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Things that are working for my Blepharitis

Posted , 5 users are following.

B-man32549
B-man32549

Hi guys.

      I've been dealing with Blepharitis for about a year now.  I've tried so many different forms of treatment, many of which I found on this forum (compresses, baby shampoo, coconut oil, eye drops and wipes).  My symptoms reached an all time low about a month ago.  My eyes were very red and swollen and I'd wake up with oily secretions.  I had recently switched to some ocusoft wipes that seemed to be working at first, but eventually made things worse.  So i decided to change things up.  I stopped the wipes and much of my cleaning routine.  I started taking 1200 mg of fish oil twice a day, along with an occasional salmon or tuna throughout the week to boost my omega-3s.  I began drinking a lot more water (around 8 -10 glasses a day).  And I started blinking A LOT, sometimes just holding my eyes closed for a while to rehydrate them.  I don't think I realised how dry my eyes were until I understood what hydrated eyes feel like.  They'd been so dry for so long that I'd just forgotten.  In any case, the inflamation has drastically improved.  My eyes still itch and burn occasionally, in which case I apply a warm compress to relieve them.  Outside of that though, it's been a complete turn around so far.

     I realise that this is a complicated condition that can have many different causes.  And my particular case is pretty mild compaired to others.  So I can only tell you what has worked for me so far. I do feel the need to share this though because Blepharitis SUCKS.  Best of luck.

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • lee12629
    lee12629 B-man32549

    Posted

    Hi,so youve ben on the fish oil about a month and its helped already? I had been taking them,then i stopped,i was taking 3 1000 a day. A few weeks ago I bought a higher grade fish oil. Its hgher grade,so now i take 2. Your post has inspired me to restart them. I had about 3 months of wonderfully clear vision,then i let up and now my eyes get dry and my vision blurry,hopeing the fish oil was what made my vision good last time,the warm compresses felt ok,but made my vision more filmy,this is such a guessing game i have mostly mgd but also occasionaly blepharitis on my outer lids,when i took the oil before my doc said it might take 3 months to see a difference,im hopeing for a clearer summer. I also dont drink nearly enough water. Xx
    • B-man32549
      B-man32549 lee12629

      Posted

      I had been taking a single 1200 mg pill every day long before I had this condition.  Then I read somewhere that people who have Blepharitis should be taking 1600 mg at the very least.  Now I take one in the morning and one at night for a combined 2400 mg a day.  That combined with water and blinking often seems to be working.  I can't garuntee anything, but it has helped me quite a bit with inflammation and redness.  Even if it doesn't help your symptoms, drinking enough water is always a good thing.

    • lee12629
      lee12629 B-man32549

      Posted

      Thats the dose i will be taking as well. These are stronger,my doc had said 3 but they were a lower dose. Im glad you are so much better. Fingers crossed i get better again to
    • B-man32549
      B-man32549 lee12629

      Posted

      Thank you and good luck! Hopefully what's working for me can help you in some way.  Even if combined with things you are already doing yourself.  (I misspelled guarantee earlier btw. Just correcting myself haha)

  • justine20681
    justine20681 B-man32549

    Posted

    thanks for info on fish oil...i only take 1000 so will up that. What blinking exercise do you do and how often?
    • B-man32549
      B-man32549 justine20681

      Posted

      Well I had read about this exercise that I believe is unrelated to Blepharitis that involves squeezing the eyelids closed tightly for a few seconds. I tried that once...don't do it. It is actually another thing that contributed to my symptoms reaching an all time low. It resulted in a blister that is finally starting to heal. But what I've been doing since is focusing on the feeling I get when I blink gently and deliberately. I hold them closed for a few seconds and my eyes get a warm hydrated feeling. I do this very often throughout the day. I don't have a set number of times that I do it. I think just increasing awareness of the feeling of blinking frequently helps me. Which is where drinking plenty of water comes in. Hydration is key. And i think ( from my vague understanding of blepharitis) it's more important to get those glands flowing naturally instead of squeezing eye drops in every time your eyes dry up. I've always thought I was drinking enough water throughout the day. I was wrong.

    • justine20681
      justine20681 B-man32549

      Posted

      thanks for good advice...have you tried the more natural remedies...tea tree oil, manuka honey etc...or just blinking, plenty water and fish oil...do you not do any hot compresses at all?
    • lee12629
      lee12629 justine20681

      Posted

      Personally the compresses often irritate my eyes,i probably should do them again,
    • B-man32549
      B-man32549 lee12629

      Posted

          I do the compress once a day now, usually in the morning because I still wake up with some crust on the eyes.  I also clean my eye lids and brows every other day in the shower gently and briefly with a very small amount of baby shampoo.  I am becoming a little suspicious of all the stuff I used to put on my lids.  Constantly rinsing and cleaning them may have actually made my eyes more dry.  But there seems to be a happy balance because obviously there are a lot of oils that can build up.

          I'm sure it depends on what is causing your particular Blepharitis though.  Tea tree oil I believe is good for mites and bacteria right? As well as treating inflammation? I've never tried it myself.  My suspicion is that the people who aren't responding well to these different forms of cleaning like wipes and tea tree oil might be unknowingly attempting to treat symptoms instead of the cause (which for me I believe was dry eyes). That might explain why some people respond well to various cleaning products while others don't.  People with mites or something along those lines would respond well while people with dry eyes might just make them more dry. I'm not a doctor or anything, so I don't know for sure... Just spitballing here.

    • lee12629
      lee12629 B-man32549

      Posted

      Hi again,i guess if the mgd is caused by o cular roseacea heard it can actually make it worse useing hot or warm compresses.,also my doctor said anyone with posterior bleph,aka mgd has dry eyes. Just quoteing him. He said mgd is one of the main causes of dry eye.
    • justine20681
      justine20681 lee12629

      Posted

      yes i think my Mgd causes dry eye. i don't get any of the crusting and looking at me i don't think you would know i had any eye issues but there is one corner of left upper eye lid i feel all the time. Thanks for your replies

    • B-man32549
      B-man32549 lee12629

      Posted

      Ok yeah that makes sense. I guess I'm just wondering if there could be a cyclical effect where the problem gets compounded through further dryness.

    • lee12629
      lee12629 B-man32549

      Posted

      I wouldnt doubt it,i imagine it really helps to irritate the inside of the lids when they are against a dry eye surface. I just wish it wasnt so complicated. A one size fits all treatment.
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