Rebecca (OR) on 06/07/2023

I've suffered for a decade with chronic severe blepharitis. 4 doctors in a row just believing that was so. 5 different prescription antibiotic creams tried, worked for short times, but failed and even made it worse long term. 50 different home remedies, you name it, I've probably tried it, bought it, or made it. The last 2 years I settled on using my homemade beeswax and essential oil salve for the most relief I could get. I gave up on everything else. All my eyelashes are gone, and I'm always miserable, wearing sunglasses. My "blepharitis" is not only in my eyes but also gets in my eyebrows and a new but similar issue began behind my ears a few months ago.

My husband has had recurring ear infections most of his life and crusting around ears and nose. He keeps going to the doc, getting antibiotics, and the ear infections just keep coming back, sometimes worse than before. But, this time he went to a new doctor, and this doctor had a new diagnosis. He said it's not a bacteria infection, but an overgrowth of a fungus that is already naturally on our skin. He and sent him home with Clotrimazole and Betamethasone Cream USP 1%/0.05% and Ketoconazole shampoo. I watched my husband's ear infections and skin issues disappear in just a few days and then I tried some of the prescription cream for myself.

I put on an extremely thin application of the cream behind my ears, in my eyebrows, and then just barely wiped my eyes with what was left on my fingers. I felt a deep itching and slight burning for the next several hours behind my ears. The next day, already feeling much less inflammation, I did a 2nd application the same way, and I felt layers of skin rubbing off behind my ears, but it was not painful and the skin underneath was not inflamed. That night I did a 3rd application and the peeling was done, the skin felt clean, and the healing was remarkable! I no longer felt any new crusts and goops developing in my eyes either. The thick leathery feeling skin started to feel softer and today I woke up and did not even feel a need to wash my eyes. The skin feels completely clean and new. My husband keeps remarking about how my eyes don't look red or puffy anymore.

This anti-fungal prescription cream has cleared up everything and put healing in turbo mode! For real!? Even the "blepharitis" I've been suffering with for a decade!? Have I been misdiagnosed with blepharitis all this time? Have I been treated for bacteria growth when it was fungus this entire time? It seems like once one doctor told me I had blepharitis, every doctor after that just believed it and didn't consider anything else. I've never even heard a doctor consider fungus as a cause. I believe I have found my answer to my "blepharitis". They say they don't know what causes blepharitis, they just think it's bacteria. Well, it appears to be a fungus in my case.

I pray this continues to work. I've had products help for a time and then stop working. This time it seems to be doing more than just helping though. It seems to be actually curing. If this does stop working I will be sure to come on here and update this. But for right now, I had to let you all know. Ask your doctor about the possibility of fungus overgrowth. I have suffered for way too long, tried way too many medications, and spent way too much time and money trying to figure this out. I hope this can help someone else.

Rob (Kentucky) on 03/14/2023

Tea Tree Oil/Baby Shampoo Lid Scrub Instructions for Blepharitis

I made this for my Aunt (86) to treat her blepharitis and got great results. I have also used pine turpentine gum spirits (Diamond G Brand) diluted down to 1% on myself with good results too.

You will need:

• Tea tree oil (USP grade)
• Baby shampoo (hypoallergenic, no tears)
• Travel-size bottle

Instructions:

* Rinse and clean travel-size bottle

* Insert 1 part tea tree oil to 3 parts baby shampoo

* Gently shake the bottle to blend the oil and shampoo

* Scrub affected eyelid margins for 20 seconds

* Rinse eyelids with warm water. Please ensure the treatment is completely rinsed from lids

* Repeat treatment every day (I do it in the shower) for the next 30 days for good results.

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Hand Wipes for Blepharitis

Weaspoon (Texas) on 06/07/2022

I eagerly tried the posts about curing Blepharitis with Wet O N E’s. After suffering with severe Blepharitis for years and spending many $$ on eye drops that did almost nothing I bought the wipes and almost immediately received relief from severe itching, watering, redness, discharge and dry eyes. Also had itchy eczema on my eyelids. I used the wipes several times a day for a week then only as needed for slight itching for a week. After that I have not had any symptoms at all for about a month or longer. I’ll post again if Blepharitis returns.

HOWEVER, I have since learned that the active ingredient in the wipes that kills the Blepharitis, Benzalkonium Chloride, is believed to be damaging to the eyes in 7 different ways. Consumers who are using eye drops, OTC and RX, and or wet o n e’s on a daily basis for long periods are often unaware of the ocular surface risks.

The studies are here:

https://www.dryeyeshop.com/pages/the-bak-list-of-shame

I am also on the Fuch’s Corneal Dystrophy blog and learned from posts there that BAK is harmful for those with Corneal Dystrophy.

More personal research needs to be done to determine how injurious BAK can be.

REPLY   5      

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Turpentine Baths for Blepharitis

Rob (Kentucky) on 02/08/2022

I have struggled with Blepharitis for years. Did the doctor’s tour and they were no help, just wanted more $$, eye drops that don’t work, another test… Tea tree oil helped but no lasting effects. Recently, I have been taking Turpentine “white” baths as promoted by Dr. Zalmanovn around 1904 for cardiovascular problems. Turpentine baths were used by “Russian” grandmothers for the treatment of joints, bronchitis, and many other diseases.

I am 21 days into the bath regiment (of a total of 30 days this round) when at about the 10th day I noticed I was not having eye issues anymore.

The symptoms I was having were; watery-red eyes, itchy eyelids, crusty eyelids upon waking up, sensitivity to light, blurry vision at times.

The only thing I can think of that is helping clear my eyes is when I’m taking the white bath, I am submerging my head down into the water and placing a soaked washcloth from the bath waters across my eyes and forehead. I do this for the entire 20-minute setting.

Since pure gum turpentine is an exceptional broadband anti-pathogen, anti-microbial, anti-parasite, fungicide. It makes sense that it would work. I just never made the connection to use it as a compress over my eyes. I am making my own homemade white baths using (Humco Brand - Pure Gum Resin Turpentine).

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Calendula Baby Wash for Stubborn Blepharitis

Rob (phoenix, Az) on 03/22/2021

We used Cetaphil Baby Wash with Organic Calendula for our child with stubborn blepharitis they had for 2 years. Google "Calendula for Blepharitis" for info. Nothing else worked, Antibiotics/Steroid drops only treated symptoms only for it to return. We used it for 4 weeks once at night in the shower with gentle wiping to relieve symptoms. Hope this helps.

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Tania (Perth, Western Australia) on 11/13/2019

Washing along the eye lid with Tea Tree soap twice a day is making a world of difference for me. Have tried numerous other remedies over the years without success and have ended up with complications of ingrowing eye lashes etc. Now four weeks into this regime starting to turn things around at last, and dry eye symptoms improving too. There are a couple of studies out there now confirming this method especially for Ocular Rosacea sufferers.

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Alice A. (USA) on 02/14/2019

I have found two herbs that kill the bacteria that cause blepharitis:

Chenapodium or Epazote, one capsule in the morning on an empty stomach, or as a tea, for five days of the month.

The second is Cistus Incanus tea or Rockrose tea. Taken as a tea or iced tea, it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti mold and yeast and a biofilm breaker. It’s working for me so thought I would share.

God bless.

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Sea Buckthorn Oil Helping Blepharitis

Mary Beth (Fl) on 07/13/2020

For Blepharitis, I’ve had great success treating the cause rather than the symptoms by taking Omega 7 and fish oil daily. The Omega 7 is Sea Buckhthorn with Omega 3 and 7.

REPLY   2      

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Steam Room for Bepharitis

Jg (Pa) on 11/18/2018

I've suffered with this miserable condition for over 9 months that seemed to get worse and worse. My lids were inflamed and it was to the point where I had a hard time opening my eyes in the morning they were so dry. So, I had read about these steam googles they sell for a million bucks (exaggeration, but they are expensive) and decided, "What the heck, I'll try the YMCA steam room).

I went in for about 10-15 minutes. I hydrated well beforehand, and it initially felt weird, then burning. I carried on. I left, hopped in the warm showers, and just rinsed my face and eyelids with warm water and rubbed over it a bit with my fingers - no shampoo, not excessive rubbing, and just water. My eyelids looked *terrible.* I thought I had made a huge mistake.

I took 2 aleve when I got home and probably for two days...but noticed that once the swelling and redness went down, (maybe two days) my eyes were producing their own tears again. They looked terrible for a while...but whatever that gunk that clogged my glands were, seemed to be melted. I still use cliradex wipes once a day...but this was the thing that seemed to make the most difference.

I've tried those beaded eye masks, and a million things. I was so desperate. This really helped me so I thought I would share.

I only did it once. I now don't use drops at all, and put some organic olive oil on my lashes at night, but that's it.

REPLY   5      

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Warm Compresses Twice Daily for Blepharitis Lid Maintenance

Chzzmonkee (Columbus, Oh) on 10/11/2018

I have found the wet towel compress to be a very troublesome procedure. Try this regimen twice a day for BLEPHARITIS LID MARGIN DISEASE

Warm Compresses Twice A Day

1. Use a Small, Microwavable, Hot/Cold Reusable Compress (A Walmart Equate brand compress measures 11” by 5” and costs about $6.00)

2. Microwave the compress at High for 50 seconds (1400 watt microwave) (adjust as comfortable/necessary)

3. Take one sheet of a paper towel and fold it in half and then fold it into thirds to achieve a paper ‘bandage’ of 10” by 2”

4. Run water (warm or cold) over the paper ‘bandage’ to saturate it

5. Squeeze the excess water out of the paper ‘bandage’

6. Set you alarm (cell phone or kitchen timer) for 5 minutes

7. Lean your head back in a chair or sofa

8. Place the wet compress over your eyes

9. Place small compress on top of the wet bandage (lightly press the compress into the bandage to make better contact with your eyes))

10. Turn off alarm and use your fingers to hold the ends of the bandage and gently ‘massage’ (for 10 to 15 seconds) the bandage from the corners of your eyes towards your nose for 10 to 15 seconds to help squeeze oil out of the eyelid glands

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Hand Wipes for Blepharitis

Lazereyes (Waymart, Pa) on 09/16/2018

The Wet Ones are working better than anything else Iv'e tried (too many to list). No flakes or debris on eyelashes, inflammation of conjunctiva is now white and calm, and I don't want to rip my eyelashes out after a long day of work. THANK GOD FOR WET ONES!

REPLY   5      

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Multiple Remedies for Blepharitis

Butterflycari (Ut) on 04/07/2018

Blepharitis:

I was reading about this condition and it seems like it is in the eczema "family" of ailments, some people call it "eyelid eczema". I remember this pine tar shampoo I have used in the past that advertises that it is for dandruff, psoriasis, etc. and it helped me to come up with a good chemical-free protocol for this condition, I believe. I have also upped my intake of omega 3's internally.

This has been working really well: I do this at least 3x per day. Once upon waking, sometime in the middle of the day or after work, and once before bed. I wash my hands really well before doing this. I keep all of these items in a small plastic tub and just pull it out when I need it.

Item list:

pine tar shampoo, shot glass, washcloth, sterile gauze pads or cotton balls, 10 or 15ppm colloidal silver, coconut honey balm(equal parts manuka honey and virgin coconut oil heated gently and mixed thoroughly together, they come together as they cool)

-I first dilute a bit of pine tar shampoo in hot water in a shot glass and use one corner of a washcloth to gently scrub my eyelids with it, keeping them tightly closed. (sometimes the crusty skin will flake off, this is good.)

-I then use another corner of the washcloth to rinse with warm water and gently scrub them. I pat them dry with a dry part of the cloth.

-I use sterile cotton balls or gauze to dab them gently with 10ppm colloidal silver. I let them air dry.

-Then I treat them with a thin layer of a mix of equal parts manuka honey and virgin coconut oil (I tried manuka honey on its own, but my eyelids felt too sticky. I tried coconut oil on its own, but it would drip into my eye and it felt uncomfortable for all day. The combo seems to keep the stuff right where you need it, and not as sticky.)

I have never had this condition before and I send blessings to anyone who has it. I hope you find relief using something on this site, whether it is my remedy or another one. I am so thankful for this forum! Love and peace to all of you.

REPLY   4      

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Hand Wipes Helped Blepharitis After 20 Years

Hs (Fl) on 11/24/2017

This cure for blepharitis is a very affordable, easy to find grocery item - Wet Ones wipes.

I've had blepharitis for 20 years. I was told repeatedly that I will have it my whole life and that it can't be cured.

But there is a cure. The active ingredient in Wet Ones wipes (red label - NOT the blue label/sensitive version) is Benzethonium Chloride 0.3%. It kills staph.

Don't use the blue label/sensitive version - it has no active ingredient. Don't use generic/store brand versions of Wet Ones - they don't have enough Benzethonium Chloride.

Because this is the first mention of this easy cure, you might be tempted to dismiss it. I encourage you to check this thread of people who have used this cure, including lots of feedback from the woman who originally discovered it. https://patient.info/forums/discuss/one-week-using-wet-ones-with-benzethonium-chloride-62456

Cut wipes into small pieces and put them in a glass bowl with a lid. Wipe the lash line 3 to 4 times per day. Don't rinse, let them dry. My eyes feel no irritation at all. Wipe lashes less frequently as the blepharitis goes away. It will eventually be gone or easily managed.

After 20 years, I am shocked and so happy that this can be fixed.

REPLY   13      

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Apple Cider Vinegar for Blepharitis

Dianne (Phoenix, Az) on 07/29/2017

ACV for blepharitis

Okay guys just want you to know I've done this treatment with ACV and distilled water now for 3 days. Scrubbing my lashes with a Q Tip on my eyes and my eyes have not felt this good in almost a year. This is definitely working for me. Thank you all.

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Apple Cider Vinegar for Curing of Blepharitis

Dianne (Phoenix, Arizona) on 07/27/2017

I had gone to my ophthalmologist about 3 weeks ago, with complaints of itchy red eyes. He told me I lived in Phoenix, where the weather was hot and to drink more water. Last night I discovered what was wrong with my eyes (blepharitis), through this EC site. I used ACV mixed with water and a Q Tip, and literally scrubbed my eyelashes with it. It stung a lot, so I think I probably did not use enough water, but I repeated it again this morning, and my eyes feel SO much better. I will continue to do this 3 times a day, until I am healed. Thanks again for providing this wonderful site for those of us who know doctors just "practice" on us, which is why its called "medical practice."

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Side Effects from Baby Shampoo and Tea Tree Oil for Blepharitis

Gert#5 (Usa) on 06/12/2017

I had itchy, flaky skin above my eyelids (not the lids, but the area above the lid & below the eyebrow). I thought it was blepharitis and proceded with the baby shampoo/tea tree oil mixture to wash the area several times/day. I washed my whole head with this mix, which may have been a mistake, because now behind my ears is dry and flaky and oh, so itchy! . I have since stopped using it on my whole head, but this itchy dry skin doesn't seem to be getting better. Also, for the other area, I'm still washing 2x/day with the shampoo mix but then I'm using theives oil w/ a drop of tea tree on it for overnight (apply w/ a qtip). That seems to have improved, but it still itches and gets flaky every 5th day or so. What changes should I make? I have wet ones at work, so I can swab off with those if I should. I don't want to make any changes until I get some advice from you all here at EC.

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Ted's Borax and Peroxide Treatment May Help Blepharitis

Devon (Johnson) on 03/19/2017

Breakthrough for Blepharitis

Major Pending Breakthrough: H202+Borax misted directly into eyes... Thanks to Earth Clinic I basically cured my 20 year long Rosacea thanks to this remedy. Strongly about 3 years ago I discovered it was re-manifesting even after treatments. This really upset me and I expanded my research and somehow amazingly stumbled upon Zinc Pyrithione by considering DErmitis as another option maybe intermingled with the Demodex Mite based Rosacea that was clear after my initial success.

Anyway recently I felt it time for a Zinc Pyrithione touch-up after some allergy symptoms hitting my eyes and upper cheek (which I have also considered as a possible side-effect to sinus allergy trying to purge through the face) All of a sudden a day later my eyes got worse and for the first time in my life I became convinced I was having severe EYE allergy. I do have three cats and am in the end of our long Vermont winter not cleaning enough with closed windows etc...

Since I have always freely sprayed h2o2+borax onto my face, head and neck with eyes closed; and then opened my eyes after under a minute and endured the sting, dabbed the corners of my eyes, and was fine 1 minutes later: I decided to make absolutely sure I got my eyelids this time and actually opened my eyes briefly during the misting. This time the sting lasted a bit longer but I was fine in 3-5 minutes, no burning at all just a slightly residual sting and watering eyes... This morning NO itchy burning eyes at ALL. Wow, I might be premature here with this excitement but right now I am thinking since the Zinc Pyrithione is so irritating to my eyes -- I never get closer than eye brows under-eye bag area and bridge of nose -- that maybe the mites migrated up tiny my eyes after the last Zinc treatment. My next move is to find the right amount of borax (no h202) to add to my Neti Pot instead of Salt!

Part of this testimonial is with in mind Ted's mention (I'm sure for good reason) of avoiding the yes by wearing Goggles. I say no need to avoid the eyes. If anything my vision is usually better in the morning after a misting -face Borax treatment. The sting spraying heavily with closed eyes after opening them last about a minute maximum -- and about 3-5 if done with eyes open. No other side effects here to report except like I said: Improved Vision...

REPLY   6      

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Castor Oil For Blepharitis

Marj (Deer Park, Ny) on 02/28/2017

I had painful dry eye/blepharitis. Went to a dry eye "expert" and went back and forth with all kinds of prescriptions that I am sure made things worse. After over a year of that nonsense, I did this:

I put a heated gel mask over my eyes when I woke up and before I went to bed. That helped "melt" the plugged up gunk clogging the oil glands on my lash line. Importantly, after warming up the lash line for about 15 minutes, I washed my eyelids with baby shampoo. That helped to further break up and dissolve the gunk build up. Finally, the third part of this process is to take a dot of castor oil (organic, hexane free, cold pressed), and swipe your eyelids with it.

My eyes felt better immediately. It took a week or so to see an uninflamed eye margin. Since my gunk is all cleared out, I only use the castor oil. I swipe my eyelids with it before I go to bed. My eyes are perfect. I've been back to the dry eye "expert" for a complete exam to see if the castor oil might be doing something bad to the insides of my eyes or something. No. They are perfect.

I will never stop putting a drop on my lash line every night. Honestly, when I was suffering with dry eye, I thought I would have it forever. I was depressed. I couldn't wear eye makeup for a year. My eyes hurt like hell just from air! I was constantly putting drops in my eyes. That helps the symptom temporarily. For me, the cause was clogged up oil glands related to my lashes. Why that happened in the first place, I have no idea. But now, I am fine. If anyone can take what I've shared and heal themselves as I have, I'd be real happy about that. Good luck!!!!

REPLY   22      

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Epsom Salt, Baby Shampoo Treatment for Blepharitis

Ali (Tasmania, Australia) on 09/24/2016

Hooray, finally a solution for this maddening eye condition. After working thru some of the other posts, most made it worse,

I tried this method with success. Here's what I did...

I used 2 drops of organic baby shampoo, 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water, or microwave it.

To apply dip 2 cotton round makeup pads into the heated solution, squeeze excess liquid & place on closed eyes. I then placed a heated, in microwave, damp face washer folded over & then a small heated wheat bag to hold it in place, lie flat for 10 mins AM+ PM. The wheat bag held it's heat for 10 mins easily.

By Day 2 I was feeling less desperate & I have continued for a week and I now have almost normal looking eyes, apart from my pesky glaucoma!!! If you don't have a wheat bag, buy an old pair of corduroy trousers from an op shop & cut the legs into pieces, sew & fill with wheat, which can be bought loose very cheaply...hand sew end to finish. Also it doesn't work as well without the baby shampoo, go for a soap & sulphate free brand. Best of luck...🎆

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