Posted by Leeanne (Monterey CA) on 03/01/2025
★★★★★
I have had a mild case of rosacea for years, but recently developed blepharitis in both eyes. Very itchy with one slightly swollen eyelid and gritty feeling in both eyes. I read through many remedies for blepharitis on Earth Clinic and decided to try Castor Oil ... organic, cold pressed, hexane free, that I got at my local health food store. Morning and night, before bed, I washed both eye lids with a mild soap, then folded up a paper towel to make a pad, and soaked it in hot tap water, and alternated applying it to each eyelid for a few minutes. The heat felt great. Then I dipped a Q-tip in the oil and applied it to each eyelid and to the the rim of my bottom lashes. actually I used separate Q-tips for each eye, in case of cross contamination. I put extra oil in the corner of each eye, to get it inside. After 3 days of doing this routine, my eyes felt so much better and after a week, the itching, swollen eyelid and grittiness was gone. I followed the same routine for a second week ... just in case of a flair-up. So far so good. it's been 3 weeks now and the blepharitis has not returned. There's good information on castor oil in the remedies section of Earth Clinic. Also, I have been reading about Demodex mites, that cause many of the cases of Blepharitis. the little pests like to burrow in the lash follicles, and leave behind a waxy substance called "collarettes" that clings to the base of the eyelashes. Apparently the collarettes can be seen with the naked eye, when you look down, as they are visible from a top view.Looks a bit like tiny dandruff. I suspect that my blepharitis is caused by those mites.
Posted by 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!!!!
Posted by Jaime G. (Montrose, Co) on 02/10/2015
★★★★★
Maryalice, how weird. I live in SW Colorado and am moving to Oregon soon to be near 2 of my kids. I just got Blepharitis the first time last year and today is the third time I've had this annoying condition. I keep it at bay by using a lotion I have with tea tree oil as the main ingredient. I went to Arizona over the weekend and did not bring my lotion. Guess what I woke up to Monday morning?
Posted by Nakedbigfoot (Eureka, Ca, 95501) on 12/11/2011
★★★★★
I also had terrible eye pain-mucus, redness, unbearable itchiness.... I thought it was pink-eye, except for it lasted 11 days!! So I finally saw an opthomologist who diagnosed me with Blepharitis (super irritated angry eyelids that don't produce enough oil).
The eyedrops he gave me worked alright; but my eyes would still "flare up" and become extremly irritated. My eyes always seemed to have a red tinge to them-which really really annoyed me.
I tried castor oil, and after only a few nights it seemed to provide a lot of relief! I use a cotton swab to dab the oil on my eyelids, and drop a few drops into my actual eye before bed. It does blur your vision a bit, so before bed is the best option.
:D
Posted by Matt C (Phelps, Ny) on 07/09/2011
★★★★★
I have tried the hot towel method with no results. It is too hard to maintain the heat and moisture at the levels needed. What I have found effective is using castor oil; I found a good video on youtube that elaborates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOqHBz0FOy8
