subject: Unique Blepharitis Treatment [print this page] Many people have at one time or another suffered inflamed eyelids, with swelling and redness of the eyelid rims.
Although considered a minor disease, blepharitis can still cause great inconvenience to you. Its most common symptoms include burning or stinging sensation in your eye, itchiness in the eyelids and crusty formations on your eyelashes. Foreign body sensation and high sensitivity to light may also be experienced, as in dry eye syndrome. Blepharitis symptoms feel much worse in the morning.
Types of Blepharitis
The common culprit in blepharitis is a local infection by Staphylococcus bacteria. The problem usually originates in the base of the eyelashes, causing the build up of dry, scaly concretions. Your eyelid tissues may be hypersensitive to toxins secreted by the staph bacteria, leading to inflammation of the inner lining.
The skin problem called seborrhoea, or seborrheic dermatitis, can also cause blepharitis (thus the term seborrheic blepharitis). Seborrheic blepharitis is usually somewhat milder than staphylococcal blepharitis. Seborrhoea appears to produce excess lipids, which convert into fatty acids that irritate the skin. An eyelid irritated by seborrhoea on its skin can develop blepharitis.
Another form of blepharitis is a breakdown in the meibomian glands (called meibomian gland dysfunction or MGD). These glands secrete the lipids that comprise the outer layer of your tear film. The fatty layer helps to keep tear evaporation at a slower rate. The glands be clogged or otherwise cannot produce the needed lipids. On occasion, this progresses to inflammation and, as a result, blepharitis. Elderly people, who have a long history of eye conditions, have a higher risk for developing blepharitis caused by MGD and seborrhoea.
Treatment
There is no known cure for blepharitis of any origin. Your best approach is to manage the disease together with your eye doctor.
You must take pains to cleanse the eyelid frequently. Moisten a clean cloth in a dilute solution of warm water and baby shampoo, and use it to clean the eyelid. Scrub the lid with the cloth to detach accumulated discharge and dried up debris. You remove breeding ground for bacteria when you scrub away the debris. Scrubbing also has the beneficial effect of encouraging, giving added protection to the tear film and relieving dry eye symptoms as tear evaporation slows down. For good measure, you may want to gently (but firmly) massage the eyelids for further stimulation of the affected glands.
When a blepharitis outbreak is still raging, frequent scrubbing of the eyelids must be done until the symptoms improve. Months of cleansing may be necessary.
In staphylococcal blepharitis, your doctor may prescribe topical antibiotics to be applied to the eyelids and lid margins. In severe cases, the ophthalmologist may recommend topical steroids but will caution you that prolonged steroid use will expose the eye to higher risk of glaucoma and cataract formation.
If you are interested to try alternative treatment, you can consider folk medicine methods using castor oil to address the inflammation brought on by blepharitis.
Castor oil has substantial amounts of ricinoleic acid, which helps to control the inflammation. For this reason, a number of pharmaceutical products utilise castor oil in emulsion or in combination with cyclosporine. Increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids can also help manage the inflammation.
by: Jeremy Brennen
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