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[treehouse]

I'm at a loss as to what kind of doctor to see for this. I know I've had blepharitis, a common, recurring eyelid inflammation, for years. In my case it's caused by clogged oil glands inside the eyelid. It comes and goes.

Well, about a month ago I bought a new foam mattress, and the first time I slept on it, I woke up with puffy, itchy, bloodshot, watery eyes and a little bit of dermatitis around the eyelids. Fun. I took benadryl and the problem gradually improved, but not entirely. A month later, I'm still dealing with puffy eyelids, itchiness, and watery eyes. Now I think I may also have a ragweed allergy since moving to my new tt location, because it's that season and some days, my eyes get worse when I'm outdoors. To complicate matters further, the apartment I moved into a month ago has a wet basement with mold and mildew smells emanating up the stairwell. I don't know if that is a factor, or not. I live on the 3rd floor. Will I have to move in the middle of the school year???  Today, the first day of classes, my nose is stuffy and running as well. I can't wear my contacts or any eye makeup. It just sucks.

I don't like my primary care physician and haven't had time with the start of classes to find a new one. I don't feel like I can count on her for good advice or referrals. I don't know whether I should see an allergist, an opthamologist, an optometrist, or some other kind of specialist. Anyone have a similar experience with anythign like this?

[the_honey_badger]

My opthamologist said it tends to get in its own cycle of clogged oil glands (or something like that that the eyelids produce). He told me to gently wash across the eyelash line with baby shampoo (no tears kind!) two or three times a day with very warm water so they can unclog and lube the eyeball and start functioning again. And occasionally just put a warm wet cloth on them for a few seconds if I was in the ladies room or somewhere I couldn't use the soap.  It worked like a charm---within 2 weeks and the swelling, redness and irritation mine produced went right down to nothing.  Mine was long standing (years) and involved eyelash loss and of too long a duration to regenerate those but it did really fix the red/swollen eyelid rims and the dry-eye symptoms too.

[frogfactory]

I had this for most of a year.  I still have no idea what caused it, but it may have started out as stress-related.  I'm also not sure what eventually made it go away (it's been completely, 100% gone for over a year now), but cleaning with a warm, dilute baby shampoo solution along the eyelash line twice a day and steaming made it more bearable while it lasted.  A lot of people recommend cutting out red wine.  I didn't try that :p

[treehouse]

Saw an optometrist today and it sounds like I have mild blepharitis combined with irritation from my contact lenses, and possibly some allergies. I'm trying antihistamine eyedrops, plus the hot washcloth/baby shampoo/eyelid massage routine. Apparently if you do the hot washcloth for less than 5 minutes, it doesn't work. 5 minutes is a long time and I wasn't doing it for that long. So maybe that will help. I'm also going to eventually switch from 2 week contacts to daily disposables.