Blepharitis Treatment at Best Practice Eyecare Ophthalmologist Sunshine Coast

The mainstay of treatment comprises gentle scrubbing of the base of the eyelashes and the eyelid margins to remove any dead skin and crusts which accumulate. There are several commercially available products that can be used for cleaning including:

• LID CARE is a solution that comes with small cleaning pads.
• STERI-LID FOAM is a cleansing foam that also has an antibacterial action.

Cotton buds dipped into sterile saline, or some boiled water that has been allowed to cool can also be used to directly scrub the lid margin. Some people prefer to wash with a mild salt or bicarbonate solution, and this is ok. The application of a hot facecloth to the closed eye for a minute or two before this scrubbing commences helps to liquify the secretions in the small glands in the eyelid. Occasional use of a mild baby shampoo applied with some warm water on the fingertip and rubbed along the base of the lashes also helps to clear away any crusting.

Following this cleaning regime to the eyelids (which is usually carried out at night before bed, or if severe, morning and night), certain ointments may then need to be applied. Either an antibiotic ointment or a steroid-based ointment may be given to supplement the eyelid scrubs and help eliminate infection and reduce the redness and irritation.

Once the condition has settled down, the eyelid scrubs can be reduced to every second night, or once or twice a week to maintain control. In severe cases, oral antibiotic courses may be required to obtain control of the condition.