Blepharitis & Wet Ones Experiment 1/17/2017

Posted , 21 users are following.

I was diagnosed with Blepharitis 3 years ago during a routine eye exam.  

Since that time, I have had several exacerbations.  The last one, several months back from the time of this post had me looking for new ideas.

 Here's my situation:

53 y/o caucasian male with a past medical history of Roseacea well controlled with Head & Shoulders shampoo.  Roseacea exacerbations treated with topical steroid PRN (as necessary).   I saw an allergist 1 year ago and was able to find nothing conclusive as far as allergies but was placed on Singulair and Zyrtec for Sinusitus.

 

Blepharitis flare-ups have been worsening with the last one 3 months ago- I saw an Opthamologist mid-year 2016 and the regiment he described to me use had not been able to treat it as i had in past with warm compresses (a tube-sock filled with rice and tied off at end-  heated in a microwave for 2mins), regular eye washing with Johnsons Baby Shampoo and eye oinment-  PRED-G an antibiotic with steroid.  Conditions were worsening and trying to work and function with normal activities of daily living were becoming more difficult, not to mention the pyschological impact. My efforts to overcome this latest exacerbation were not working.   I work in a hospital for the last 5 years in Balt. MD

Here's what Im trying as of 1/17/2017 and plan on keeping my findings posted here...  

I have started (at the advice of a post on this site and my own personal research) using Wet Ones wipes.  The synthetic active ingredient, Benzothonium Chloride is what I hope may kill the bacteria.  

My routine:  I am washing my eyelids before each use and using 1/3 of each towellete by cutting into strips.  I repeat this 4X daily since 1/17 and have so far had noticeable improvement-  but not yet 100% free but at least  not as bothered by my eyes.   I am still using an eye lubricant as needed throughout the day.  

While I am hopeful, I remain cautiously optomstic.

Bryan

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  • Posted

    Dear William,

    I had the itchy eyes and killed it with the Wet Ones, antibacterial wipes.

    This takes over 3 months so do not give up even when you think it is gone. After 3 months if you quit and it itches again go for another week or so.

    I did this and it has been years now that it has not come back. 

    Men have the problem of as soon as they think it is better they quit and then it comes roaring back. You only need to do it 4 times a day for a week and then cut down to 3 and then it is only 2 times a day for several months. That is easy to do.

    Hope this info helps,

    Lynda79

    • Posted

      Dear Lynda,

      your advice is very valuable. I came to the conclusion that antibacterial Wet Ones really kill bacteria  that probably multiply very quickly. We have to kill them before they multiply. I am running to destroy them. Good luck to everybody.

    • Posted

      Cant say enough- but thank you. 

      The opthamologist who had a specialty with Bleph couldnt help me as much as you have.

    • Posted

      hi lynda , ive read a few of your posts and im do keen to do this , i tried today and used blue wet ones s few times and my eyes were sore and a bit swollen , is the blue ones or the red of the sensitive ones i can use ? im gona try again tomorrow . i am very depressed with this condition , ive had it bad for two months , i had lipiglow last week and it doesnt seemed to of helped ! cost me a fortune aswell !!!

      kind regards cherry x

    • Posted

      Dear Cherrybell,

      People have said that the U K wipes that have Benzalkonium in them are more irritating than the ones that I used. I used the U S Wet Ones that have Benzethonium Chloride in them. It is .3% Benzethonium Chloride in them. They can be ordered online.

      If you have sensitive skin and are allergic to detergents or fabric softeners or lanolin, or aloe you may not be able to use these.

      People who have a problem with sensitive skin can use a drop of baby shampoo and a drop of Tea Tree Oil to wash with and can help control the problem.

      Read the info on this site as to the different solutions to help with Blepharitis if you have sensitive skin.

      Hope you have success,

      Lynda79

  • Posted

    Try fluticasone nasal spray!! Has anyone used nasal allergy sprays?! I've had blepharitis for about 7 months now. Tried wet ones, shampoo in my eyes, steroid shots, steroid creams, etc. These all worked temporarily. Decided one day to try a nasal spray after seeing an ad for allergies. I bought at rite aid and after 3 days my eyes are starting to feel normal!!! It kinda makes sense to treat your eyes through your nose since they all all connected. Today is day 3 and I have only had to use wet ones once and some eyes drops. Other than that my eyes are FINALLY starting to feel normal! I wanted to tell someone! Maybe someone here can try it and let me know if it helped at all??

    • Posted

      First, I am updating my comments eight months back about Wet Ones - the new variety with aloe has not in fact caused any long term problems.

      Second, I agree about the nose/eyes conjunction. In the summer, when I wasn't as snuffly as usual, the blepharitis virtually vanished. Now the winter cold season is on us it's kicked off again. I figured, finally, that there was a link here and that I needed to tackle the snuffle as part of my regime. Therefore, I have just started to wash my sinuses out each morning with a small piece of kit called the Emcur Nasal Cleansing System. There are others available too and they are easy to use, not at all uncomfortable. I have noticed a rapid improvement in the few days I've been doing this. The Wet Ones work quite well to clean the eyes once the problem is there, but I myself need both the preventative washing out and the maintenance, i.e. the Wet Ones. Do give it a try.

  • Posted

    3 months into my experiment and heres my update....

    My recent vist to the optemetrist who originally diagnosed me with Bleph told me  I was doing an excellent job with keeping my eyes clean. He said he was impressed with the improvement.   He did diagnose me with  keratoconjunctivitis sicca - Dry eye syndrome.  He wrote me a prescription for Xiidra, a new treatment- eye drops on the market.  The drops are applied twice a day.

    Overall, my eyes are much better.  I am washing them just once a day with tea tree oil and baby shampoo.  

  • Posted

    Hi William, just wondering if you or anyone else reading in the forum wears contacts?

    Thanks!

    Avi

  • Posted

    To all,

    Have extensively researched this wonderful youth robbing bacteria e.g. STAPH...59 year old man, most thought I was 45 until Feb of this year! Have been blessed with excellent health my entire adult life, was not so healthy from birth until aged 5 yrs. I would Code Blue, turn Blue and requisite monthly stays in Hospital followed. Very young Dr. finally solved the big riddle of what ailed me-Allergies, which qued my (Unkown at time) Asthma. Performing the barrage of allergy plot on my back, results...Allergic to life on earth environment!...Pray tell, 275 responsive allergies, all sending me to the beloved "Iron Lung" chrome plated cavity. Truly no joy for this boy!

    Phase ll: Allergy shots for the next 8 years-Every Saturday I was subjected to 2 needles, no less suffering for each arm-Share the pain, eh? Well...At age 13, I was mowing 18 lawns, had two paper routes and worked as a Chinese cook. All possible via my father's O2 bottle/mask which he used for his high altitude flight in unpressurized Acft. Yes, there is a point to giving background! Still turned blue occasionally, got the, as needed occasional adrenaline shot to restart my lungs-Man what a rush...Unwanted to say the least, however required to breath!!! Ever had bubbles under your skin? Your brothers and friends sure enjoy popping them-A fascinating invention called "Bubble Wrap" Last checked, I am human not comprised of air and polymers! Formal description, Burst Lung!...Who knew?

    PhaseIII: Age thirteen I info'd Doc-No more of your Drugs...Amazingly he said "GOOD".

    Now, he then proceeded to tell me that the only way to beat the Asthma was to make my body stronger than my ailment. I did...Worked out, ran like deer and participated in every sport known to man, albeit unknown to me due to code blue the first ten minutes of any attempt. By age 18 I could live a normal life to include 28.5 years of this mans military life!!! Note: 118 lbs upon entrance, 117 lbs was cut-off weight for my height, once again, back to weight room and sports per Commanders orders! Yes Sir!!! Beat the odds due to God and Man collectively working together...If any of you have a military background, your probably mulling in head-How did you get in Military, more or less, how did you manage to stay? Pure tenacity to not let my health rule my life!..Major point of interest on this site!

    PhaseIV: Now private civilian most happily working in aviation, failed to mention...Got my Fathers bug at age zero for all things planes-Yippie Ih Oh Tye Yeah-Slipping the squirrelly bonds of human birth!!! Pilot at age 17. Always the rebel with cause!!! Ruling my life, not health driven having no life, understood?

    PhaseV: 39 years "Healthy as Horse" per annual check-up's! BLESSED I be! However, One tiny blip on Radar-Gall Bladder went-Tango Uniform, had to depart body;oh how I miss that, per Dr's an uneeded organ-So say the Doctor, would enjoy putting him on stainless cold steel and reaching in his body with steely carbon hardened fingers of manipulation and sharp things...Bet he wouldn't exalt same rhetoric when his Gall Bladder exited stage left. Not good for soul! Well, this event set-off a misfortune of physical ailments for moi!!!

    PhaseVI: Strapping 189 lb. silver haired, not from wisdom, genes folks, genes! Age 58, the year our lord choose me to be. I go from 189-123lbs. Testing, testing, TESTING-Health of a 25 year old. RIGHT, I doth protest too much, ya think???

    PhaseVII: Present age-59, ailments, can't work, former workaholic, 16hr days-No sweat...Reached a point, silver hair everywhere, circadian non-existent, pass food in 20 min's if able to eat. Face, nose, throat, ears, mouth, gums, all infected and last but not least, my baby blues look like 28 miles of Sahara Desert walked leather boots with holes ripped in the toe! Truly. No more am I hearing, "Oh, your just a pup" coming from someone 12 years my junior! Kinda hard to watch yourself age 20 years in 1. Hurts, don't it? sad

    PhaseVIII: Had enough...Can't say I know when I've had enough but I can say when I've had too much!... Brother takes me to Emer room, rehydrate, pump Saline/Anti-Bodies, "TESTING" (Health of a young man-AGAIN?...Pat me on head, must have flu, kick me out door.? That was this Feb. subsequent week, fall out of bed, shakes, can't eat, walk, tounge literally won't operate. Mouth foul, dry, entire upholstery of body, we call it skin; feels like sandpaper being used on me by the simple act of putting on pants-Weird-eh? Earl Shrieb Auto Body could use a guy like me, I can tell you which grit of sandpaper will get the job done. Facial muscles constricted, eye sight blurry, made for the prettiest double Super Moons I've ever seen!...

  • Posted

    So sorry, dropped phone, sent prior to finish.

    PhaseIX: April, present year...I walk into Dr's office, simply state that I will check myself into hospital if you can't fix me. Major problem I have is not used to being sick, didn't know how sick I was, nor why! Got a clue via this site and some sage wisdom gleaned from days and notes researching the cause of my malidies!!! Staph, most probably acquired from Gall Bladder removal. I'm merely putting together the facts of good health prior to stint in hospital. Since, health declined rapidly. 5 rounds of Antibiotics and now on Doxycycline Hyclate 2 a day for 14 days. A bit improved by Antibiotics, however, didn't touch the ensuing diagnoses of Staph infection in blood coupled with the insidious Bleph!!! I do believe the Antibiotics have turned the tied regarding throat, tongue, ears, gums and muscle constrictions. I can actually talk, walk, eat and helped significantly with my hide being dry and when touched, feel of Sandpaper as described earlier. Zero help with eyes!!!

    PhaseX: To the point! I am doing the regime as such:

    (Step One)

    Wetone: 4 x day (Brush up and down on margin as well as across, using a 1/4" wide strip of wetone. I simply approximate 1/4" of strip, peel off strip length wise. Apply as described with clean bare finger.

    (StepTwo)

    Eye rinse: 3 x day (Mixing Tap Water Approx. 1/3 cup to teaspoon of Morton Non-Iodine salt) I put solution in micro-wave for 1 minute. Pour into eye wash cup which I bought from Walgreens. Came in a Bausch + Lomb Advanced Eye Relief eye wash kit. Note: I use as warm of water that I can tolerate and as much salt content. To each their own tolerance. 5 minutes per eye, all the while performing 100 blinking movements and looking up/down and sideways movements of eyeball. Rinse cup with Alchohol and water from use on eye to eye.

    (Step 3)

    Tee tree oil: Purchased from Walgreens. NOTE: This is a particularly harsh oil and will sting if applied to eyelids in full concentrate. I have been mixing 1 drop of TTO to Half cup of warm water and applying it to my eyelids using the Same 1/4 strip of wetone. I use eye dropper to apply TTO solution to Wetone Strip. Apply as stated in (Step One). Application 3x day.

    In Began this regime, Thur. 05/25/17.

    I have tested positive for Staph and all of the absolute worst symptoms of Bleph. I have been unrecognizable for the past 4 months. What has been my crux is the fact that I am not accustomed to ill health and didn't recognize my symptoms as an illness. All involved has attributed my illness to STRESS. I had to quite a job that worked me or I allowed myself to be worked approximately 3,200-3,400 hrs a year. The standard work year is 2,080 hrs. a year if working 40 hr. Weeks. Do the math, I had been working approx 1.5 years of work per year. Bad stress as a Manager dealing with Million dollar jets and their Owners! Did not realize what Stress can do to a human body that is infected with Staph.

    My immune system was strong enough as well as, how tenacious I am, enabling me to take my body to the brink. I hit the wall November of 2016 and had to quite. Staph was the true culprit masking itself inside my Stress...

    Key Note: With the aforementioned regime, which has been derived from countless hours of study and research done by me and the wonderful followers of this site has manifested "Extremely" Positive results from a culmination of procedures and regimes used by many! I recognize myself, the puffiness of eyes has reduced to the point of having to use more pressure on the eyecup to keep a seal around my eyes. I don't have the added spare tire around my eyeball to help act as rubber seal!

    I'm not sure if my first reply went, it kinda disappeared after dropping phone. I hope it was sent and not lost. I have an in depth preface for one single reason!!! DON'T GIVE UP! DON'T LOSE HOPE! PUT IN THE WORK AND FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHERS VIA THIS SITE!...

    Of course, Prayers really help as well!

    I will give follow-up and feedback as my regime progresses. Thus far, this regime has yielded more results than any of the five doses of Antibiotics that I have taken since my Emer visit in Feb.

    God Bless and in my Prayers!

    I go...

    Sincerely and Kindest Regards,

    Craig

    • Posted

      Dear Craig,

      I ended up with Candida using a lot of antibiotics. My father had C-diff 2 times and had to use a lot of probiotics to keep him alive and get well. I read about using them and diet on the Mayo online site.

      When I take antibiotics I take a high dose probiotic 2 hours after each dose of antibiotics. The probiotics are kept in the fridge and are costly. I go to Sprouts in the U S.

      Hope this info will help you,

      Lynda79

  • Posted

    Hello William!

    How do you use the wet ones? Do you rub your inside eyelids ass well, or only the outside eyelid? Eyes closed or opened?

    Thanks a lot. I hope you see this message.

    • Posted

      hello! i was reading this forum today a s wanted to respond since you posted recently TRY HONEY! honey cures my stubborn blephartitis with raw honey (didnt have manuka in the house) but do a little research on it.

      NOTHING else had worked for two months and it really stings for the first few treatments but its been four days now and my eyes are back to normal, i can hardly believe it. GOOD LUCK!

    • Posted

      Dear joaquin,

      You open your eyes to rub the bottom of the lashes and try not to get into the eyes. If you do, you will need to splash water in them and use your eye drops for lubrication of your dry eye after cleaning your lashes. The motion is a rubbing along the lash line. I did a little back and forth and moved along.

      The top lashes you need to close your eyes and do the same motion along the lash line.

      I did it about 4 times a day for the first week until my itching calmed down then went to 3 times a day for almost month then 2 times a day until it was dead. It takes a little over 3 months to kill it as .3% Benzethonium Chloride is not very strong.

      For those who cannot use the Wet Ones, antibacterial hand wipes, you can try antibiotics. I read that some online eye doctors were using the antibiotics in an "off label use". That meant they were using the eye drops that went in the eye --on the eye lashes.

      I had asked the doctor who gave me 3 times an eye antibiotic why would you put it in the eye is the problem was on the eye. He said some got on the lashes. I asked him this after I had killed the Blepharitis with the wipes. This would be expensive but not dangerous as the antibiotics go in the eye and are Ph balanced for the eye.

      Hope this information helps,

      Lynda79

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