[How]

Eyelash loss -- Yes.
Itching -- no.
I have had my eyes checked by 3 different Ophthalmologists over the years. I think they would have identified it, if I had it.

Did you ever try hypochlorous acid spray (like Hypochlor) to see if that will help the infection?

[How]

Posting an update...I had my glands looked at and I've lost some in one eye. Otherwise they were blocked. I was told to try a microwaveable compress the theory being I was not getting the right temp to melt the oil in my glands. I tried it and it does seem to work.

I also believe I may have just figured out what's going on with my lash and brow loss. I have found out my vit. D is low and low D is linked to a skin issue I have. Low vit. D also can cause inflammation. The skin issue apparently sometimes causes brow loss, and as I am getting red patches IN my brow area, that could explain what's happening. I hope I have figured this out finally..

One doctor felt I probably had a vitamin deficiency but didn't hone in on vit. D (thought B vitamins instead.)

I am going to see if I can't get an anti-inflammatory drop as if the issue is partly the low D it takes some time to bring it back up to normal levels, and in the meantime I will need to get that inflammation down.

Oh and, seeing as though there's the belief out there fish oil can help with dry eye, I now wonder how much of that is due to the vit. D content.

[mbperso]

Usually Itching and Eyelash loss , probably because of Demodex. (I had them)
Treatment is TTO
Important is lid hygiene, if bacteria => HOCL
Many people have low rate of vit D in Europe.

[How]

Usually Itching and Eyelash loss , probably because of Demodex. (I had them)
Treatment is TTO
Important is lid hygiene, if bacteria => HOCL
Many people have low rate of vit D in Europe.

Hi mbperso,

The last optometrist I saw believed I had demodex. How strong of TTO did you use? Did you ever use Cliradex?

[How]

I wanted to post another update.

I had blephex done. I was not really informed what would be involved and felt terrible after the fact. I was led to believe it would be very minor discomfort which was not the case for me. I also was not told I would be given a script for a steroid, that it was believed I'd need it to deal with inflammation caused by the procedure.

After the procedure I felt like I had tons of discharge coming out, which was frequently blurring my vision. I didn't drive to the appointment and it was a good thing as there would have been no way I could have managed to drive home safely. The rocks in eyes feeling lasted for the whole night.

After learning of the potential "side" effects of the steroid, many of them the same issues I was having from the procedure, I opted against taking it. I don't know if that was a good idea or not but my eye pressure had been measured as running close to being on the high side and I understand steroids can increase it. I was therefore not very happy I was offered a steroid.

So now it's over a week since I had it done. I don't know if it has helped over all. One eye seems a little more inflamed under the lash line. I haven't used warm compresses since I had it done instead opting for cold hoping to reduce inflammation.

For anyone who is considering this procedure, I would say that it's best to ask a lot of questions before having it done. If it appears you are not being told much of anything about it (ie no one is telling you any downsides or what's involved in after care) then, either find someone else to do it who will answer your questions or don't get it done. Also it's a wise idea to take someone with you in case it irritates your eyes so much you have trouble getting back home.. I would also recommend you ask what will be involved in after care. And, you may find you need time off work if it's very irritating, especially people who work on computers.

Also I don't know if this is the case if you take a steroid after the procedure and tolerate it well but in my case I needed to use more eye drops than I normally have to.