Olidhealth.com – Eyes are one of the important organs that you should protect at any cost. The first defense to protect it is eyelids and eyelashes. Naturally, eyelids contain fluid that frequently lubricated the eyes while cleaning the debris within them. Eyelashes also contribute to swiping big particles and throwing out that chunk. However, eyelids can be infested by bacteria or fungus and swelled. That condition is called blepharitis. Even though this condition can naturally heal, it takes some time to completely heal. Meanwhile, your eyelid is recovering, your activity can be hindered. And in the worse case, it could seal your sight. Is there some way to cure this infection fast? We show you how to treat blepharitis naturally with medication or herbal remedies that actually work.
What is Blepharitis Condition In General?
If your eyelid is swollen and feeling crusty on your eyes while you wink, it can be a symptom of blepharitis. This eye disease is categorized as an infection case and commonly happens over time. There are two types of blepharitis that can be distinguished by the place inflamed happen.
- Anterior Blepharitis – Located on the base of the eyelid, especially on the lining where the eyelash grows. This type has less occurring unless it is related to eyelash infection or allergic reaction that leads to swelling near that place.
- Posterior Blepharitis – The more common type of eye infection that occurring on inside the eyelids. This is where the eye gland could be blocked by infection and cause swelling. This disease also can be treated as conjunctivitis as well.
Since blepharitis is a type of eye infection that commonly occur and rarely goes into severe cases, it can be self-healed naturally. However, in severe infection cases, medical treatment is needed to reduce infection [1].
Causes of Blepharitis
This condition can be troublesome for people with excessive dandruff or oily skin. Why? Because that is the main cause of blepharitis. This disease can relapse again and can’t be healed completely if the main problem is still on there. The scalp contains bacteria to help regeneration of skin cells, but too much of it and a fall into the eye can trigger this condition. Oily skin also could block oil glands near eyelashes and inflate them.
Blepharitis isn’t life treating disease and can naturally heal at home. However, how long it could occurring is still depends on what kind of bacteria or fungus infection it is. Another cause of blepharitis is Candida. Well, we are not sure about this fungus is related to blepharitis, but some research finds that this fungus can develop the ulcerative type of blepharitis if contact with other microorganisms [2].
Symptom of Blepharitis
The infection just affects on eyelids, so the sclera still has bright white color. The main symptom of this eye infection is swelling without any pus. Other symptoms that could happen with this condition such as [3]:
- Dry eyes cause irregular events in the eye
- Crusty eyes with the dandruff-like substance on eyelashes
- Foamy tear with a bubbly-like form
- Sensitive to light and feel something on eyelids
- Irritation and itchy eyelids
- Blurry vision and fall out of eyelashes in the worse case
Curing Blepharitis With Home Remedies
Blepharitis can be cured normally without any medication, but doing nothing also increases the recovery time. To shorten it, the simple way is using home remedies that are usually found at home. We show you the best tips to cure this infection with a simple cleaning.
Simply Clean Your Eyelid With Sanitized Water
Sometimes, blepharitis isn’t caused by bacteria infection and is more like to allergy reaction. To cure that condition, you can wash regularly your eye, especially the crusty thing on the eyelids. Clean it with a mixture of water and baby soap. Rinse your eye while rubbing the skin near the eyelashes to improve the pore gland being unclogged. Moreover, use a clean towel to prevent further infection.
Adjusting With Candida Diet To Starve The Infection
Even though candida is commonly found in humans, it can be harmful if too much on the body. There are also some studies that blepharitis infections are related to overgrown Candida [2]. So, we can guess that reducing candida could alleviate blepharitis symptoms. To do that, you can control your diet with a scheduled candida diet. It is not hard to do this since this diet focus to restrict sugar, alcohol, and gluten consumption.
As a starting point, you can eat gluten-free food such as quinoa, high protein product like chicken, and monounsaturated fat food. Moreover, you can eat sweet food without any added sweetener such as stevia. And you should avoid consuming fruit with high sugar content, coffee, alcohol, and dairy products. There are also extreme ways to cleanse candida with strict fasting, drinking water only, or eating steamed vegetables only, but these attempts are limited to just a few days at least.
How To Treat Blepharitis With Herbal Medication
Another way to treat blepharitis is using herbal medicines. Some plants and food are beneficial to cure this disease. Infection is the main cause of blepharitis, so you can supply your body with natural antibiotics to fight the infection. We summarize the best natural medication tips to cure blepharitis and fasten the recovery.
Euphrasia Plant To Treat Blepharitis
Euphrasia officinalis or known as eyebright is a herb commonly found in Asia, Europe, and America. At first glance, this plant looks like a weed since it is also a parasitic plant, but it uses as an herbal remedy to relieve eye infections [4]. Moreover, eyebright has an antihistamine effect to alleviate allergy. To treat blepharitis, euphrasia can be consumed as herbal tea or water to cleanse the crusty eyelid. However, rinsing your eye with eyebright could worsen the symptom if the water is contaminated. So, you can purchase eye drops that contain this plant as the main ingredient instead.
The dosage of eyebright to make a herbal tea is 1-2 teaspoons in one cup and one drop if you use eyebright eyedrop. Since the actual dosage is not determined yet, it safely to limit the usage of this plant, especially for people with low blood sugar [5]. So, be mindful to take eyebright to cure blepharitis.
Using Manuka Honey To Cure The Inflammation Of Blepharitis
Honey has huge benefits for health, in fact, it contains antioxidants and natural sugar to fight infection. Manuka honey is one distinctive food that produces in Australia and New Zealand. It surprisingly has an anti-inflammation effect to cure blepharitis. A study in 2017 found that manuka honey actually has an anti-microbial property to reduce blepharitis infection in rabbit eyes [6]. Despite this case being just animal research, it proved to treat blepharitis and needs further research in a clinical case.
To use manuka honey for curing this infection, you can safely consume it to enhance immunity. Another way to use this honey is to serve it as eyewash. Well, you can’t absurdly apply it to the eye directly, but dilute it in sanitized water. Firstly, boil the water to eliminate the germ and cool it down. If the temperature is 40 Celcius or below, add a spoonful of manuka honey and dilute it. Mix it and use it as an eye wash. After that, rinse with clean water and wipe with a towel gently.
Tea Tree Oil For Mite-type Blepharitis Treatment
Demodex is a mite that normally every human has. In the first place, this mite contributes to eating dead skin on the scalp. However, an uncontrolled amount of mites can be harmful to skin health, especially on eyelids. There is also a type of blepharitis that is caused by mites. So, if people are infested by mites and inflammation happens on the eyelids, it can be blepharitis for sure.
There is some tip to treat this kind of blepharitis with tea tree oil. Yes, this oil has another name called melaleuca oil and is produced with the leaves of the Australian tea tree. This oil is generally used to treat fungus, acne, and mite since it also contains anti-bacterial properties. Research in 2018 suggests that applying tea tree oil to eyelids have a beneficial effect to reduce the symptom of blepharitis [7]. Another study in 2020 also found that Demodex blepharitis could be healed with tea tree oil with a small dosage to avoid irritation afterward [8].
Tea tree oil can be applied topically to the eyelid and this oil is not recommended to use orally because it is highly toxic while ingested. So, put it in a secure place while using this as mite-type blepharitis treatment. Since these oils can treat acne as well, we also create articles about treating pimples with herbal remedies. Check it out if you are interested in it.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids as Herbal Remedies For Blepharitis
it is kind of funny if you think fat could relieve eye infections such as blepharitis. Well, actually Omega 3 Fatty acid is not like normal oil like palm oil but is usually found in seafood and some nuts. Moreover, this fatty acid is good to treat blepharitis, literally. Scientific research in 2008 about dietary omega 3 fatty acids has a magnificent effect to treat dysfunctional eyelids gland and improving tear production with a good meibum score as well [9].
Consuming food that is rich in omega-3 may reduce blepharitis symptoms or even help eyelid recovery. Try to eat mackerel, salmon, or sardine that good sources of this compound. Other food like flax seed, soybean, and walnut can be alternate options as omega 3 supply to your body. If you want an instant source of this fat, eating an omega-3 supplement is also fine with a 1000 milligrams dosage for a day.
Medication For Blepharitis
Other treatments that could be used to relieve this disease faster are applying eye drops or taking anti-bacterial medication if you have germ-infected blepharitis. However, these tips need special attention and consult with ophthalmologists before taking these tips. Some blepharitis medications can disturb other medications, so read thoroughly on these tips.
Oral Tablet With Antibiotic Properties
Some medications are usually prescribed by doctors to treat bacterial infections. Azithromycin and tetracycline are common oral anti-bacterial to fight inflammation in posterior Blepharitis. Tetracycline medication could reduce Stalphylococcal strain and Azithromycin have a unique effect to treat dry eye as well as improve the anti-bacterial effect [10][11]. Another medication that could cure chronic blepharitis is doxycycline. However, there is no actual dosage for using oral anti-biotic medication [12]. So, ask your doctor first before taking any of this oral medication. If the patient is children, reconsider using this medication since some of them are strong drugs that may have side effects.
Eye Drop To Relieve Dry Eye
Blepharitis commonly causes dry eye and makes a crusty thing that obstructs vision. This is related to meibomian gland dysfunction since it could dry up the fluid within the lipid layer and get worsen irritation. To solve that problem, eye drops can lubricate the eye perfectly. Most eye drop to treat this disease contains azithromycin as an anti-bacterial agent. Studies in 2021 show that azithromycin eye drops are useful to improve recovery and deflate inflammation of posterior Blepharitis [13]. The standard use is one drop a day for 2 weeks but checks with a near ophthalmologist for detailed prescribe.
Cream and ointment
Anterior Blepharitis is usually treated with topical cream and ointment since this type of infection occurs on the outside of the eyelids. One of the popular cream anti-biotic is erythromycin. Well, this compound is great to eliminate infection and reduce inflammation [14]. Moreover, azithromycin is also used to reduce infection. On the other hand, topical corticosteroids are a kind of steroid drug that also can be used to cure blepharitis, but it is not safe for long-term use. In severe cases, Maxitrol (combined polymyxin B, neomycin, and dexamethasone) can be applied in the short term to relieve the blepharitis symptom. Ask the doctor first about dosage since neomycin can trigger allergic reactions in some patients. Moreover, use it before sleep time to shorten the recovery time.
Liposomal Spray
Another tip that may relieve dryness symptoms is using liposomal spray. Well, it does not exactly cure the disease but at least helps the eyelid to regain its fluid. To use this, you should close your eye and spray to closed eyelids. It eventually absorbs into the eyelid, transferred into the inner eye, and smoothes the surface on lipid film. There is a study about treating blepharitis with liposomal spray in 2013 which has a positive response to alleviating dry eye in this condition [15]. However, consult with your doctor if you have an allergic reaction after using this medication.
What Should You Do To Prevent Blepharitis?
Some doctor says that blepharitis can’t be completely healed since its specific causes are still debatable. However, you can prevent the trigger of this condition. There are many ways to preserve eye health against infection. We summarize all factors that you should be concerned about and make a healthy living while you do that.
Control Your Hygiene
This is the first thing you should do because overgrowth bacteria could block the gland passageway on eyelids. Moreover, your hand can have a secret passage if you don’t know what are you touching every day. Regularly cleaning your hand with soap before you touch your eye can prevent blepharitis at a later time.
Frequently Wash Your Hair
Dandruff and unhygienic scalp can trigger blepharitis over and over. If you frequently use a cap or headgear, some bad microbe can be nurtured on oily surfaces. So try to wash your hair frequently to wear off some bacteria and use soap to remove dandruff from your head.
Lubricate Your Eye
Yes, that’s right. Using eye drops is not only if you get infected, but it can be used to stabilize the fluid on your eyes. If you feel the dryness in your eye, use an eyedrop to lubricate it. Moreover, you can make an eye wash with sterile water or alkaline water are good to keep your eye stay healthy.
Prevent Using Excessive Make-up
In other words, you should use make-up for an occasional moment, especially on the eyelids. Eyeliner and eyeshadow can choke the eye gland to release lubricating fluid. On tho of that, check the expired date on your daily make-up since the expiry cosmetic can be harmful to skin and eyes after all.
Stop Using Contact Lenses
Well, these tips are optional if you feel discomfort in your eye while you use them. Some people accidentally forget to release the lens before sleep and it could irritate the eyeball. Dry contact lenses also induce blepharitis to occur, so be mindful while using a contact lens to match your fashion style.
Supply Your Body With Healthy Food
Lastly, All you can do to prevent blepharitis is consume healthy foods. It is related to an eye infection? Yes, it is. Consuming more antioxidant food and less gluten is good to control sugar levels in the blood. Moreover, reducing greasy food consumption also helps lower the risk of blepharitis. This is also related to the Candida diet we talked about before, so this actually helps to preserve your eye and eyelids’ health.
Conclusion
Blepharitis is inflammation of the eyelid that causes by certain infections. Bacteria and fungus are one thing, but they also can be caused by an allergic reaction. This disease can naturally heal, but using herbal remedies and frequently cleansing the eyelids with a clean towel can shorten the recovery time. At least, blepharitis can’t be cured completely. Doing a healthy lifestyle by consuming antioxidant food and frequently washing hands with soap can lower the risk of blepharitis relapse again.
Reference
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095371/ – Blepharitis treatment based on optometrist’s view.
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC504254/ – Candida could be the cause of blepharitis.
[3] https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/blepharitis – Blepharitis symptoms in general based on Nation Eyes Institute.
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4115993/ – Euphrasia officinalis useful to reduce inflammation in eye infections.
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11449500/ – Antihyperglysemic potential on Eyebright plant.
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5721633/ – A study about manuka honey benefits for treating blepharitis.
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5848340/ – Tea tree oil benefits for treating blepharitis and meibomian gland dysfunction.
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7388771/ – Treating Demodex blepharitis with tea tree oils.
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2646454/ – Omega 3 fatty acids could treat eyelid gland dysfunction with the scientific result.
[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1917401/ – Using tetracycline to treat severe blepharitis in adults.
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4318718/ – Azithromycin and tetracycline combination to reduce blepharitis inflammation.
[12] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34107053/ – Doxycycline medication to cure blepharitis in controlled dosage.
[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7752207/ – Treating posterior blepharitis with an azithromycin eye drop.
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459305/ – Blepharitis diagnosis and treatment management in general.
[15] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23354353/ – Blepharitis treatment with liposomal spray.