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Super Contributor
Posts: 484
Registered: ‎03-27-2010

I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

which caused my eyelashes to fall out and I always felt like there was something in my eye. My doctor recommended using a clothe and Johnson's baby shampoo twice a day, it helped but I still had some irritation. I ordered a bottle of Paula's Choice Hydralight cleanser for my face because I needed to find something that would work on my oily t-zone without leaving my skin feeling "tight" after washing. The Hydralight works great for that issue but I noticed that it can also be used to remove eye makeup so I started using it instead of my MUFE Sensi'eye makeup remover and it works great for that too, I eventually stopped using the baby shampoo since I was already washing my eyes with the hydralight. What I noticed is that my eyes are no longer irritated and my lashes are no longer falling out. My eyes were so irritated in the past that I could not wear eye contacts, I would have to remove the contact within the first 30 seconds of being on because the blepharitis made me feel like scratching my eye out (I only have to wear one contact for reading) anyway today I thought about how nice my eyes feel and wondered if I could possibly wear a contact...so I put one in my left eye and my eye feels fine. I know the contact is on my eye but I don't feel like scratching my eye out and my eye isn't red or irritated. I don't know if it's the Hydralight that has helped or if it's because I stopped using the MUFE sensi'eyes either way I am a happy person. And as a bonus I don't have to put on reading glasses because they give me a massive headache with minutes of them sitting on the bridge of my nose. Does anyone else have this condition and what have you found that works for you?

Regular Contributor
Posts: 192
Registered: ‎03-14-2010

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

This is interesting to read. I have the same reaction as you and gave up wearing contact lenses years ago because of the itching.

I have used the Johnson's Baby Shampoo to clean my eyes and it does help. Perhaps I should try the Hydralight cleanser.

Frequent Contributor
Posts: 111
Registered: ‎10-14-2014

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

Yes I've had this for years and its very annoying to say the least!! I also have very dry eyes too-- so a double whammy! For a very long time I used baby shampoo also until recently a friend told me to stop the shampoo because there's actually a strong ingrediant that is not good. Id never heard of this--but I quit using this and am using paulas skin recovery instead. Still no difference. I'm VERY frustrated. I'm glad for you---maybe the baby shampoo irritated yours ???
Frequent Contributor
Posts: 144
Registered: ‎10-30-2013

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

howwhatwhen, I can totally relate! I was told a few years back that I had blepharitis also (and dry eye, which can be caused by blepharitis). I used to wear contacts for years, but stopped wearing them around 3-4 years ago. To be honest, I used to miss them but now I don't. One time when I went in for an eye exam, my ophthamologist told that my eyes were so dry that he could not do the exam! At least three of my eye doctors told me to do warm compresses, twice a day if you can. You take a facecloth, wet it with very warm water and apply for ~4-5 min. It does feel really good and relaxing as well. You will have to re-wet it a few times because it cools off. This helps to open the tiny pores on the eye lids that can get clogged up. I follow with the artificial tears and also use them throughout the day. If your eyes start watering a lot, it means they are very dry. It's the eye trying to compensate because the tears aren't circulating properly due to the clogged pores. I remember my father and an aunt having watery eyes, and this is probably what it was! I've been on the Rx Restasis to help dry eye and have gotten much better reports from my doctors. There's no cure for blepharitis or dry eye. You just have to work at keeping it under control.

Something that I found that works really well is 'OCuSoft Lid Scrub'. It's a foam eyelid cleanser that removes oil, debris, pollen and dead skin. The 7.25 oz bottle lasts forever. You squirt a little foam out, gently massage on closed lids and rise with warm water. It's on Amazon for $19.75 now, it's totally worth it and it has excellent reviews. They also have individual wipes in packets which would be convenient for travel; other brands carry those as well (Systane lid wipes). Highly recommend them, too. I also have a book by Steven L. Maskin, M.D. that has some great info and help for both conditions. Hope this helps!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,992
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

Its like dandruff on the eye lashes. You need to keep the area clean. The baby shampoo is for both cleaning and antibacterial. Blepharitis can be very stubborn. It may go away but return days week or months. Can cause eye itching, contact lens problems, eye redness in in severe cases lashes fall out. Cosmetic eye creams may provide temporary relief but don't mess around with a medical condition.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,891
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

Paula Begoun leaves out fragrances and coloring from her skin care products so the OP may want to look also at any other skin care, eye makeup or hair care products to see if there are any other ingredients including fragrances that could be irritating to her eye area.

Super Contributor
Posts: 484
Registered: ‎03-27-2010

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

Thanks everyone for your tips and treatment advice. I realize that there isn't a "cure" for this and I'll have to continue treatment forever. For now I am at least glad that I can put in a contact lense though I may not be able to do so every day. I also use systane (prescription) eye drops when my eyes feel really dry also Blink (otc) gel eye drops work well. I don't think the MUFE makeup remover "caused" my eye issues but I do think it aggravated it. I also stopped using eyeliner on my lower lash line years ago because it would irritate my eyes...I had no idea then that I had Blepharitis, I just noticed that whenever I used liner I'd have a bad eye day, lol

Super Contributor
Posts: 1,999
Registered: ‎04-03-2010

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

Yes---I get that all the time.

The baby shampoo thing did not work.

Keep the eye area clean...get those drops---and if you can, renew, so you have some on hand.

And keep your hands off your eye.

Very common condition.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,889
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

On 11/23/2014 Jes16 said:

howwhatwhen, I can totally relate! I was told a few years back that I had blepharitis also (and dry eye, which can be caused by blepharitis). I used to wear contacts for years, but stopped wearing them around 3-4 years ago. To be honest, I used to miss them but now I don't. One time when I went in for an eye exam, my ophthamologist told that my eyes were so dry that he could not do the exam! At least three of my eye doctors told me to do warm compresses, twice a day if you can. You take a facecloth, wet it with very warm water and apply for ~4-5 min. It does feel really good and relaxing as well. You will have to re-wet it a few times because it cools off. This helps to open the tiny pores on the eye lids that can get clogged up. I follow with the artificial tears and also use them throughout the day. If your eyes start watering a lot, it means they are very dry. It's the eye trying to compensate because the tears aren't circulating properly due to the clogged pores. I remember my father and an aunt having watery eyes, and this is probably what it was! I've been on the Rx Restasis to help dry eye and have gotten much better reports from my doctors. There's no cure for blepharitis or dry eye. You just have to work at keeping it under control.

Something that I found that works really well is 'OCuSoft Lid Scrub'. It's a foam eyelid cleanser that removes oil, debris, pollen and dead skin. The 7.25 oz bottle lasts forever. You squirt a little foam out, gently massage on closed lids and rise with warm water. It's on Amazon for $19.75 now, it's totally worth it and it has excellent reviews. They also have individual wipes in packets which would be convenient for travel; other brands carry those as well (Systane lid wipes). Highly recommend them, too. I also have a book by Steven L. Maskin, M.D. that has some great info and help for both conditions. Hope this helps!

We use the OcuSoft Lid Scrub in our house. My husband is using it now and I've used it throughout the years also. We use the little towelettes. I get it through Amazon on their subscription deal. It's shipped automatically to us monthly.


Why is it, when I have a 50/50 guess at something, I'm always 100% wrong?
Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,745
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I was diagnosed with a eye condition called Blepharitis

This is a very common condition. Cleanse with Ocusoft and if that does not help, use Systane over-the-counter eye drops. Further, my son had to quit wearing his contacts years ago related to blepharitis and a protein build-up. He now wears disposable contacts when he wears then but usually does not wear them secondary to all these issues. He has very light blue eyes (like pools of blue water). Most people who we have encountered with the protein problem have blue eyes.