I'm getting older, there's no doubt about it, and shit happens to my body that I'm not happy about. I really have no right to complain though. After all, the things I go through are not life threatening, or dangerous, or even anything more than very annoying. So far I've been lucky, I guess. Gallstones, IBS and what-have-you. I have something new to add to my list (although I've been able to take a couple of things off too, like being allergic to nickel and to certain deodorants - I think. I dunno, I haven't bought any Secret or Sure since I started getting itchy rashes from using it). It's called blepharitis. In lamen's terms, that basically means eyelash dandruff. And you would think no big deal, right? Well after several months of suffering, because I wear contacts, I finally felt validated when I got this diagnosis. My eyes were so itchy that I was rubbing the contacts right out of them. My eyesight would get blurry before bed, yet I would wake up perfectly fine. (I wear Aqua Night & Days. I have issues putting in and taking out contacts, so anything less than 30-day wear is not worth the hassle). When I switched to my glasses my eyes no longer suffered. Naturally, I assumed it was the contacts. Yet I kept switching out pairs and it would keep reoccurring. These were 30-day contacts, and I couldn't wear them for more than a couple of days before this horrible itching and blurriness would happen. When it came time for me to re-order my contacts because I was out, I decided to see an Optometrist first to determine if they were really the problem. And if the solution was to take them out each night, then I wasn't going to bother ordering the Night & Days, since they are much more expensive.
That's when I received my diagnosis, and I was so relieved that it wasn't my contacts. All the puzzle pieces started coming together. First of all, I was not diagnosed with it during my eye exam in April because I wasn't having a flare-up at the time. And when I did, I would blink the flakes into my eyes and they would get stuck on the contacts, which is why my eyes felt fine with my glasses. The reason I always felt good in the morning was because my eyes remained closed - and essentially clean, and would worsen throughout the day. It was like Mystery Diagnosis, only I didn't go several years with a debilitating condition where people called me crazy. But whatever. Point is, I had an answer. So now what? There's a couple things you can do. First of all: hot compress over the eyes, which I actually enjoy because heat is always my friend. Number two: get an antibiotic ointment from your optometrist for the flare-ups, which I did. I rub it above my lashes 2x a day for 7 days to control the amount of bacteria that is plugging the pores. And those two things combined will control the flare-up. And I will need to do this every time I have one. I also bought some eyelid wipes to help keep my eyes clean, and will also start taking omega-3's as a supplement. I've read that it helps balance the oil production with your tears. These are both preventative measures that will hopefully reduce the flare-ups.
It's totally worth it in order to wear contacts. Why?
I prefer to see the spider BEFORE I hop into the shower naked, thank you!
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