Treatment info for Blepharitis

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Has anyone found treatment info specifically for Blepharitis? I'm told the same old things like "scrub with baby shampoo" and I'm not getting any better.

I'm frustrated and hope that some doctor somewhere has studied this terrible condition - and just want to find the answers!

Thank you,

Oliver, London

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  • Posted

    Hi Everyone...

    i was was advised by an optician in boots to use blephasol solution... Use the solution as opposed to the wipes it's around £10 and worked wonders for me. It's been over 6 months since I've had a flare up. Use it during a flare up to clean the eyes with using a cotton pad and after just as maintenance once a week... I also used a 5% urea cream on the lid to help combat the dryness on top... Worked wonders... That was the eucerin replenishing face cream. Touch wood I haven't had a flare up in ages but as soon as I feel one may be coming up I use both products to prevent it. I would highly recommend you try and the shampoo eye baths did not help me at all 

  • Posted

    Also, keep using moisture eye drops 
  • Posted

    To Oliver and everyone,

    I just found out today that the wipes in the UK have .3% Benzalkonium Chloride in them. I used the US ones and they have .03% Benzethonium Chloride in them. That is a huge difference.

    Please use the safer ones sold on-line. I am so glad someone told me the difference.

    Thinking of everyone,

    Lynda79

    • Posted

      Oops Lynda  I have just realised that I am using the wrong wipes I am using the ones with Benzalkonium Chloride in them (blue packet UK).

      I have been using them for 2 weeks, twice a day and the last few days my eyelids/rims are not so red or my eyes so bloodshot.  However, I will not stop using it because clearly it is the wrong thing and look out for the other ones.

      Lynda thank you so much for your informative messages they have helped me enormously with this ghastly condition.  Thank you. Carol

    • Posted

      Dear Carol V,

      Honjon, on this site, used the UK wipes with Benzalkonium Chloride in them and it worked too. I have seen the ingredients but can't seem to read the English (real kind in England) chemist info. I don't know if it is the same ratio or not. I do know they are both Quats. In fact, it was his info that got me started looking what was the reason they both worked. I found that some would be allergic too.

      People have been ordering them online (the ones with Benzethonium Chloride in them).

      I just can tell what worked for me and my friend who used the facial scrub with Benzethonium Chloride in it. Check out Honjon's information.

      Perhaps, others can tell you how those wipes worked for them.

      Wish you well soon.

      Lynda79

  • Posted

    Hi Oliver & everyone else I do not live in the UK I live in Las Vegas Nevada USA & very recently I was diagnosed with chronic dry eye unfortunately the only treatment to get the swelling & the pain down is steroids which I am deathly allergic to but we tried them anyway, I had a severe allergic reaction. So I don't know any alternative. I just take ibuprofen every day to help with the swelling I have a patch I wear over my rt eye it is so severe with allergies & now dry eye, it's so red & never stops watering, light hurts & there's a kleenex that's soaked thru in about 20 minutes under the patch. I have preservatives free OTC drops they burn too, water burns. I can't believe what I'm reading that putting shampoo in your eyes is supposed to help? I would scream. So if anyone out there knows maybe a natural remedy because steroids requires an EpiPen injection for me that's how bad it is. I know dry eye is due to severe allergies. I'm born & raised in Vegas I've had 3 separate drs tell me I need to leave the state in order to be healthy because I am allergic to every single thing that grows in Vegas. I'm only 38 but my allergies kicked way up this last year & as a result, I was diagnosed with asthma, severe allergies, now chronic dry eye. Moving is not an option. I am on permanent disability & I'm under the care of at least 20 different drs I can't drive I live with my parents. I can't just leave town as much as I wish that I could.There is a prescription for Restasis but its only for the dry eye, it doesn't help with the swelling or the pain & you really can't treat the dry eye until the swelling & pain has gone down which mine doesn't so if anyone has any suggestions my dr doesn't even know what to do because every single product contains steroids. Any suggestions comments would be appreciated. I am miserable. Hoping maybe somebody in the UK has actually gotten help from a dr for a treatment the US just doesn't have yet. I'm out of options.
    • Posted

      Dear kitkat,

      You could be allergic to the preservative in the steriods. It is called BAK (Benzalkonium Chloride.

      Whatever you do, do not use the hand wipes that contain Benzethonium Chloride.  This is the same thing almost called Quats and it is probably what you are allergic to.

      When I took my Dad to the eye Dr. he mentioned that. My Dad uses steroids for the eye.

      I have given several Dr.s the info on the antibiotic that I think will work on Blepharitis. I think it will have to be a Dr. in another country that will do something about it.

      I will post the info next month after I try a couple of more doctors and each person can take it to their Dr. and see what they think.

      Sorry you are having such a terrible time.  Blepharitis is caused by Staphylococcus. Ask your Dr. what antibiotic will kill Staphylococcus on the surface of your eyelash area.

      Let me know what he says.

      I will give you my information. I live in the US too.

      Thinking of you,

      Lynda79

       

    • Posted

      Hi lynda79,

       Thank you for your response. I do not use any kind of hand wipes at all I carry antibacterial stuff with me everywhere I wash my hands with it but I don't use any wipes on my hands.

      My chronic dry eye is due to severe allergies & I was already on drops for the allergies & when I went to get glasses at a different eye dr she diagnosed me with chronic dry eye I actually have scratches on my cornea.

      Long story short every time they put you under for surgery they tape your eyes shut which stops all production of tears which can cause a corneal abrasion & did.

       I am extremely limited I only have 2 antibiotics I can take that I won't react to. I'm allergic to sulfa steroids prednisone & I'm immune to everything else.

      I filled the Restasis today & instantly my eyes went from blood red to white & you can use the Refresh Optive Advanced preservative free which means no steroids 15 minutes after the Restasis. I can already feel & see the difference so I'm hoping this is the combo I need but being allergic to everything & the brutal wind we've had in Vegas for weeks now all it takes is one little speck in my eye.

      It would've been nice to know every single vial has a # on it so you can keep track. The dr said to give it two weeks and if its not better I have to go back in but she doesn't know anything else to do because I am severely allergic to any kind of steroids & a lifetime of antibiotics, I'm immune to Everything. 

      Also last night I put in the Refresh overnight drops that are made up of mineral oil and petroleum basically I put vaseline in my eye & it helped so if I can get these three things together to work I may have a chance. 

      But I still don't know about ever being allowed to work contacts again I've worn them since I was 12 years old which gave me the GPC. "Giant papillary conjunctivitis, commonly referred to as GPC, is a condition in which the inner lining of the eyelid becomes inflamed and small bumps develop. These small bumps -- known as papillae often form in response to some type of chronic irritation, like wearing contact lenses. In GPC, the bumps grow and combine, forming very large bumps that sometimes resemble a cobblestone appearance. People with GPC complain of redness, whitish discharge, light sensitivity and eye itching that is worse when they remove their contact lenses." Mine is BAD. I've only been in glasses 1yr. They gave me massive migraines at 12, so I'm wearing them now, no choice,  having to deal with headaches again & I desperately want my contacts back. But I know for a fact my chronic dry eye came because of severe allergies GPC & having my eyes taped shut too many times to count. My eyes finally said Enough..

    • Posted

      I hope you didn't take what I say as a criticism or that I know more than you I come off harsh sometimes its just a Sagittarius trait. I don't mince my words but maybe Restasis could help your dad too my eyes feel amazing 2 hours after putting them in, my eyes are still white. They feel cool no burning or itching so I hope you don't think I was trying to educate you in any way.

       I greatly appreciate what you said to me. The way I found out I was allergic to steroids was from an allergist he called at 10 o'clock that night after I had taken only one pill to tell me my thyroid levels were dangerously high which he exaggerated because when I got to an endocrinologist I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism but it was nowhere near high enough to be concerned & now after 6 failed synthetic prescriptions I got on something called Nature-throid which is 100% natural I believe it's made from pigs & my thyroid is perfect now. 

      Anyway my mom was holding a trash can in front of me I was sitting on the throne he was on speaker I made sure he heard everything. When I went to see him the next day & refused to keep taking steroids he dropped me as a patient?! SERIOUSLY!! Sags are  a fire sign, this was only my 2nd visit after he stabbed my back with 60 allergens. I did not go gently into that good night. I went out into the waiting room and told everybody he just let me go because I refused to take something that forced me to take an EpiPen to counteract it. My dad backed me up too. We had to be escorted out but enough people there much older than me were quite mad so my job was done. 

      When it comes to my health I don't just trust doctors he was wrong I was right and I knew it.The only good thing he did was get me to a pulmonologist who told me you've been sick your whole life because you have asthma. Sinusitis, upper resp infection bronchitis bronchial pneumonia pneumonia walking pneumonia none of that would have happened if any dr from the age of 2 up would have ever cared to treat me with anything other than antibiotics. 

      The next time I was in the hospital they gave me a steroid thru the IV within 10 seconds they were calling a code blue, while my mom watched, I got an epi for that too. Think nurse got fired, better than what my mom wanted to do to her. 

      The next time I had a spinal injection I begged & begged & begged I put my surgery back 3 hours are you sure I won't react yes yes yes these are different. They were different alright, they almost killed me! When they inject them in your spine it takes a month to go where it needs to go so they literally sat in that one spot & they destroyed it the MRI of my back shows a mess of arthritis of an 80 yr old woman because of what they did. They tried to blame ME saying I was too sensitive! That mass looks like a roll of yarn & can never be healed. 

      I have so many witnesses so many people heard me say I'm allergic to steroids are you sure these won't react so I had to make frequent trips to the ER to get an epi shot I had to take benadryl every 2 hours nose sprays throat sprays inhaler everything for 30 days until it finally was out of my system.

       I tried the Lotemax drops for my eyes just one time within 30 minutes again severe allergic reaction so any kind of steroids can actually kill me & being blamed for the mess in my back I could honestly sue. You don't blame the patient when the patient knows more than the dr clearly. 

      So Restasis doesn't have anything bad in it & I thought it would only take care of the lubrication but it was like watching a movie I had the mirror on my eyes I watched the red magically disappear & I can see the whites of my eyes again you can only take it every 12 hrs but this is the 1st time in 3-4 mos where I'm not wearing a patch with a Kleenex under it to collect all the fluid so I hope this works. I have Medicare & extra help from Medicaid so it was only $6 for me if it was more my parents would pay it anyway to help me.

      So I just don't want to come off like I know more than you or anyone else does I just know for a fact there's nothing in my eyelashes its all from years of wearing contacts severe allergies GPC & this last surgery taping my eyes shut. The doctor said this is the worst year she has ever seen because the temperature goes from severe cold to severe hot and that's all it takes. She's treated so many Las Vegans who were born and raised here and all of a sudden have severe allergies like me and its just gonna get worse so I just hope this works. When I went in they thought I had pink eye but I didn't I would much rather have pink eye than something with the word chronic in front of it again

      I would still be interested in knowing the name of the antibiotic. I am also very into holistic alternative medicine because I am so sick of taking pills I looked online for alternative remedies I couldn't find anything so I really hope this works and I hope someone reads this & Restasis will work for them too..

    • Posted

      Dear Kitkat,

      I didn't take anything you said anyway except the way you meant it. I was so sorry that you had these problems.

      Yes, you do need to be the master of your problems too.

      I had a friend who had cancer and she was so sick from the chemo that she bought a chemical book to find out why. Ended up that she lost 50 pounds and the Dr.didn't reduce the dose of medicine.

      He told her "You are going to die anyway." Well, she lived 30 years with stage 4 bone cancer. That is about suspressing her hormones and not feeding the cancer. She went to cancer research Dr.

      So I do know what you mean. She was my best friend.

      I'll post that info on the antibiotic soon but the Dr.s in US are not really interested in cure. It will have to come from a country who the medical profession will save money with a cure. Hope it is the UK.

      Next time, as I have to draft a short version of the information to post up.

      I am glad that something is helping you a little.

      Thinking of you,

      Lynda79

       

    • Posted

      My eye doctor prescribes me opTl mel  antibacterial Manuka+eye gel and a eye hydrating mask the brand name Bruner I hope this helps it works for me 
    • Posted

      sorry spelling mistake brand name is bruder
  • Posted

    Dear kitkat,

    I used an antibacterial hand wipe and killed my Blepharitis. I wanted to make sure that you did not use that method as the preserative in the Steroids is what killed the Blepharits and you cannot use that. A friend used a facial scrub with Benzethonium Chloride in it first and killed her Blepharitis.

    After a few were allergic to the wipes or the lanolin in the wipes I started looking for the antibiotic. I knew Doxycycline worked orally on Blepharitis, just not why.

    Here is my research that I have 3 times reduced down to a size to post.

    Staphylococcal blepharitis thought to be caused by a bacterium (germ) called staphylococcus.

    Benzethonium Chloride (US) and Benzalkonium Chloride (UK) are Quats. These are the ingredients that are in the antibacterial hand wipes that kill Blepharitis.

    Quats are effective in destroying a broad spectrum of harmful microorganisms. One is staphylococcus.

    Quat-based disinfectants carry a positive charge. Bacteria, viruses and fungi carry a negative charge.

    This results in the disruption of the bacteria cell wall and eventual death to the microbe.

    However, even in the case of these relatively easy to kill pathogens quats often require a contact time upwards of 10 minutes to do so.

    {I did not rinse the eyelashes after applying the antibacterial hand wipes.}

    Bacteriostatic antibiotics

    Bacteriostatic antibiotics limit the growth of bacteria by interfering with bacterial protein production, DNA replication, or other aspects of bacterial cellular metabolism. They must work together with the immune system to remove the microorganisms from the body. However, there is not always a precise distinction between them and bactericidal antibiotics; high concentrations of some bacteriostatic agents are also bactericidal, whereas low concentrations of some bacteriocidal agents are bacteriostatic.

    Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum semisynthetic tetracycline.1 Doxycycline is bacteriostatic, inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis due to disruption of transfer RNA and messenger RNA at ribosomal sites.

    Both of these (Doxycycline and the antibacterial hand wipes) work by disruption of the cell on contact. This is an article showing the dental application of Doxycycline. A topical application.

     

    Dental Information

    Please note: Anaerobic includes staphylococcus species

     

    1In vitro testing has shown that Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Campylobacter rectus, and Fusobacterium nucleatum, which are associated with periodontal disease, are susceptible to doxycycline at concentrations ≤ 6.0 µg/mL.2 A single-center, single-blind, randomized, clinical study in 45 subjects with periodontal disease demonstrated that a single treatment with ATRIDOX® resulted in the reduction in the numbers of P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, C. rectus, F. nucleatum, Bacteroides forsythus, and E. corrodens in subgingival plaque samples. Levels of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were also reduced after treatment with ATRIDOX®. The clinical significance of these findings, however, is not known. During these studies, no overgrowth of opportunistic organisms such as Gram-negative bacilli and yeast were observed. However, as with other antibiotic preparations, ATRIDOX® therapy may result in the overgrowth of nonsusceptible organisms including fungi. (See PRECAUTIONS)

    Pharmacokinetics

    In a clinical pharmacokinetic study, subjects were randomized to receive either ATRIDOX® covered with Coe-Pak™ periodontal dressing (n=13), ATRIDOX® covered with Octyldent™ periodontal adhesive (n=13), or oral doxycycline (n=5) (according to package dosing instructions). The doxycycline release characteristics in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), saliva, and serum were evaluated.

    Doxycycline levels in GCF peaked (~1,500 µg/mL and ~2000 µg/mL for Coe-Pak™ and Octyldent™ groups, respectively) 2 hours following treatment with ATRIDOX®. These levels remained above 1000 µg/mL through 18 hours, at which time the levels began to decline gradually. However, local levels of doxycycline remained well above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC90) for periodontal pathogens (≤ 6.0 µg/mL)2 through Day 7. In contrast, subjects receiving oral doxycycline had peak GCF levels of ~2.5 µg/mL at 12 hours following the initial oral dosing with levels declining to ~0.2 µg/mL by Day 7. High variability was observed for doxycycline levels in GCF for both oral and ATRIDOX® treatment groups.

     

    What I got from this is that Doxycycline applied topically reduced the anaerobic bacteria (Staphylococcus Species) just like the wipes did. It took several months but the wipes did kill the Staphylococcus. Antibiotics may take less time judging from the dental application of Doxycycline.

    For those who cannot use the wipes, this may be something to look into. A chemist or Dr. would be the one to tell you the right amount for the eye.

    These wipes did not go into the eye. This antibiotic would not go into the eye. Just put on the eyelashes to kill the Staphylococcus.

    There may even be other antibiotics that are safe to put on the eyelashes that would kill Staphylococcus. A Dr. or chemist needs to be consulted.

     If this makes sense to you please let me know.

    Thinking of you,

    Lynda79

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Posted

    lynda can i ask you some questoins about this?
    • Posted

      Dear drewlizard,

      The Quats (that is what is in the wet ones wipes, US and UK).

      They work by disription of the cell wall and eventual death to the microbe.

      I took Doxycycline (orally) and it helped my Blepharitis. Two doctors said it helps but they do not know why. When I looked up the information on Doxycycline I found that if applied topically (like in the dentist application) it has an affect on staphylococcus (which is an

      anaerobic bacteria).

      How it works is similar to the Quats. It says it inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis due to disruption of transfer RNA and messenger RNA at ribosomal sites.

      This could be the antibiotic that works if appled on the eyelashes.

      For those who are allergic to the wipes, they need an antibiotic.

      There could be others too.

      I don't really know much about micro science. I have just done research on the Bleparitis as to why people are allergic.

      If this has not answered your questions let me know. There hae been several doctors who are interested but nothing yet has come of it.

      Thinking of you,

      Lynda79

    • Posted

      Dear drewlizard,

      From your comment on the other site I get the feeling that you are working for the little mermaid.

      Just because there is a cure for 1 disease of the eye does not mean it will cure all eye diseases. Just as ulcers and stomach cancer can be a thing of the past for the majority, it  does not mean all illness is gone. Plenty to go around. These wipe are over the counter cure for 80% of people with staphylococcus  infections.

      Below is my take on an antibiotic for this problem too.

      Hope this information does help you.

      Lynda79

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