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itchy red swollen eyelids,,,not Blepharitis - please help me!!!!

here i go....so for the last 6 months i have had itchy eyelids...my eye doctor told me it was due to mild allergies and prescribed eye drops which didnt help in the least so i turned to over the counter allergy medicine which hasn't helped either (so i dont think it's allergies) and in the last 3 weeks not only are my eyelids itchy but when i wake up in the morning my upper eye lids are bright red and swelled up so bad that its embarassing!!!! i have switched makeup brands, stopped wearing makeup all together, changed pillowcases religiously, done the compresses, used mild baby shampoo on my eyes to clean them now, i take my vitamins, gone to the dermatologist who again prescribed more allergy medication (hasnt worked) went to an Ophthalmologist who said he didnt think it wasnt blepharitis but really wasnt sure what was going on so he prescribed me bousch & lombs neomycin and polymyxin b sulfates and dexamethasone ophthalmic ointment USP to apply to my eyelids which if anything in the last 4 days of using it has actually caused the swelled upper part of my eyelids to burn...typically the swelling goes down thru the day but by the time night hits theyre back to being all swelled up again...im 25 and done as much research as i can...this is literally killing me...(and i hate not wearing makeup!!!) please oh please if you have any ideas of what i may be doing wrong or what i can do to help my poor eyes let me know!!! anything will help at this point!
thanks
~~k~~
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Avatar universal
I have had this in the corner of my eyelid for about a month. It's been red, swollen, itchy, flaky and watery.  It's been driving me crazy!
I tried anti-fungal cream which made it mad. That ruled our trying tea tree oil since it also has anti-fungal properties.
Then I tried cortizone cream. Again it just made it mad and so swollen.
Last night I tried Aveeno Baby Eczema lotion with oatmeal.
OMG! I woke up with the swelling gone and my eye almost looks normal again! I'm going to keep using that. It's the only thing that it's responding to. And that tells me it most likely is eczema.
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Avatar universal
I have the same problem. I went for allergy tests and was told I'm irritated by ceteryl alcohol. This is in all creamy moisterisers including eczema favourites like Aqueous cream and E45. I looked for a moisteriser without this and started using facial oils like Palmers Cocoa oil. This worked temporarily but my eyes started to get sore again after a while. A few months ago I bought a jar of organic coconut oil and this seemed to help. However after making a big mistake of using facial washes for a few weeks (that don't contain ceteryl alcohol!) my eyes are sore again and although better since stopping the facial wash, are still being irritated by something! This can only be the coconut oil, vaseline or cotton wool. I'm at my witsend with this issue. I hate not wearing make up, I hate feeling ugly!!!! Some days my eyes looked scorched. I need to moisterise the rest of my face but my eyes get sore as a consequence.  My lips also crack in the corners when my eyes are sore and won't heal which can be a sign of aneamia. I am aneamic and take appropriate action to combat this so I think this is linked to whatever is irritating me as well. I read recently it could be linked to food intolerances....has anyone been tested for this? I've not read all 900 odd answers so apologies if there is already a miracle answer here somewhere. Perhaps someone could direct me to it if so!!
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Try the Aveeno Baby Eczema lotion. It's gentle for babies and works immediately for me.
Avatar universal
I have the same problem. I went for allergy tests and was told I'm irritated by ceteryl alcohol. This is in all creamy moisterisers including eczema favourites like Aqueous cream and E45. I looked for a moisteriser without this and started using facial oils like Palmers Cocoa oil. This worked temporarily but my eyes started to get sore again after a while. A few months ago I bought a jar of organic coconut oil and this seemed to help. However after making a big mistake of using facial washes for a few weeks (that don't contain ceteryl alcohol!) my eyes are sore again and although better since stopping the facial wash, are still being irritated by something! This can only be the coconut oil, vaseline or cotton wool. I'm at my witsend with this issue. I hate not wearing make up, I hate feeling ugly!!!! Some days my eyes looked scorched. I need to moisterise the rest of my face but my eyes get sore as a consequence.  My lips also crack in the corners when my eyes are sore and won't heal which can be a sign of aneamia. I am aneamic and take appropriate action to combat this so I think this is linked to whatever is irritating me as well. I read recently it could be linked to food intolerances....has anyone been tested for this? I've not read all 900 odd answers so apologies if there is already a miracle answer here somewhere. Perhaps someone could direct me to it if so!!
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Avatar universal
I have found a solution to my problem.  So glad that I found this community.  I read all of the posts.  And decided I needed to go to the doctors again.  
Here is my story,  in February 2013, I started to develop symptoms of my eyelids burning after I washed my face at night and put my moisturizer on, I was using Cetaphil(which I used for over 10 years) and Oil of Olay Regnerist(about a year).   I immediately washed off my face with water and stopped using the Oil of Olay, still used Cetaphil and went back to using Clinque yellow lotion.  Well my eyes starting getting worse, I dealt with it until I moved in July, it was really bad at this point so I went to my local urgent care since I just moved and didnt have a doctor.  I was told I had contact dermatitis, given presnisone pills and was told to start eliminating things to see what I was allergic to.  The redness went away the pills stopped and the redness itchyness returned.  I went back to the urgent care, was given the same treatment.  During the coarse of both treatments, I started using all products that were geared towards allergies, such as scent free laundry soaps, all natural shampoos, bath soaps, etc.  I even bought all new organic makeup and new hypoallergenic pillows.  I even would soak my contacts in saline solution before I put them in my eyes (eye doctor told me I wasn’t allergic to my contacts or solutions because my eyeballs weren’t red or itchy)  Of course by now I am going crazy because nothing is working.  I have tried all of the following which helped but the flair ups would come and go:
No make up
Hot washcloths to the eyes
Ocusoft eyelid cleaner
Nubian Heritage Black African Soap
Aloe
Oil treatment
Teabags
Vaseline
Zyrtec
Bare Minerals Makeup
Will not use products that has Glyceryl Stearate in them
Hydrocortisone cream
All natural cleansing and moisturizing products by www.skincatering.com   excellent!!!

I found this community in October, so I made yet another doctors appointment because my condition was at its absolute worse ever.  That day the doctor had a student with her and asked if I wanted to let the student examine me, so I agreed, they have to learn right?  He was very throughout, asking my history and lots of questions, he said it could be eczema, I was convinced it was blepheritis since I has searched the web for over 2 years. I was even thinking it was a food allergy not having any symptom after eating any foods just the constant itchy red eyelids. He lefted the room to confer with the doctor and they came back in the room.  She agreed with the eczema and said its quiet common.  She suggested that I see a dermatologist.  She said I could use the hydrocortisone cream I had used before but only twice a day for 10 days, its not good for your eyelids since that skin is so delicate.  I was using 1% over the counter she gave me 2.5% prescription and she also had recently been to the dermatologist herself and he suggested to her that she use Cerave products. So off I went to CVS to pick up the prescription and check out the Cerave Products.  Since I use my Skin Catering Cleanser I decided to try some of the Cerave PM facial Moisturizing lotion.  OMG  that stuff is the best thing I have ever used.  My eyes are no longer red, itchy, saggy, runny, swollen.  I have my glow back when I use mascara you can see that I have some on, wow.  Fingers crossed that I can keep the eczema at bay. I will comment back in a couple of weeks with an update on my situation!
  
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177275 tn?1511755244
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Avatar universal
I have been suffering for months now, and have just stumbled upon this thread.  I myself awoke one morning with a very raw, red, swollen left eye.  Over the next few days, it was both eyes.  I also developed a dry, flaky sort of rash around the folds of my nose, the corners of my mouth, behind my ear, down my neck, across my chest, and on the insides of the elbow folds on both arms.   I've now been seen by 2 care now Dr's, which initially diagnosed me with Atopic Dermititis, and then two weeks later with Impetigo.  I was given both antibiotics, and steroids.  While the rash and my painful swollen eyes seemed to improve initially, after finishing treatment both times, it came back with a vengeance!!  I then saw an Internal Medicine Doc who referred me for Auto Immune testing, but suspected that this immune response could be a result of a fungal infection, and prescribed Nystatin (An oral anti-fungal).  I took the Nystatin for the 10 days prescribed, and also cut out ALL sugar and starch from my diet.   I'm an avid red wine drinker, so this was not an easy or enjoyable measure for me.  The anti fungal approach worked!!!  Finally a little relief.   At this point I started researching and experimenting different options for myself while also making the appointment with the Rheumatologist. (Will note what I've found that's made a difference to date below)   The Rheumatologist tested me for a number of Auto Immune deficiencies, as well as Lyme, Thyroid, and the like.   Everything came back negative.  4 months and 4 Dr.'s later, the Rheumatologist referred me to an Allergist and Immunologist for allergy testing.   While yes, I do have a number of allergies, and food sensitivities, I suspect, that this is not allergy related (Although I'm sure the allergies are not helping anything).Having reached a point of utter frustration, after seeing numerous specialists, with little to no help or definitive answers, I've taken the below noted steps on my own, based on research from the 20+ books I've read as it relates to fungal infections in the body.  
Here's what I know for sure:
1. Antihistamines do not help
2. Antibiotics and Steroids also do not help- in fact exacerbated the symptoms upon completion of the treatments every single time.  Fact- Antibiotics and Steroids will cause a fungus to explode- It's why we're encouraged to take Pro-biotics especially when taking antibiotics.  Pro-biotic are the good bacteria that keep the bad bacteria in check in our digestive system.
3. This is not caused by an allergy.  (I spent the last 4 months strictly adhering to the elimination diet recommended for food allergies-with no real change)  I travel for a living, so the possibility of an airborne allergen causing the rash is not possible.   All of my skin care, hair care, body lotions are hypoallergenic, and have been used for years with no reactions.  I also went weeks without any makeup at all during all of this, and it made no difference at all.

What did make a difference:
1. Nystatin prescribed by internal medicine doc- Fungal infections are tricky because you can't just kill the fungus, but you also have to kill the spores which won't become fungus for another 30-45 days.   So it often takes several rounds of treatment to eliminate the fungal infection.
2. Because of the success I had with the anti-fungal medication, I added a rather lengthy list of supplements to my daily routine with anti-fungal properties.  This had a huge positive effect on the rash and swelling and discomfort on my eyelids as well as around my nose and ears.  In fact on one trip out of state, I forgot to take them, and I had a flare up of epic proportions.  
3.  I started cleansing my face (and any areas of skin on my neck, arms, face with the same dry flaky rash) 2 to 3 times a day with a mild Tea Tree cleansing pad from Trader Joes.  While yes, it did sting, it also made it significantly better.  And as the rash healed, the cleansing pads no longer caused a stinging sensation when used.  The rash is completely gone from my neck, chest, and arms- and only my eyelids, and around my nose flare up from time to time.

All of these things lead me to strongly believe that the issue is indeed fungal related.  I'm seeing yet another specialist in the coming week- This time a dermatologist, for a skin biopsy.  I've stopped taking all my supplements, and also stopped using the tea tree pads in the meantime so that I will have something to show them other than pictures and for them to biopsy.  And wouldn't you know it, it's flaring up.  Hopefully I'll have some results after the biopsy next week to report.

In the meantime, if this info could help anyone else, I thought I would pass it along.
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