BLEPHARITIS

Blepharitis is a chronic inflammation of the eyelids and eyelashes.  It is one of the most common problems seen in eye clinics and affects both adults and children.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?                                                                         

Commonly, the eyelid margins are red, with flakiness visible at the base of the eyelashes. There may be irritation along with the redness, burning and itching of the eyelid margins and a feeling of a “something in the eye”. On awakening in the morning, the eyelids may be sticky and encrusted.  This is caused by an oily discharge from the glands in the eyelid. Untreated, these glands may become blocked and infected, which can lead to recurrent styes, Dry Eye Syndrome and a loss of eyelashes.

HOW IS BLEPHARITIS MANAGED?                                                                              

To minimise the effect of blepharitis, patients are advised to clean their eyelids on a regular basis, initially twice a day and then, as the condition settles, once or twice a week.  Fill an eggcup with boiled water (i.e. sterile water) and allow it to cool down before adding a drop of Johnson's baby shampoo and mixing with sterile cotton bud.  Use this solution  to clean the lid margin (where the eyelashes come out of the lids) to  remove all all the crusty material from the lid margin.  This crusty material is covered with the body’s natural skin flora and also bacteria, and it these that secrete the chemicals that irritate the eye.  The use of the lid hygiene reduces the amount of bacteria present and hence reduces, or even removes, the irritation that the patients are experiencing.

PERFORMING AN EYELID SCRUB:

STEP 1 Wash your hands with soap and water.

STEP 2 Place a small amount of baby shampoo in the palm of your hand.*

Pour some warm water onto this and mix the two together with a clean cotton swab. (This can also be done using cooled boiled water in an egg cup as explained above).

STEP 3 Pull down your lower eyelid and, with the cotton swab, rub the solution back and

forth across your eyelashes and the edge of your eyelid. Make sure that you use a different cotton bud for each eye.

STEP 4 Rinse with clear cool water. Repeat steps 1-4 on your other eye.

Lid hygiene can be discontinued when signs and symptoms stop, but should be resumed if there is any recurrence.  When symptoms are present, the use of artificial tears will make the eyes more comfortable and will also wash away any irritants secreted by the organisms on the lid.  

* NOTE:  A small percentage of patients are sensitive to Baby Shampoo.  These patients should use a pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda in the sterile solution or a commercial preparation such as Lid Care (Ciba Vision TM) instead.

(click here to see videos of lid scrub and blepharitis )