Blepharitis- I want to tear my eyes out!!

Hi JJ111,   I had a similar experience.  It did not go on for 7 years,  mine went on for 2 years.  I checked everything that I could find on line about it.   I found relief myself with the wet-ones AND using the warm compresses.  The wet-ones took about 2 weeks for me to see significant relief.  Try to fold the wet-ones up and get it as close to your eye lashes as possible.    I also found that blinking helped tremendously.   I read and article by an eye doctor that blinking 20 times in a row multiple times a day helps by mechanically releasing oil back into the eyes. This helped with my dry eye significantly.    Also,  the type of eye lubricant.  I use Preservative Free,  they must be preservative free or you are just wasting your time.    I also found that staying up too late makes my eyes dry the next day.  I try to keep a regular schedule and use the wet-ones and the lubricant,  warm compresses and blnking.  I wash my eyes with OcuSoft Lid Scrub.  It's an eye wash that is made for your eyes and is soothing.  It helps if you have dry skin around your eyes from the wet-ones.  If you aren't sleeping,  you have to lay there with  your eyes closed.  Your eyes need the rest and they need to be closed.   It's a pain  to have to do all of this but it's the only time I got relief.  I hope you get some relief. 

The part about the pain concerns me...is it physical pain or like me it's just a pain in the "a**?

If it's physical pain and its THAT bad I would seek another specialist until someone can help you. Mine was itchy, annoying, I felt like I looked like a clown, it was super red, super ugly, then after 3_4 days it would start healing and all my skin on my eyelid would peel off. sometimes on the bottom eyelid too. And for me it all began with crazy stress too when my son was diagnosed with brain cancer. And I cried all the time. But big bouts of stress didn't activate it. I never really knew what set it off.  I'm finally in a holding pattern now but I have no idea how I did it because I made so many changes. I guess when it flared up I felt a little pain from the huge swelling but I wouldn't call my case painful. SUPER ugly SUPER annoying SUPER time consuming not to mention al the $ spent on all the3se things that helped for short periods of time. For me the Wet ones and baby shampoo did help a lot. both of those things I learned on this board not from doctors!!

Oh bless ypu

JJ111 it is so debilitTing

The information on this site has been extremely helpful. It seems that people follow their instincts, try out what has worked for others, and then if they are lucky they come up with a route that works for them. I am in the process of doing just that. However, it seems that you have to stick with a routine for at least a few weeks to see if it is helping and if it is stick with that for as long as it works and then taper off if you can. 

I had relief from the burning and itching by using a self made face wash with  about 20% Tea tree shampoo and 80% water that I put in a pump bottle. Washed my face 3x a day with it and then followed up with the WetOnes. It was drying out the tender skin under my eyes, but I read that that symptom is a rash, not dry skin so I stayed with it. At night I applied the prescription steroid gel (fml) the doctor gave me. However, she told me I should not use that for more than 7 days as it can cause increased eye pressure.

So, I have now switched to using Cliradex which is a Tea Tree based eye wipe developed by a medical team to clear out Blepharitis and Demodex. I ordered it from Amazon and it is expensive but not as expensive as the medication I was using. I open the packet and cut the wipe into four small squares to get more use out of each wipe. For about a minute it really stings but that quickly passes with a little fanning! I have only been using it for 3 days and it seems to be helping. The skin under my eyes looks very red right after a treatment but then the skin color seems to look healthier than it has in a long time. 

I would love it if this was a long term fix so that I can avoid complications from the medication. My doctor also told me to use preservative free eye drops a few times a day. I use them about an hour after I do an eye wipe treatment and blink 20 times after each application. 

It is a time consuming process as many of you have commented. I also feel that we have to be our own health advocates, because I am not sure how well informed many doctors are on the causes and treatments for this. All the sites I have read say it's not curable but it can be managed. 

 

Calm down. You may be causing more problems by using too many things at one time. If you use the baby shampoo too much it may irritate. Try the wet ones with just an inch square wrappwd around a Q-Tip. Only wipe the edges of your eyelids so it won't dry so bad. Just do it at night and in the morning. don" get any oils in your eyes. Yes, this is a true curse, I feel your pain. Dena

Yes, I know what you mean, but I think if you keep trying you will find an aanswer for you that you can live with.

Thank you all for your help and comments.  I finally went to the doctor and he prescribed Erythromcin gel.  I put it in both eyes twice a day for about a week and the flare finally went down.  My eyes still hurt every day and I still use the ice, warm water, wet ones and all the other tricks.  It is just a horrible way to live.  My condition appears to be more severe than most people on this board.  I hope they find a cure for this soon.  My quality of life really sucks hurting like this everyday. If I cry it only makes the condition worse.