Blepharitis

Meibomian gland dysfunction

Remember that no advice on the internet can or should replace your health professional. Consult your doctor and follow his recommendations.

You’ve probably never heard of blepharitis unless you suffer from it or know someone who is suffering from blepharitis. But what is blepharitis? It is a chronic inflammation of the eyelid margins that contain the meibomian glands. These small glands on the eyelid margin produce a lipid very necessary in the composition of your tears. This lipid, which happens to be the last layer of your tear film plays a crucial role in the stability of your tears. Indeed, the meibomian lipids stabilize the tear film in a way to retard tear evaporation.

Thus, when the meibomian glands do not work well or are clogged, the quality of your tears are thereby inevitably diminished. This has the effect of causing evaporative dry eye. Your eyes then becomes red, sensitive, irritated and uncomfortable. In general, blepharitis can not be cured. It tends to be chronic, but fortunately it can be treated by controlling symptoms with simple steps but that must be done every day to reduce the symptoms and have the best quality of life possible.

When the meibomian glands are not working properly, the lipid produced tends to be thicker than normal or absent. For that reason, you have to apply warm compresses on the eyes every day to liquefy meibomian secretions and restore their normal flow.

After applying a warm compress on your eyes for ten minutes, you should gently massage the eyelids to drain the glands and to remove the lipid that has been made more fluid by heat. Be careful not to rub too vigorously your eyelids remember, massaging the eyelids should be firm but gentle.

Subsequently, it is recommended to clean your eyelids with a product such as OCuSOFT Lid Scrub Foaming Cleanser. Finally, use your favorite eye drops. Remember, it is better to use artificial tears without preservatives.

Follow this treatment every day to prevent relapse. You should continue even in the absence of symptoms.

So here’s how I treat my evaporative dry eye, which by the way, is the most common dry eye type.

THE MORNING

• Waking up in the morning, as soon as I open my eyes I put artificial tears without preservatives.
• Thereafter, I put a warm compress on my eyes for about ten minutes.
• Then I proceeded to gently massage the eyelids.
• Immediately after I clean my face with a mild soap such as Cetaphil or Spectro Jel and I clean my eyes with Lid Scrub Foam OCuSOFT.
• I put artificial tears specifically designed for meibomian gland dysfunction.

EVENING AT BEDTIME

• Before going to bed, I clean my face with Cetaphil or SpectroJel. Subsequently, I clean my eyes with OCuSOFT Lid Scrub.
• Thereafter, I use artificial tears or gel without preservatives and I wear my AlphaEye Drye Eye Mask relief all night long. By wearing it all night the mask will help my eyes to stay hydrated and allows them to recover.

Since I do this regime, I noticed a a huge improvement in my condition and my quality of life. Of course, it is not perfect, I have good days and bad days but in general it is much better. You should know also that there are prescription treatments that you should discuss with your doctor as tetracyclines, cyclosporine A, and corticosteroids. But I do not want to address the issue of prescription products because I think it should be discussed with your doctor. Moreover, you will find no prescription product sold on this site.