Hoped to NEVER Post In This Area!

[Lookout]

After having rosacea for over 10yrs now I was hoping it was limited to my entire face and not my eyes too!

The last few weeks my eyes are joining in the fun.....what joy!

I have the sticky crusty flakey looking gunk around my eyelashes also notice in the mornings all around my under eye area has that flakey skin look also....this is really depressing.

I feel like I want to "itch" my eye lids but I do my best not to.

I haven't been wearing any eyelash products or eye makeup......so as a beginner in this area.....can anyone give me some easy to try pointers to keep my eyelashes/lids under control?

I am due for my yr. eye exam soon and will let the doc know I am experiencing this now also........do I need to be on any special meds for this? or just proper cleansing?

Thanks....

[boyandhisdog]

Hey Lookout-
There are any number of people more educated on this subject than I but before you get too worked up- you might want to take an antihistamine for a few days. It could just be allergies.

Just trying to offer you an easy solution to what is hopefully only a temporary, minor inconvenience. I will hope for the best for you.

Rob

[Melissa W]

Hi Darlene,

Hopefully this is just the beginning of bleph as it is a new symptom for you so no big problems yet.

I would recommend an eyelid scrub to gently cleanse your lid margins in the evening before bed and in the morning before awakening. That should take care of that issue and perhaps that will be enough.

Read the ocular resources sticky when you get a chance to get a better understanding of it all.

Sorry you are having this problem now but as I said it may not lead to anything big.

Best wishes,
Melissa

[Melissa W]

http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosa...ad.php?t=15902

http://www.cme.ufl.edu/selfstudy/ethis/blepharitis.pdf

[Lookout]

Thanks for the info.....I should have seen this coming....I have been loosing lashes for awhile now....I also have been noticing for weeks that nasty crusty stuff....esp in the mornings.

I don't think it's allergies.....don't have any other than to sulfa....wouldn't taking something like claritin to see be okay or would that dry out my eyes more? Maybe that's a good thing....I don't know at this point!

After reading some of this info.....I probably have had the predispostion of getting this for a long time....as a youngster I can remember my eyes just being glued shut in the morning from all that gunk! YUK....thought I had grown out of that or that it was happening back then cause I was sick.....funny my sons have been sick with colds/flu and never have they had this happen (thank GOD) so this might have been one of my very 1st rosacea symptoms when I was as young as 4 (that's as young as I can remember!)......

It's not bad like those photos.....so I am going to get the warm water compresses going and look into those lid washes too.....

To anyone that has this....are you able to wear contacts??

I just have a mild burning sensation at present.....usually it's my face that's burning but that's not burning just my eyes are abit lately.

Thanks to anyone for help and suggestions....I will keep reading the posts and info here.....then I will bring this up at my eye exam....but that's just at a local eye place do I need to see a different doctor for this?

This is a pain

[boyandhisdog]

Any over the counter anti-histamine like Claritin or Zyrtec for example (or the generic equivalents which are much cheaper) shouldn't do much in the way of drying you out and some people with Rosacea benefit in other ways from their regular use. If they add the "D" designator for decongestant, then it is much more likely to do so (dry you out that is).

That said, the morning "gunk" can just be one of a couple of things- it can be an allergy- even if all you thought in the past you were allergic to was sulfa. In addition, it can be a reaction to dry eye at least from what I understand, and with the winter weather, that is entirely possible.

I hope the simplest explanation works out.

Rob

[J-Mill]

After having rosacea for over 10yrs now I was hoping it was limited to my entire face and not my eyes too!

The last few weeks my eyes are joining in the fun.....what joy!

I have the sticky crusty flakey looking gunk around my eyelashes also notice in the mornings all around my under eye area has that flakey skin look also....this is really depressing.

I feel like I want to "itch" my eye lids but I do my best not to.

I haven't been wearing any eyelash products or eye makeup......so as a beginner in this area.....can anyone give me some easy to try pointers to keep my eyelashes/lids under control?

I am due for my yr. eye exam soon and will let the doc know I am experiencing this now also........do I need to be on any special meds for this? or just proper cleansing?

Thanks....

Sorry to hear about this.

My eyes have never been the same since getting laser surgery 10 years ago so I feel your pain. I should have known better though, I had allergy related eye issues before and they were certainly made worse by the surgery. On the plus side I had 7 years of no corrective eyewear which mader my long distance running much easier.

The good news is that low dose doxy is supposed to be very effective if it is ocular rosacea. Fingers crossed that you are just having an anomolous bout of bleph. from an allergy or something related to dry weather.

[Melissa W]

You can probably wear contact lenses Darlene but you might want to switch to a brand that is good for keeping your eyes well hydrated/moisturised. Also a daily disposable might be a good idea. I love putting in a clean pair of contact lenses every day and not bothering with solutions and cleaning.

[Lookout]

Okay I just got back from picking up my doggie at the beauty shop and picked up the lid scrub stuff.......I know I probably should have done a warm compress soak first but hey I wanted to try these.....they are sorta rough but I beieve that helps in getting rid of the "gunk" and the burning is much much better.

I may retry the Oracea......I can't tolerate most all antibiotics....this is a huge problem for me.....I have 4 bottles of the Oracea so I'll retry it and see if I can tolerate it.

My throat and tonsils have been hurting also....maybe it's connected to this gunk on my eyelids too for all I know!

I was already super sick this yr so I refuse to get flu or cold again until next yr..... I am not sure why my throat/tonsils are hurting but I will keep using my Listerine and see.

I like the idea of daily disposable contacts.....that's the way to go....I'll have to test out a few brands as last yr my Doc gave me Oasis ones and I couldn't tolerate them at all......which brand are you using Melissa?

Thanks everyone

[Melissa W]

Darlene,
It sounds as if you have an infection which may account for the gunk at your lash margins. It may be bacterial in nature. What color is it? (Sorry I know that is gross)

What lid scrubs are you using? I know brighteyes hates what I am using and is using something she says is very gentle and soft. I think it is theralid but cannot remember for sure.

I am using one day Acuvue but I have been using that since they came out LOL many years ago and I understand there are even better ones on the market. I believe Acuvue has made a one day called moist which is supposed to be good for dry eyes but I have never tried it.

Anyway, if this is due to a bacterial infection (ie cold, etc) you may not even have ocular rosacea anyway! Just be sure not to reuse the contact lenses you are wearing now as they can reinfect your eyes.

Best wishes,
Melissa