What treatment works best for recurrent blepharitis?

Question

Hi doctor,

I have recurring blepharitis. I had it approximately four times in the past seven months. It started again on my left eye a few days back. I immediately started the usual treatment by applying Terra Cortil Polymyxin B on the eyelid and Tobradex eyedrops at night, with my doctor’s advice. However, there is no apparent improvement two days on, and I am not sure what to do. I am also applying hot compresses and doing eyelid scrubs with baby shampoo. I will be grateful for your advice.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thanks for writing in. I understand your concern. Do you tend to develop dandruff as well? People who have that tendency also develop blepharitis of the eyelids. There are two general types of blepharitis: squamous, common with dandruff, and the other is ulcerative type. A picture would have helped. Do your eyelashes fall off often to reveal a raw area or wound on the lid margin? If so, this could mean a bacteria is causing this issue.

Perhaps you can try changing the antibiotic ointment to Moxifloxacin or Azithromycin. Apply it onto your little finger and massage it into the area. Before doing so, at bedtime, dip an earbud in diluted baby shampoo (one part shampoo with ten parts of water) and gently dislodge the crusts. Do not use Terra Cortil (Oxytetracycline and Hydrocortisone) during this treatment as it contains a mild steroid component that can aggravate the infection.

After the lid scrub, apply the ointment and sleep. There is a new lid scrub formulation especially formulated for this purpose. Zyaqua eyelid cleanser 50 ml is the name of the solution. The composition is Calcium Chloride, Cetrimide, Potassium Chloride, and Sodium Chloride. You can check with the local pharmacies if they have a similar product. I hope this helps.

Thank you.