Recently my baby brought back conjunctivitis from nurser...
Posted , 3 users are following.
Recently my baby brought back conjunctivitis from nursery and gave it to me. It seemed to get worse and worse so I eventually went to see the doctor who gave me some Chloramphenicol ointment. It didn't seem to do much for me but the doctor said my conjunctivitis was gone and I had blepharitis. He just referred me to this website for advice. I tried the washing and hygene routine but it just seemed to aggravate the condition. I tried rubbing the Chloramphenicol ointment into the eyelids as well as putting it in the eye but that only made them itch more.
I tried doing absolutely nothing, i.e. not touching the eyes with anything at all, including my fingers, for about three days but that didn't work. I tried using Savlon antiseptic cream and also Golden Eye eye drops on the eyelids but they didn't do much. After having read the comment about Arnica 30 I went to Boots and bought some Arnica 30c pills. At the same time I decided to try a different antiseptic cream, Germolene with local aneasthetic, to see if this was any better than Savlon. I've been taking the Arnica pills and using the Germolene on my eyelids four times a day for about four days now and there has been a huge improvement.
Putting Germolene on my eyes is the only thing I've done with them over this time, i.e. no washing, etc. I'm hopeful for a full recovery now! What I've learnt from this is that all antiseptic creams are not the same. Savlon and Germolene are really the same type of cream but Savlon was useless and Germolene appears to be really effective. Germolene gives instant relief as well as it really helps the itching. I've no idea whether it is the Arnica pills, the Germolene, or both thats having the effect but certainly the combination of the two appears to be working.
Doctors may frown on putting antiseptic creams on the eyelid, so close to the eye however I've had no problems at all with the Germolene. With the Savlon I accidently got some in the eye and it really stung but with the Germolene it's been fine. From what people have said it is unlikely the Arnica and Germolene combination will work for everyone as it sounds like there are lots of different types and severities of blepharitis. If you've been trying to get rid of this awful condition for years though it's definitely worth a try, particularly as there's not significant expense involved.
[i:51f050f3cb]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:51f050f3cb]
0 likes, 3 replies
Guest
Posted
[i:c8162a58cb]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:c8162a58cb]
Kevin1
Posted
After the above posts I stuck to the normal advice for Blepharitis of using a flannel soaked in warm water morning and night followed by washing with a mixture of baby shampoo and water. This appeared to help sometimes but never got rid of it completely. After a while I started trying the application of other things to the eyelids to see if they helped. Over the years I tried the following:
Tea tree cream
Castor oil
Sudocrem
Germolene (again)
Various moisturisers
Lamisil athletes foot cream
Fusidic acid antibiotic skin cream
Each time I tried one of these though it appeared to work initially and then it got worse again afterwards. Actually in most cases what was happening here was that the substance was controlling any infection or reducing the inflammation, but then the skin was reacting due to the repeated use. I tried really hard not to rub my eyelids but always after a few days the itching became so intense that I never could resist, and it always felt so much better afterwards. No matter what I did it always seemed that the condition was gradually getting worse even though some days or weeks it seemed to be better than others. I even considered Chinese medicine and acupuncture, but never managed to try it. I never considered going back to the doctor, as during my initial appointment he was very adament that it was Blepharitis and all I could do was follow the general advice in the leaflet he gave me and on the internet.
During a routine eye test at the opticians I mentioned it and the optician surprised me by saying that I definitely didn't have Blepharitis. He said he'd seen Blepharitis before and it didn't look like what I had. He thought it was some other skin condition and advised me to go back to the doctors. I told him that from the information I'd read I understood Blepharitis was a generic term for any inflammation of the eyelids, but he thought of it as something much more specific and only affecting the area within a couple of milimeters around the eyelashes. I didn't go back to the doctors but what the optician said really got me thinking. The soreness on my eyelids had mainly been in the area from about 1mm above the eyelashes to just below the eyebrows. I didn't have sticky eyelashes, dry eyes or crusts on the eyelashes that other people have mentioned as being part of this condition. This then led me to start questioning whether I was doing the right thing following the available advice for Blepharitis.
We know that skin has it's own healing process where any wounds initially weep fluid that forms a scab. This then dries out and hardens to protect the damaged tissue underneath allowing it to heal with less risk from infection. By using the warm compress morning and night though what I was actually doing was interfering with the natural skin healing process. Any fluid or scabs that started to form were softened and washed away, giving the skin no chance to heal properly. In the mean time the periodic rubbing and scratching was gradually taking more and more off the remaining skin so it got to a point where it seemed there really wasn't much left. I never really questioned before whether the compresses and washing were doing any harm as it always seemed to feel better afterwards (as it's the healing process material which often causes the itching). Around March 2010 I changed my strategy for dealing with this and I stopped the twice daily compresses and washing. Every night I would alternate between the application of Tea tree cream, Sudocrem and Germolene. This I believe was helpful in aiding the skin to heal and keeping any bacteria and fungus away, and alternating the different products I believe helped to stop the skin reacting adversely to repeated use. Also when my
lynda79
Posted
A friend and myself have been able to completely kill Blepharitis with an antibacterial agent.
My friend's Blepharitis moved up from her eyelashes onto her eyelids. That is the reason she found what killed it. She used a facial scrub with Benzethonium Chloride in it. It was no longer for sale when I looked so I look on line and found that WET ONES, antibacterial hand wipes with Benzethonium Chloride in them, and started using them and it took almost 4 months but it is something I no longer have.
I tore each wipe into 8 sections and used 2 on each eyelash area 4 times a day for 1-2 weeks. Then went down to 3 times a day for a month (eyes felt so much better). Then 2 times a day for several months and then it was gone. It did itch 1-2 times again. I jumped on it with the wipes for a day or two and then it was gone for good.
This is a bacterial infection and that is why these work. he relief is felt really soon.
I would have tried anything to get rid of this if I had not found out what killed it.
Wishing you the relief we now have.
Lynda79