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How long does it take to relieve symptoms of Blepharitis?

Posted , 12 users are following.

08kx250f
08kx250f

Hi, I am 27 years old and sadly I took two rounds of accutane when I was 20-21 years old and ever since then my eyes have been very red, dry and sensitive to light. I was diagnosed with Blepharitis shortly after finishing my accutane and the doctor had told me to do warm compresses and followed by Ocusoft lid scrubs. I honestly don't know how long I did that (probably for a few weeks if that) and had to stop becuase my eyelids were so dry and I was frustrated because I wasn't seeing any results really. I read about othe people whos eyes have been ruined due to accutane and pretty much just gave up. I did compresses here and there but never religiously, thus in all this time I have never really actually tried to treat the Blepharitis.

Fast forward to now. I've been doing more research and after actually having a better understanding of Bleph I see a bit of hope. Currently my eyes are always red, I have permanent veins in them, and I can't wear contacts more than an hour (really like 10 minutes, but i just keep putting drops every 10 minutes. Only wear them while playing sports). My eyelids are not red and don't really look swollen. From time to time I will get bumps on the portion of the eyelid that releases oils when you blink so I know that I still have a Blepharitis problem. The thing is when I take both index fingers and stretch out my upper eyelids by the lash line there is large bumps at the base of the eyelashes. I am guessing this is the Staphyloccocus bacteria?

Symptoms:

- Dry eyes

- Sensitive to light

- Randomly my eyes start to burn here and there (discomfort isn't much of a issue for me though. Mainly redness)

- cant wear contacts

- Rarely do i see any oils excreted from the MG glands on my eyelids

Currently:

- Compresses/massage morning and night

- Ocusoft Plus lids scrubs morning and night (started today)

- Taking Theratears (since 3 days ago)

- Restatis (been on it for 2 months)

 I've decided to recommit myself to treating this issue because I've realized there might be a small chance I can overcome this. So I have a few questions... 

1. How long does it take to kill the Staph bacteria on the eyelids?

2. Am I doing enough or is there anything else or better I should be doing?

3. Any hope for a accutane sufferer like myself?

 

2 likes, 42 replies

42 Replies

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  • Hollyberry
    Hollyberry 08kx250f

    Posted

    I was in your position where I felt Blepharitis had taken over my life. Hospital eye doctor prescribed 6 weeks of antibiotics. Success. 

    My dry eye syndrome is a separate issue to the Blepharitis so I use Hylo Forte as often as I need in the day and if I wake at night. It's due to a malfunction in the cells on the front surface of my eyes. 

    Its worth pushing for the antibiotics but be VERY careful to use sunscreen. When they said antibiotics would make be prone to sunburn I didn't realise they meant 10 minutes outside would make me feel I was on fire. Buy the highest factor and use it or you'll add another problem!

    • 08kx250f
      08kx250f Hollyberry

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply. I just went to an Opthamologist and she simply examined my eyes through a magnifying glass and said she really didn't see much Blepharitis, but the bumps on my eyelids say something is wrong. The questions is should I goto a Dermatologist to find out what these bumps are? I do not have any discharge from the hair follicoles or any discoloring or anything like that. They are just white bumps inside the base of the hair follicle.
  • 08kx250f
    08kx250f

    Posted

    Here is a (not so good) photo of my eyelid sad .. Does anyone know if this is consistent with Staphyloccocus or Demodex?
    • dena64643
      dena64643 08kx250f

      Posted

      Yes, I can see he photo. It's difficult to tell if it's swollen or not. It does look a little red and swollen, but difficult to determinne if this is not the normal look of an eyelid. Wish I could be more help. smile Dena
  • Hollyberry
    Hollyberry 08kx250f

    Posted

    A magnifying glass? For goodness sake! 

    Might be worth seeing a dermatologist as you feel the original accutane is a factor.

    its worth making an effort with the warm compresses. Be scrupulous in hand washing before you ever touch your eyes. Use disposable cotton wool pads in very warm water or use washcloths once and wash them on hot setting and dry quickly.

    after the compress, gently massage your eyes and wipe them with Blephasol liquid or similar. I've changed to L'Oreal miscella gel eye make up remover ( don't use the miscella waters as they contain alcohol) it's very soothing and keeps eye margins clean. 

    Since the 6 weeks of antibiotics I've just had dry eyes and the Blepharitis has disappeared. I know it's never cured but I at least feel it's not ruling my life.

    good luck.

    • Kitty1992
      Kitty1992 Hollyberry

      Posted

      How long will ur Blepharirist gone? Can u use cotpnract lenses or eye make up after that?
    • Hollyberry
      Hollyberry Kitty1992

      Posted

      Ive not risked eye make up for years sad But I'm allergic to dozens of things do even face make up has me itching if I don't clean it off after 2-3 hours.

      the longest my Bleph has laid so low it's not intruding into my life was about 2 years. In that time I just cleaned my eyes with warm water. However in the last year 3 other eye problems have been identified ( 2 back of eye, possibly age related, one is a problem with cells in my corneas which I could have had all my life but ageing has made it more obvious) 

      at the moment I don't have any active Bleph and I'm just thankful for that. Might last a few more weeks, might last years. Mine is related to the rosecea that fLares up on my face from time to time. 

  • david01026
    david01026 08kx250f

    Posted

    Have you seen my comments on the topic?  Basically, the fix for my blepharitis was a daily shower with a therapeutic shampoo called Capasal, ask your GP, the shampoo was originally prescribed for seborheic dermatitis but after clearing that I noticed my bleph had also cleared, no problems for years now, perhaps I'm lucky, give it a try, only cost is a presciption which you will be paying anyway for useless bleph treatments.  The shower MUST be taken every morning or it soon returns.  Good luck.
    • Kitty1992
      Kitty1992 david01026

      Posted

      How long will ur Blepharirist gone? Can u use cotpnract lenses or eye make up after tha?
  • dena64643
    dena64643 08kx250f

    Posted

    check out the wet ones post by lynda79. You can use a q-tip wit a small square wrapped around it so it wont touch the other parts of your eye both inside and out. be very careful, make sure you're not allergic.
  • Guest
    Guest 08kx250f

    Posted

    The registrar at the eye hospital told me that it's bugs on the eyelashes that cause blepharitis. If there's any ointment available that'll get rid of them that would be good, but I don't know of one..  I don't tolerate antibiotics, so I personally don't go down that route, and the registrar also said that as soon as you stop taking the antibiotics the bugs often come back anyway, so it's only a temporary fix. 

    Am making do with blephasol at the moment. 

    08kx250f if I were you I would go to the opticians or ask the GP for a referral to the eye hospital. They'll be better able to see your eyes, your corneas, etc and tell you for definite what the problem is.

    • gabriela38171
      gabriela38171 Guest

      Posted

      Heuchera, from I what I know Blepharitis is NOT bugs in your follicles. I believe that's another condition, similar to this. But most doctors don't know what's the cause of this conditon, it just appears.
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