u/Hellobug11

Growing up, I always had the impression that medicine had become so advanced that there was a fix for almost everything except cancer, which everyone made such a big deal about because it seemed like the only disease there wasn’t a cure or truly effective treatment for.

It’s astonishing to think that people are still being sent away and told to use warm compresses and some drops for dry eyes and blepharitis, especially when warm compresses only made things so much worse for me.

If I had known this, I think I would have been far more careful about my eye health. I wouldn’t have spent so much time on screens, and I would have been much more diligent about eyelid hygiene, which is something I was never once told to do growing up (not even by all the optometrists I saw whenever I got new glasses.)

I have so many regrets, and they haunt me. I know my eyes are as bad as they are because I was reckless, earnestly and foolishly believing that I could rely on medicine to provide a quick fix if things ever got bad, and that would be it and I could just get on with my life. It was pure ignorance on my part.

But in a way, I’m not sure whether some of my lack of diligence was also a good thing. If I had been more diligent, I probably would have just done warm compresses every day, as advised by many optometrists after I got a chalazion six years ago (thinking all optometrists must know best and not questioning them). If I had followed that advice for six years, I can only imagine how much worse my dry eyes might have become and even earlier, since I have ocular rosacea, and no optometrist (or the one ophthalmologist I saw ever) told me I had it. My eyes became much worse and unbearable when I started doing warm compresses every day at the beginning of this year.

The sad thing is that even if I had been more diligent and careful, the treatments recommended by optometrists are so primitive that they would not have done me any good and made things even worse, so it’s like I was always bound to end up where I was.

I used to get migraines a lot, although they were not strong enough to concern me. I always thought it was because of an irregular sleep schedule, although my sleep schedule has not improved, I haven’t had any migraines in the past two weeks. The last one was on the day after IPL. That’s basically the only improvement I’ve noticed after my first IPL session. I haven’t done my second, third and fourth yet. Anyone else?

I accidentally applied a bit too much Manuka honey eye gel and ended up with a really bad stye. I guess it blocked my gland. Are there any thicker eye drops I can use before bed that won’t block my glands?

This sounds disgusting. A lot of pus is coming out of my external stye right now, and I have IPL tomorrow. The stye developed after I applied Manuka honey eye gel. Do you think it’s safe to go IPL tomorrow? Would IPL help further draining the external stye or cause infection?

Why would that be?

It’s been two weeks since I went for my first IPL session. I haven’t noticed any improvement. I’ve only had an increase in the foreign body sensation in my right eye (my worse eye). Although enough oil came out from even the worse eye that my dry-eye specialist seemed very pleased.

I’m due for my second IPL session tomorrow. I don’t know what I’ll do if IPL doesn’t work. I don’t like the idea of being on medicated drops for the rest of my life (that is if they even hopefully work in the first place).

I don’t think it’s genetic in my case. My ocular rosacea seems worse in my right eye, where I’ve had two chalazion surgeries. My right eye is less tolerant of heat than my left and becomes more inflamed when heat is applied. I don’t have any facial rosacea.

I developed significant irritation and inflammation in my lower eyelid after applying Manuka honey gel. This happened two days before my IPL treatment. My dry eye specialist thought it was fine and decided to proceed with the IPL and gland expression (including around the inflamed area of my lower eyelid). Afterwards, a swollen bump started growing in a few days. I thought it might be a stye or chalazion, but when I apply a warm compress, the pain gets much worse unlike with a stye or chalazion, where it usually feels better or there is no pain at all. A cold compress makes it feel much better and relieves the pain and takes away the redness. My optometrist says it’s not a stye or chalazion and there is no infection. So what can it be? Have I developed some kind of never before seen bump or something?

I developed one of the worst episodes of inflammation on my lower eyelid after using Optimel Manuka Honey Eye Gel, which my dry eye specialist had recommended as a temporary nighttime treatment. The inflammation occurred near the same area where I had a chalazion four years ago, which was surgically removed.

This happened two days before my first IPL session. I asked my dry eye specialist whether we should still proceed, since it was very painful. He thought it was still fine. He performed gland expression by pressing on the inflamed area (which hurt), and oil came out. Afterward, my inflamed lower eyelid felt better for a few days, although there was still mild, intermittent pain.

Almost a week later, I developed a big bump in the same area of inflammation. I’m still not sure whether it is a stye or a chalazion. It hurts when I blink, and the pain has increased and won’t go away.

I feel so lost and exhausted. I’ve been crying so much (even though I try not because I feel makes it my eyes worse). I feel very defeated, especially since I always feared developing another chalazion in the same area where I previously had surgery. I just want to move on with my life, but for a long time I’ve been going back and forth between different optometrists, each saying different things and none of them seeming to genuinely care. Many recommend daily warm compresses, but those have only made my eyes feel much worse since I have ocular rosacea. After I started using daily warm compresses, my inflammation became severe and my eyes started watering at night, which had never happened before. I was always able to sleep well before then.

I really don’t know what to do anymore. Should I continue with IPL and hope it fully resolves the bump? Should I wait until the bump becomes painless and the inflammation goes away? Should I stop IPL for now, start doxycycline, and hope it helps instead? What happens if you stop IPL for now and want to restart it later? Do I still do four sessions or only three since I already had one?

My eyes got really bad this year, which was odd because I had started doing warm compresses and lid hygiene far more consistently. I was hoping the warm compresses would also help get rid of the chalazion on my left eye. I ended up getting flare-ups so bad that touching my eyelashes was painful because my eyelids were so sore (such painful flare-ups never happened last year), and I even started waking up with watery eyes and sticky eyelids.

I’ve now stopped warm compresses for two weeks, and I haven’t had a flare-up since. I can sleep better at night, and the sticky eyelids in the morning have also gone away. The chalazion on my left eye is still fading without the need for warm compresses, simply by using eye drops more regularly. My eyes are also less watery during sleep now, especially since I started applying Manuka honey eye gel before going to bed.

I feel the inflammation from the warm compresses probably caused a great deal of damage to my eyes. I wonder if my eyes will return to the baseline they were at last year, when I could sleep very comfortably at night without even using eye drops.

Follow up post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Blepharitis/s/E8ArTzR8fg

It doesn’t seem to be FDA-approved, but I went to a dry eye specialist, and they told me I have fairly severe blepharitis, as u/Dakota11660 noted.

However, ivermectin isn’t available through local Australian pharmacies. My GP has to approve the prescription, and then the dry eye clinic has to order it (or have it compounded) before sending it to me.

I’ve also been told by someone online that using Ivermectin plus on eyelids will cause demodex to migrate to my eyebrows and then my scalp? Is this the?

I’ve also been diagnosed with ocular rosacea and was advised to stop using warm compresses because they may be making it worse.

He said I have ocular rosacea and that it’s making it worse, but in that case, how would I get rid of styes if I get them? I’ve noticed that the more consistently I’ve used warm compresses this year, the worse my eyes have gotten.

My IPL consent form states

> Possible Side Effects and Complications

- Permanent skin damage (extremely rare cases, if guidelines not strictly observed).
-Ocular damage if eyes not properly protected.

> Patient Acknowledgment:

I hereby acknowledge the following:
-Rare possibility of complications if guidelines are not strictly followed.
- Rare possibility of complications if contraindications are ignored.
- Possibility of pain or discomfort during treatment.
- Possibility of a sunburn feeling a few hours after treatment.
- Necessity for eye protection during IPL treatment.

Would you say the consent form is a bit troubling, especially about Ocular damage if guidelines are not strictly followed. Why would guidelines not be strictly followed?

This is the second time this has happened to me. The first time was with Systane Ultra Lubricant Eye Drops Preservative Free, and now it’s happening with Hylo Forte.

When I tried Hylo Forte for the first time, they seemed perfectly fine and caused no irritation at all. However, after using them for more than a week, a burning sensation began to develop in my right eye (my problematic eye) whenever I used them.

I was willing to dismiss it because my right eye is also my drier eye, but for the first time ever, I started experiencing a burning sensation in my left eye (the good eye) as well after applying hylofrote.

Why does this happen? It seems that these eye drops work well when initially used for the first time for over a week, but then my eyes slowly can no longer tolerate them as well.

Is there any good eye drops for sensitive eyes? I have mgd/blepharitis.

Why does it seem like my eye drops (systane, hyloforte) make my eyes feel saltier in the morning when I wake up, and sometimes cause a burning sensation in the tear ducts that only goes away with water?

Should I switch to lipid eye drops?

After using the Aelo self-warming mask for more than 10 minutes, I experienced a pretty severe flare-up in my right eye. My right eyelid can become so inflamed that it’s painful even to touch my eyelashes. During a visit to an eye hospital, the very cold air in the city that day seemed to calm the inflammation, and by the time I returned home, my eyelid no longer hurt as much and the inflammation started to subside. (The eye hospital itself didn’t do much except recommend better eye drops and some oral antibiotics.)

My right eye has some damaged glands from two chalazion surgeries, which may explain why it gets as bad as it does. A dry eye specialist said I might have ocular rosacea, although I’m not sure because I don’t experience facial redness. Either way, he still recommended warm compresses.

The debris (and collarettes) on the eyelashes of my right eye becomes as hard as a rock and doesn’t seem to soften enough for me to remove it. Neither warm compresses, Ocusoft cleanser, nor hypochlorous acid seems to soften it. The only thing that seems to soften it is Chlorsig eye ointment, but I can’t use that regularly since it’s an antibiotic. What eyelid wipe or product can soften it? I’ve used tea tree wipes (Opti-Soothe), but regular use irritated my eyelids (made them very itchy) and didn’t soften and loosen the debris either.

The more I try to take care of my eyes (warm compresses, wipes, eye drops), the worse it has gotten. I especially find removing collarettes difficult. My right eyelashes look very dirty and makes me so insecure. I went to a dry eye specialist two months ago, and they told me to take a 5-day course of steroids, then use Cequa and IPL. I didn’t follow up with those options because I didn’t like relying on medication.
Should I do so?

What’s so strange is that I rarely ever feel burning in my eyes, grittiness, or a foreign sensation. My eyes are at their worst at night. They water and sometimes wake me up. I sometimes wake up with oil on my upper eyelids, which sometimes dries up or fades away. In the morning, my eyes are often fine, and I only need HyloForte drops once in a while during the day.

My greatest frustration is my eyelashes on my right eye, which fall out and form collarettes, and nothing seems to work to loosen or remove the hardened debris on my eyelashes.

I’ve used tea tree wipes (Opti-Soothe version), hypochlorous acid, and OCuSOFT Plus Platinum cleanser. I used to have a lot of itchiness on my eyelids when I was using Opti-Soothe tea tree wipes, but that went away when I stopped using them. Hypochlorous acid is the only thing that seems to mildly help, as it brings back some of my eyelashes. The only thing that works to soften and remove collarettes after a flare up is chlrosig eye ointment, but that’s an antibiotic and it’s bad for me to use it so often.