What is blepharitis (eyelid inflammation)?
Blepharitis means inflammation of the eyelid. It usually occurs in both eyes and especially affects the lid margins. For this reason, it is also called eyelash root inflammation. The eyelids are red, swollen and sensitive.
Dandruff and oily deposits form on the eyelashes. It is more common especially in people with oily skin and people with skin diseases called seborrheic dermatitis, rosacea and eczema.
What is the cause of eyelid inflammation?
Inflammation of the eyelid develops due to many factors. Numerous small sebaceous glands are found on both the upper and lower eyelids.
The mouths of these sebaceous glands open immediately to the bottom of the eyelashes. The secreted oil forms a layer of the tear. In some people (especially those with oily skin), the functioning of these sebaceous glands is impaired and the sebaceous gland secretion accumulates in the glands and becomes inflamed. Also, people have a variety of bacteria on their eyelids.
In some people, these bacteria multiply excessively and cause an infection in this area. These bacteria secrete harmful substances (toxin) and cause inflammation in the eyelids and sebaceous glands. Apart from these, especially in elderly people, a parasite called demodex settles in the skin tissue around the eyes and can cause chronic inflammation.
As a result, inflammation of the eyelid is a disease in which one or more of the causes such as skin structure, some skin diseases, excessive proliferation of bacteria around the eyes and parasites settled around the eyes play a role.
What kind of complaints does eyelid inflammation cause?
Inflammation of the eyelid can cause many complaints and symptoms. Due to the deterioration of the secretion of the sebaceous glands and the toxins secreted by the bacteria; watering, itching, stinging, burning, redness, swelling on the lids, dandruff and fump occur in the eyelashes.
Additionally, when left untreated for a long time, it causes eyelash problems such as the loss of eyelashes (madarosis), and color change in eyelashes (poliosis). As a result of infection of the sebaceous glands in the eyelids, stye formation and sebaceous gland cyst (chalazion) may occur.
Inflammation in the eyelids can disrupt the eyelid anatomy in the long term and cause more serious diseases such as eyelid turned inwards (entropion) and eyelid turned outwards (ectropion).
How is eyelid inflammation diagnosed?
The diagnosis of eyelid inflammation is made by listening to the patient’s complaints and by detailed examination of the eyelids. Your ophthalmologist will determine the cause and type of eyelid inflammation based on the examination findings. Your treatment will be planned according to these findings.
How is eyelid inflammation treated?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely treat eyelid inflammation. The treatments applied are aimed at keeping the disease under control, reducing the complaints and relieving the patient. While warm compress and eyelid cleaning are sufficient in most patients, sometimes drops or oral antibiotics may be required. There is always a recurrence of the disease after the treatments are stopped.
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- Warm Compress:
The purpose of warm compress is to soften the oil deposits accumulated on the edges of the eyelashes and the secretion accumulated in the sebaceous glands on the eyelids and to open the clogged mouths of the sebaceous glands.
A clean cloth or cotton is dipped in hot water. It is well squeezed and excess water is removed. This warm cloth is left on the eyelids for at least 1 minute. If it cools down quickly, it can be re-immersed in water and heated. It is more appropriate to do it especially when you get up in the morning. If the inflammation is severe, it can be applied several times during the day.
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Eyelid Massage;
The aim here is to remove the accumulated secretion in the sebaceous glands of the eyelids and to relieve the sebaceous glands. While the eyelids are closed, the upper and lower eyelids are massaged alternately. Massage is performed by pressing the upper lids from top to bottom and the lower lids from bottom to top with the help of the index finger, 5-10 times.
We can liken this massage to squeezing the toothpaste tube with our finger. In other words, sebaceous glands are milked. In this way, the inflammatory secretion accumulated in the sebaceous glands is discharged. In this way, the sebaceous glands relax and the sensitivity of the eyelids decreases.
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- Eyelid cleaning:
It is applied to clean the oil residues and bacteria accumulated on the edge of the eyelid after warm compress and eyelid massage. Hot water is poured into a clean container and some baby shampoo or commercially available eye shampoo is added to it. A
- fter dipping a clean cotton or cloth into this mixture, it is thoroughly cleaned for at least 15 seconds until the oily deposits and crusts on the eyelashes and eyelids are gone. Then the face is washed with warm water. It is appropriate to do it several times a day. After eyelid cleaning, tea tree oil is applied to the edge of the lid at night to control the parasites.
- Skin and hair care:
If you have oily skin and dandruff hair, taking them under control will also help improve eyelid inflammation. The use of antibacterial soap suitable for oily skin and the use of dandruff shampoo during bathing reduce complaints related to eyelid inflammation. Additionally, washing the eyelids with baby shampoo every morning will reduce the amount of deposits and bacteria in the eyelashes.
Avoiding excessively fatty foods and using omega-3-rich fats such as olive oil and fish oil instead of saturated fat help the sebaceous glands in the eyelids work more regularly.
- Eye drops:
Since bacteria also play a role in eyelid inflammation, antibiotic eye drops and ointments can be used to reduce their amount. Additionally, mild cortisone-containing drops can be used to suppress inflammation and reduce complaints such as redness, itching and burning. Since eyelid inflammation also causes dryness (xerophthalmia), your ophthalmologist may want you to use artificial tear drops.
- Antibiotics:
Sometimes eyelid inflammation can be very severe. In this case, oral antibiotics may be required. The use of antibiotics must be with the advice of your doctor and as described.
How to prevent recurrence of eyelid inflammation?
Eyelid inflammation is a chronic and recurrent disease. The best way to prevent a recurrence of the disease is to prevent the re-growth of bacteria, oil deposits and the demodex parasite. For this, it is very important to regularly clean the eyelids.
Even if the eyelid inflammation has resolved, warm compress, massage and cleaning should be done at regular intervals. Additionally, omega-3 consumption should be increased, and foods containing harmful fats such as saturated fat and margarine should be avoided. If there are skin diseases such as seborrheic dermatitis and rosacea, they should be treated.