Treatment for Blepharitis

[Edward]

I have heard of a lot of people having eye problems, probably due to reduced oil duct function or dryness. This might help...

http://patient.info/forums/discuss/treatment-info-for-blepharitis-38354

It seems wet wipes is the answer.

 

[Atticus]

This is awesome. I have found some things that have helped that are a little off the wall. Washing with Selsum Blue on the face helps alot. Apparently, alot of folks dry eye is caused by Demodex. Small mites that live on the hair follicles.

 

[Edward]

This is awesome. I have found some things that have helped that are a little off the wall. Washing with Selsum Blue on the face helps alot. Apparently, alot of folks dry eye is caused by Demodex. Small mites that live on the hair follicles.

Selsum Blue? He sounds like one sad cowboy. I don't think he made it to the UK though? One thing it does say somewhere on that site is that the trouble is caused by staphylococcus or something similar which is killed by the quats in the wipes. I don't remember what all that means but I'm going to read it again and give it a try.

My trouble started just before I started consuming kava regularly but I think kava could be contributing a little. If I can get rid of the problem completely that would be great. Definitely going to try it.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Yeah, looks like Blepharitis, Styes and Chalazion are all a bit different...but the most common cause between them is a Staphylococcus bacteria that commonly lives in the human nose and on the face. Dryness and improper sebaceous gland function seems to pave the way for that bacteria to get in and thrive.

I'll probably give the 'Wet Ones' wet wipes a shot. I'm not sure I can use these on my current stye though, this one is on the top rim of the lid and around the backside toward the eye. Even if they work, I'm not sure I'd use them daily if/when the problem goes away...constantly killing all bacteria can lead to other types of infections getting in, since all the natural defenses are no longer present. -- 'Good bacteria'.

I got curious if acne meds that deliberately dry your skin cause this issue too, sure enough, I found many acne forums talking about styes...I still need to read through 'em all to see if they've found any tricks. Another common thing I saw, that actually had some studies done, was Omega-3's for eye dryness & blepharitis. One study said the western diet is 16:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3...but the ideal is 4:1 Omega-3 to Omega-6.

 

[kavadude]

Yeah, looks like Blepharitis, Styes and Chalazion are all a bit different...but the most common cause between them is a Staphylococcus bacteria that commonly lives in the human nose and on the face. Dryness and improper sebaceous gland function seems to pave the way for that bacteria to get in and thrive.

Interesting. That would explain why its suddenly recurring for some people after not getting them for a long time. In this case a long break might be necessitated

 

[Edward]

I went shopping and they didn't have any wet ones although I know they do sell them over here. I found something similar but it does caution you to not use around your eyes and if you do get some in your eyes to rinse with water. I'm not sure if this is just a generic warning like "don't get antibacterial hand wipe liquid in your eye you idiot" and wet ones will have the same warning? If anyone gets hold of a packet before I do please let me know if it has a similar warning on those.

I find a warm compress really helps but I can't always do it in the lorry. I get a clean flannel and just a fraction over hand hot water, soak the flannel and then push it gently into both eyes so that it covers my eyelids. It really seems to help alleviate the symptoms for a while. I will do that as often as possible and get some wet ones when I can. Of course I will update here good or bad.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I went shopping and they didn't have any wet ones although I know they do sell them over here. I found something similar but it does caution you to not use around your eyes and if you do get some in your eyes to rinse with water. I'm not sure if this is just a generic warning like "don't get antibacterial hand wipe liquid in your eye you idiot" and wet ones will have the same warning? If anyone gets hold of a packet before I do please let me know if it has a similar warning on those.

I find a warm compress really helps but I can't always do it in the lorry. I get a clean flannel and just a fraction over hand hot water, soak the flannel and then push it gently into both eyes so that it covers my eyelids. It really seems to help alleviate the symptoms for a while. I will do that as often as possible and get some wet ones when I can. Of course I will update here good or bad.

Yeah the main chick in the thread mentioned something about the package saying to keep out of eyes, and flush eyes with water if you do. She said she cuts 'em into eight strips, it fits over her finger and gives better control of the application, she stays on the lash area and under eyelid skid but avoids touch actual eye stuff.

There was a guy from the UK that did it with a similar UK product who also said it worked, I think his may have had a higher % of the active ingredient though, so applications should be more conservative or less frequent. Other UK posters mentioned buying the exact variety of US 'Wet Ones' online. It seems about 80% of the many people who tried it have success and many were long time sufferers who battled it for years.

The girl did some research on the active ingredient "Quats" Quats, Benzethonium Chloride in US and Benzalkonium Chloride in UK wipes. It takes 10 minutes for Quats to kill germs, so you can technically wash it all off after that time. The US wet ones has a concentration of % 0.3 and the law for face products containing it was % 0.5 maximum. The number was much lower for products that actually go in your eye, but I can't remember the number and she inconsistently places her decimal through out the threads.
Also, some people are allergic to chemicals in the product.

 

[Crunked]

I suffered from blepharitis before I began drinking kava. Initially, my attacks increased after starting kava but I haven't had an attack for a more than six months now. I have tried various things, but the only effective solution (for me) was using http://www.theratears.com/sterilid/ every morning. Also using an eye lubricant, like Systane, may help.

 

[Edward]

I just found some eye drops called Murine bright and moist eyes. It contains the same active ingredient as the wet ones which is supposed to kill the bacteria. Seems better than a product that's not designed for the eyes. Only thing is it's a bit more expensive than the wipes. I'll give that a go for a while and see what effect it has. I'm a couple of days in to the wipes and so far I do think the angriness has abated a little but I'm still getting symptoms.

 

[Atticus]

I had and am still having some troubles with this. I had IPL treatment done with Dr. Toyos in Memphis for ocular rosacea. Mine was caused by a slight rosacea and summer allergies. The treatment was expensive. But, it really helped getting things going. Red LED therapy actually helps (if it's ocular rosacea related). I use the similasan eye drops also. They are very natural and preservative free.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

@Edward I buy Murine eye drops at my local dollar store, but only have original formula and red eye formula. I checked and neither had benzalkonium chloride :/ I looked up the Bright and Moist formula on murine.co.uk and it does have it, I'll definitely buy some of these for the future.

As for the Wet Ones, I can't say if it was those or just the natural course of the stye, but last night (wed.) it began to pop and relieve pain. The stye showed up Sunday, small and painless, but itchy. Monday it was bigger and painful. Tuesday afternoon I started using Wet Ones and by Wednesday night it was reversing. Sounds promising, but like I said, it may have happened anyway.

 

[Edward]

It's hard to say with these things, it would definitely have gone away on it's own eventually but maybe the wipes helped a little too? I think the drops are worth considering for ongoing prevention. Kava drinkers do seem more prone to these problems for whatever reason so my plan is to use them until I've had a week clear of symptoms, tapering the level down or just use a bottle up and then lay off it until I start getting symptoms again. I wouldn't want to use them all the time.

I've been using the wipes for a day and the drops for a day and my eyes are feeling more comfortable. I have two little spots coming up, one in each eye, but the actual eyelids are a lot better, less red and angry. Hopefully this will be a long term reliever from these ongoing problems I've had.

 

[Edward]

After a week my symptoms have almost completely gone