Natural Cures for Blepharitis

I've been reading a medical book about blepharitis called TR. Awf. OPHTH. Soc., vol. 65, published in 1967 DEMODEX FOLLICULORUM BLEPHARITIS

After reading this doctor's research, I am thoroughly GROSSED OUT. To put it blatantly, microscopic worms/parasites are burrowing into your eye lid glands to feed. They over populate and cause the symptoms your doctor casually calls “dry eye”. No… It's a worm! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demodex

The author, Tullos 0. Coston, M.D. states:

The fastest and most direct method for killing demodex mites is for the ophthalmologist to apply one of the following diluted solutions to the lid margins as described in the discussion on detection. After five or ten minutes, applied again, destroying the emerging mites. Actually many agents would kill the partially exposed organisms instantly (turpentine, D.M.S.O., benzine, acetone, chloroform, camphor, ethyl acetate, iodine, spirits of ammonia, to name only a few). The above treatment should be repeated weekly for three weeks, together with cotton applicator cleansing twice daily. From the book – TR. Awf. OPHTH. Soc., vol. 65,1967 page 388.

Understanding this doctor's research, I now understand why the turpentine baths with eye compress were working so well. To successfully treat blepharitis, you must wash your face and especially the eye's with soap and water daily and the treatment MUST BE DONE for 4 – 8 weeks, depending on severity. This interrupts the life cycle of the mites/worms/parasites. I first chose turpentine because you can obtain it off the shelf or online for a few dollars as opposed to a doctor's visit and them not really doing anything for me.

Now, I realize why my grandmother had a turpentine soap bar at home. I've been using tea tree oil soap on my face and eyes in an attempt to prevent a relapse of blepharitis. So far it's working.

Now… The #1 reason for Blepharitis?

According to the author, A frequent common denominator in appreciable Deilodex infestation is the failure to use soap on the face; so an essential step in treatment is careful face washing with soap. In my experience, 30 percent of patients with lid demodeces used no soap on the face, while only 6 per cent of those without demodeces avoided soap. The mite dearly likes grease (the oil sebum in your pores, that is it's food) and the use of facial creams and no soap promote its welfare. Cited by Ayers, S. Jr., Pityriasis folliculorum (Demodex), Arch. Dermat. u. Syph., 21:19-24,1930; Demodectic eruptions (demodicidosis) in the human, Arch. Dermat., 83: 816,1961

TIIE VICIOUS CIRCLE use of cosmetic creams for "cleansing" and avoidance of soap and water ("My face is so dry")

which leads to:

favors the growth of the Demodex (it normally lives on sebum)

this leads to:

which results in follicular scaling and plugging, sensations of itching or burning and feeling of roughniess

this leads to:

which causes the patient and her cosmetic counselor to conclude that her skin is too dry, to tolerate soap

which leads to further… My face is so dry

You have now laid the groundwork for a demodex mite infestation….

The Babylonians were the one ones who invented soap at 2800 B.C. In ancient Egypt, a medical document called the Ebers Papyrus described a recipe including animal and vegetable fats and alkaline salts from wood ash were used for washing the body to rid it of parasites on the skin. The understanding of soap's benefits to fight infection and promote healing grew through several events of the 19th and 20th Centuries. During the Crimean War in the 1850s, Florence Nightingale, credited with the evolution of modern nursing, stressed the importance of washing hands with soap to prevent the spread of cholera.

Now get up from your computer and go wash your face and eyes with soap and water.

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.

Last winter had a cold + sinusitis which, among others, battled by inhaling steam - few drops of essential oils in pot of boiling water. As I was alternating nose and mouth opening over pot briefly under the towel, happened to move over and cover eye lids as well (with eyes closed). Having eye infection frequently (must be related to contact lenses solution), I noticed this time eye infection got cleared without using any creams or eye drops. Itching stopped almost instantly after first steam - inhale session.

Steam with few drops of tea tree oil also seem easier to apply, compared to poultice or oil mixture.

Additionally if you have a mild case, you can try this if its demodex.

Tea tree oil dilute one part tea tree five parts fracionated coconut oil (this oil is odorless, and available on Amazon. Its also called MCT oil) in dropper bottle. Tea tree oil kills demodex it's the number one solution unless you cant get rid of them and need ivermection. Tea tree oil is quite strong and you need to dilute. If unfamiliar with it, it has a bit of a gasoline terpentine smell. You either love it or hate it.

Other oils are lavender, but tea tree most effective.

You will take a q tip and put some of the tea tree solution at the base of your eye lashes, after washing face.

At night if your eyes are making you crazy from demodex, get unscented baby wipes and put a splash of 70/30 alcohol in package. Alcohol kills them too. And if you're groggy a quick wipe to the eyes will allow you to sleep.

How can you tell its demodex? If you take a 10x mirror and look at the base of your eyelashes and see those eyelashes coated with white spots those are an indicator. If you wake up with gunk in your eyes, if your eyes bother you especially at night and early morning. If your eyes are itchy.

Demodex are a BIG PAIN. I had no idea they existed except all of a sudden I got monster chalazion eye styes which started my adventure with them. After that the blepharitis, and then the discovery about demodex!!

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...

I did another treatment to make sure last night. Borax H202 Misted directly into eyes...

Major eye irritation of a week completely gone instantly. Reminds me of my first discovery of this Rosacea Cure.

The crazy thing is when you read about Tea Tree Oil taking three weeks?

Borax/H202 seems immediate!

I am going to start taking baths with this combo.

And I'll try and wash my pillow cases more often too.

I guess I had mites in my eyes...

Bye Bye mites.

I'm starting to think the Dry skin side effect is totally worth it.

But of course one can always use their favorite moisturizer..

But here's the irony: Too much Coconut, Jojoba, Squalene, Argon -- you-name-it oil -- TOO close to the eyes creates day long irritation. Borax H202 solution misted straight to the EYES stings for maximum 5 -- but last night less than 3 minutes. I think I killed the mites around my eyes and I am very happy!

To my surprise, I found that as long as the coconut oil was on my lid, there was no pain. I never saw any scales form and within 2 days, my eye was not swollen anymore. You have to keep putting the coconut oil on (2-3 times a day), you will notice when it dries because your eye will be itchy and will hurt again. So happy it worked!

Take a 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) and mix with small glass of boiled water that has recently cooled. Dip a cottonwool bud into the solution and scrub the edges of both upper and lower lids. This should be done at least once, at night-time and if possible, in the morning too. Remember treatment can sometimes take 2 or 3 weeks to work, so perservere!!

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.

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.

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...🎆

My eyes were itching really bad but NOT NOW, I did not cut the towelette into pieces liked she did, I folded the towelette and put it into a sandwich bag to reuse it and replaced it every few days I am also taking n-acetyl-L-cysteine 600 mg one daily I don't use the eye drops or Doctors or the baby shampoo or anything else anymore thanks for sharing this web site.

I had blepharitis in both eyes, with painful ulcerations on my eyelids. It was like I had toxic tears. Dr. said to use a 10% solution of baby shampoo in water and use it to scrub eyelashes with cotton swab. Condition worsened.

Mixe together 5 parts distilled water, 2 parts organic honey, and 1 part ACV. One drop in each eye 2x each day. The solution does not need to be refrigerated. I made it in a clean liquid measuring cup, then transferred it to a droppper bottle. The solution packs quite a sting. More if the inflammation is more severe. It is important to get the solution all over the eye by moving the eye left, right, up and down while closed. It will sting each time, but IT WORKS!!! For me after 2 weeks the inflammation was completely gone. I'm thinking of trying it once a week for maintainance.

Found this receipe in a book: Healing for the Age of Enlightenment by Stanley Burroughs.

In my effort to improve this formula. I am satisfied with the performance of this recipe for use in Blepharitis “Demodex mites”, Weeping eyes, Eye Irriation, Eye Crust, Eye infection, Chalazion (Eye Lump), Eye Stye, etc...

You will need:

* Tea tree oil (USP grade)

* Aloe Vera Gel (Fruit of the Earth Brand, No additives)

* Cosmetic jar with lid, 1 oz. used but clean

Instructions:

* Rinse and clean cosmetic jar

* Add ½ aloe vera gel to jar, then add eight (8) drops tea tree oil, then add ½ aloe vera gel til jar is almost full

* Gently mix the aloe and tea tree oil with a butter knife til uniformed

* Apply about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon mixture with your finger to the eyelid “WITH EYES CLOSED” and rub into the eye lashes and eye lids til dry. It dries in about 15 seconds.

* Repeat treatment 2x every day for the next 30 days for good results.

Why I chose these ingredients?

AnchorAloe gel: Aloe vera contains 75 potentially active constituents: vitamins, enzymes, minerals, sugars, lignin, saponins, salicylic acids and amino acids. Introduction Esteemed as an internal or external healing plant for at least 5000 years it is often called ‘The Miracle Plant.' or “Plant of Immortality”. Aloe vera has been used for medicinal purposes in several cultures for millennia: Greece, Egypt, India, Mexico, Japan and China. Egyptian queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra used it as part of their regular beauty regimes. Alexander the Great is said to have sent his army from Greece to an island off the coast of Somalia just to obtain its crop of aloe. The first reference to Aloe vera in English was a translation by John Goodyew in A.D. 1655 of Dioscorides' Medical treatise De Materia Medica.

For ANY skin trauma or irritation it will heal, soothe and reduce inflammation. It provides 20 of the 22 human required amino acids and 7 of the 8 essential amino acids. It also contains salicylic acid that possesses anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Lignin, an inert substance, when included in topical preparations, enhances penetrative effect of the other ingredients into the skin. Saponins that are the soapy substances form about 3% of the gel and have cleansing and antiseptic properties.

Tea tree oil: Tea tree oil has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial and antifungal activity that make it perfect for first aid applications. In the study, an ointment containing 5% tea tree oil was applied to the eyelashes of the patients. The patients were told to apply the ointment after washing their faces, once a day for 4 weeks.

The antimicrobial properties of tea tree oil make it the most effective remedy for treating blepharitis. This essential oil also helps reduce the inflammation in your eyes and is also particularly efficient at killing demodex mites.

It was found that there was considerably less itching and fewer mites. It is worth noting that 2 out of the 24 patients experienced irritation from the ointment.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3524441

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).

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