How I got my blepharitis/dry eye under control

Hi
My hospital consultant suggested Viscotears at night which can be bought over the counter or on prescription from the doctor.  It is thicker and I was told to use it all along the inside of my bottom eyelid before bed.  It is very good.   Lumecare is slightly thinner and is good too.  My eyes are very unstable and all these medications are useful at different times.   During the day I use Systane Ultra, just available over here from the states on the web, which leaves my vision clearer quicker and I find is more comforting than ordinarySystane, and celluvisc 0.5% vials (also suggested by my consultant)and available on prescription, which if you are using a lot of drops, in my case every 15 minutes sometimes, do not contain preservative.
I also use Alcan's eye cleansing wipes at night called Supranettes which are fantastic and have drastically reduced incidents of Blepharitis.  these can be bought on the web  
In the morning I heat my eyes with cotton balls in water that is as hot as I can bear to thin the eye secretions and then wipe a little very dilute baby shampoo across the eye from inside to outer with reasonable firmness with the same cotton wool.
All of the above has resulted in being able to live an almost normal life and being able to forget about my eyes for a great deal of the time.  Goods luck.

I battled with Blepharitis for nearly 5 years.  Tried everything and even though I lived in 3 different countries each under very different climates and conditions, etc., it stayed with me. 

Hi there all,

I am at my wits end with my Blepharitis, I've tried everything and anything but I haven't found anything to ease my eyes. They go very crusty on a morning, bloodshot and the eyelids go sore and red. I've tried the bathing and lid scrub, baby shampoo, cotton buds, warm towel compress, Anti allergy drops and tablets, optrex eyedrops, viscotears and 2 courses of Doxycilin. The only thing that has helped is the Maxitrol ointment which contains a mild steroid, which I have used alot, moreso than my specialist has advised but it's hard not to revert to it when my eyes just constantly flare up and give me so much grief. It does no good for my self confidence too, I find it hard to look at people knowing that they'll notice how red they are and ask "what's wrong with your eyes", wish I had a pound for every time I get asked that lol.
I just wonder why there is no immediate cure or operation to overcome this horrible affliction, surely there must be something.

Hi there I have had similar symptoms.. could not easily open my eyes and at night I put in lacri-lube prescribed the specialist that I saw.. and this is vaseline like that you put in your eyes overnight and is very soothing and stops all the sticking of the lids to the eyes for me anyway.. I also use a lot of the lumecare products for example the long lasting tear gel throughout the day once or twice and bathe my eye lids edges and lashes in very hot water with baby shampoo in them and it is a lot but it is worth it.. I have also used the lumecare herbal mask that you can heat in the microwave... hope that helps.. Sue

please note that Lumecare has recently developed a hypoallergenic lid-wipe. Designed to help clear away mucus and oil from eyelids, the wipes are drier than older lid-care, supranettes or blephaclean pre-moistened pads because they are optimised to remove material and not dribble solution into the eyes. The solution itself is very safe, contaning no preservatives, detergents/soaps or perfumes which might cause sensitivity or stinging in already "challenged" eyes. Please see the Lumecare LID-WIPE on the main Lumecare website homepage. www.lumecare.co.uk



Edited by claire - at 12:41pm

Hi Val - ive only had this horrid dry eye conditionfor a fortnight (brought on by dust, hormaones and having had a virus) and i have tried lots of gels and drops.  Im going to try clinitas ultra 3 but have just tried a trial warm salt water eyebath and it is so soothing. thankyou.  Please tell me what salt do you use, how much salt and how often each day ? 

Id be really interested to know any help form any people who have had very sudden onset of this dry eyes syndrme and the associated redness and pain ....im 42, am on hrt due to having had to lose my overies last year and do alot of screen work in a dry office environment in the week. ( i also have a cat and am wondering if maybe i shouldnt :(  )

Hi Val, thankyou so much for posting your solution....please tell me...what salt do you use, how much and how often do you do the eye bath ?  i have just done a trial one and its very soothing indeed !    Im going to try clinitas ultra 3 drops too. 

Id be really interetsted in finding out other remedies from anyone........as mine has been a very sudden onset of this dry eye syndrome, following a cold.  i think i have lots of contributory factors too - as im 42, am on hrt (no ovaries had to have it all taken away last year), am on BP meds, work in a dry aircon office, and have allergy to dust.  i also have a cat and wonder if he might not help to condition.   Its been a bad week or two and im hoping it will go away as fast as it came, but i can hoestly say i am miserable with the pain.  

I dont feel so alone now that i have joined this forum xxxxx