Blepharitis-What is this Common Eye Condition?

Blepharitis is an inflammation of the eyelids. There are many types of blepharitis due to the many different causes-bacterial/viral infections, allergies and environmental sources such as smoke.

Patient symptoms-What would you notice?

Most commonly, your eyelid margins are red and swollen with either scales or flaky discharge at the base of the eyelashes. Your eyelids will be very itchy and/or burning. Upon awakening in the morning, the eyelid margins may feel sticky or be crusted shut. If blepharitis continues to progress, this could lead to eyelid styes and loss of eyelashes.

Blepharitis Treatment

Unfortunately, blepharitis is usually a chronic, recurrent condition, so there is really no permanent cure. Proper and timely treatment can control and prevent worsening of the condition. Usually, treatment is done in a step by step sequence. Depending on the severity of the blepharitis, treatment may take months

Warm compresses applied directly to the eyelid margins using either a warm water soaked face towel or microwavable gel pack wrapped in face towel. Depending on the blepharitis severity, this should be done 2-3 times a day for 5 minutes each time.
Eyelid scrub with a pre-moistened towelette or a gauze pad soaked with eyelid cleanser to help further remove scales/flaky eyelid discharge and environmental irritants.
Antibiotic and/or anti-inflammatory ointment applied to the eyelids to treat infection and inflammation.
Artificial tear drops may also be prescribed to soothe the eyes or treat any dry eye component.

Our doctors may also recommend maintenance steps to reduce the risk of recurrent episodes. These are the same as the treatment steps, but usually done less frequently. In our doctors' experience, ongoing eyelid maintenance is usually necessary to keep the condition controlled.

If you think you have blepharitis indications, call one of our offices to make an appointment to see one of our doctors.