dry skin inside eyelids?

[happysad]

Hi,

I went to the doctor because of my dry eye problems at work.

My doctor did a tear breakup and tear production test and told me that they were both normal. So it appears that my problems are purely related to screen-staring for 8 hours every day.

She also examined the inside of my eyelids and told me that she could see some dry skin there. She gave me vaseline to rub it with at night.

Does that make sense?

I don't like to use the vaseline because it feels uncomfortable in my already tired eyes.

I am now running a Medisana humidifer at work and drinking lots of water, and that has helped somewhat. But I'm still not OK...

[happysad]

I just talked to the doctor on the phone today, and she says that the irritation in my eyes is caused by the scales and dry skin along the edges of my eyelids.

She believes that the vaseline will help... I made sure that I got another appointment in one month to check if it has helped.

Dry eyes at work, caused dry skin to appear inside the eyelids and this is causing the irritation and pain... Does this sound reasonable?

[dianat]

I don't like petroleum products in my eyes. There are many ointments out there that contain it, but I've learned through Dr. Holly, the man who developed the eye drops sold on this web site, that petrolatum does not mix well with your natural tears.

The vaseline you put on your eyelids will inevitably make it into your eyes. I believe this to be safe, but certainly not the most comfortable option for your situation. My advice stops here unfortunately, as I do not know of a good moisturizer for the eye lids. Perhaps someone else will...

[happysad]

Well, I am going to give it a shot.

If the flaking/dry skin is really the source of my problems, and rubbing my eyes with this stuff will make it go away, then I will be so happy...

I have had these problems for a year, and in my own mind I was already believing it was chronic (perhaps inspired by reading this site).

I put the blame on my first eye doctor who was really lousy.

[Rebecca Petris]

happysad,

This is a new one to me. You may want to post a question in the Q&A with Dr. Latkany forum for some more insight or more questions to ask your doctor.

Also, it might be worth trying something like the Onion Goggles (foam-lined glasses) for use at work. And checking out where the vents are located to see if there's too much air blowing around near you.

[Eli]

Happysad,
Flakes of skin and scaling along the edges of your eyelids makes me think of a condition called blepharitis, which is inflamation of the eyelids. There are many causes, and a lot of people can control it quite well. Maybe try a regimen of eyelid cleaning for a while and see if you improve.

[happysad]

After reading up on blepharitis I feel a bit better informed.

Still, what confuses me is that when I turn my eyelids inside out in front of the mirror, I cannot see any dry skin. The eyelids are a bit red, that is all.

And if my eyes were infected I should be getting antibiotics, right?

Anyways, I am going to follow the suggestion and try and clean my eyes more carefully in the morning.

I hope I will never need to use goggles at work (Shudder). Luckily, the humidifier seems to be enough to keep me in my job. And I can thank the people on this site for learning that there existed such a thing. My boss has even agreed to pay for it.

[Eli]

Did you perhaps misunderstand your doctor? It can be easy to do!
I have never heard mention of dry skin on the inside of eyelids before.
Not being a doc myself, I can't say if your eyes are infected, but yes, antibiotics can be used for certain infections. Having your eyelids red on the inside is probably normal-mine have always been that way. If the humidifer really helps, you may indeed have an "evaporative" dry eye condition, where you do make tears, but they evaporate too quickly from the surface of your eye. This can be caused by meibomian gland dysfunction, where the oil secreting glands in your eyelids get clogged up. There are many causes. Unfortunately, many docs can overlook this problem. Where do you live? Perhaps there is a good eye doctor near you.

[happysad]

I live in Denmark, but I am sure it is not a language barrier problem. She explicitly said 'You have dry skin inside inside your eyelids'. This was after wringing them inside out.

The stuff I am going to treat it with has 80% vaseline and 20% paraffin.

I hope I don't have any of the other problems. Although in the previous years I have grown less and less tolerant with contact lenses, only being able to wear them for short periods of time. Right now contacts are out of the question of course, but I hope I will be able to wear them again some day.

[Eli]

Happysad,
You may want to ask Dr. Latkany about this problem in his Q&A forum. Meanwhile, I hope the treatment helps you!

[microgeL]

Wow I never heard of that condition.

[happysad]

Yay! It's working.
Yesterday I wore contact lenses again, without problems. The irritation has gone away.

I now think what caused problems was small lesions or chafing on the inside of my eyelids - the treatment has caused them to heal. So that means I don't have chronic dry eyes at all (well, perhaps temporary dry eyes) - my symptoms only made me think I had.

Still, I have mixed feelings. I feel relieved after suffering for so long, but at the same time sad, because this ordeal has taken its toll on me. The dark circles are still there, making me look a lot older... and thinking about the past year, which was basically wasted...

What I want to do now is to try and pick up my life where I left off.
Good luck to everyone on this site.