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What is ocular rosacea? - also known as rosacea eyes
Ocular rosacea is a chronic disease that affects the skin around the eyes, and usually affects people who suffer from rosacea, and is sometimes referred to as rosacea eyes. Not everyone with rosacea has eye issues, but about half of all people with rosacea report feeling burning, dryness, and grittiness of the eyes.
If you have rosacea and suffer from eye irritation, inflammation, decreased vision, or conjunctivitis, you could be suffering from ocular rosacea and should seek treatment from your doctor.
In order for an ophthalmologist to diagnose ocular rosacea, they will need to examine your symptoms, and your treatment will depend on the symptoms and the severity of the disease.
Why do you need an ophthalmologist as opposed to an optometrist to diagnose your ocular rosacea symptoms?
Ophthalmologists are different from optometrists in their training and in what they can diagnose and treat.
An Ophthalmologist is a medical doctor, and licensed to practice medicine and surgery, and treats all eye diseases, performs eye surgery and prescribes and fits eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Ophthalmologists are required to complete:
An optometrist is licensed to practice optometry and determine the need for eyeglasses and contact lenses, prescribe optical correction and screen for abnormalities of the eye. In some states they can prescribe a limited number of drugs to help diagnose and treat certain eye conditions, but they do not generally perform surgery.
Optometrists attend two to four years of college and four years of optometric college.
Ocular Rosacea symptoms
Many times, the physician or ophthalmologist may be the first one to notice the eye symptoms. If left untreated, ocular rosacea may cause a serious complication that can damage the cornea, called rosacea keratitis. An ophthalmologist can assist in a proper eye evaluation and prescribe rosacea eye drops. Untreated eye rosacea may cause permanent damage, including impaired vision.
Many people who have skin rosacea are not aware that they can get rosacea in the eyes too. The symptoms of ocular rosacea include:
- Red, dry, itching, or burning eyes
- Sensitivity to light
- The feeling of grittiness in the eyes
- Blurred vision or other vision problems
- Eyelids that become inflamed and swollen
Some people with ocular rosacea have reported that certain triggers can cause their condition to be worse. The triggers include:
- Heat (including hot baths)
- Heavy exercise
- Sunlight
- Wind exposure
- Very cold temperatures
- Hot or spicy foods and drinks
- Drinking alcohol
- Menopause
- Emotional stress
- Humidity
How to help ocular rosacea symptoms
Increase water intake
By drinking plenty of water you will increase the moisture in your eyes. This will help decrease irritation and dryness.
Remember that our body is approximately 65% water while our eye is 96% water, and increasing the amount of water consumed each day can ease ocular rosacea symptoms.
Ocular Rosacea Treatment
Ocular rosacea symptoms are usually treated with oral antibiotics, such as tetracycline or doxycycline. Your doctor may also prescribe eye drops to increase tear production. They may also recommend that you use a humidifier or prescribe silicone plugs to close the tear drainage ducts - especially if you live in a dry climate.
Although there is no cure for ocular rosacea, the good news is that it can be treated in order to alleviate and lessen the symptoms.
Other ocular rosacea treatments may include: Keep eyelids and eye lashes clean - avoid rosacea eyes
Wash the eyelids daily with diluted baby shampoo on a warm wet washcloth to Help keep the tear glands clear and unblocked. Place a hot compress on your eyes for five minutes before the diluted baby shampoo is used to gently clean the corners of the eyes.
Then your face can be rinsed with closed eyes until your eyelashes feel clean.
Use hot compress - avoid rosacea eyes
Apply a warm moist washcloth to the eyes several times a day. This will be helpful for the infection.
Remove eye make up - avoid rosacea eyes
Remove all eye make up before going to bed, and scrub the lashes very gently using diluted baby shampoo.
Replace eye makeup - avoid rosacea eyes
Many women find that their eye makeup can trigger or aggravate their ocular rosacea symptoms. Each time you use an eye makeup product it is exposed to airborne bacteria and pollutants as well as bacteria that is always present on the surface of your skin.
We recommend replacing eye makeup every three to four months as there is a good chance of bacterial growth from the applicator after using it on your eyelids.
By replacing your eye makeup you can easily solve the problem of flaring or worsening of ocular rosacea.
New concepts and treatments
The dry eye syndrome, which often accompanies ocular rosacea, can also be treated with non-preserved artificial tears, as often as 4 times a day or more.
Using a home humidifier will help add valuable moisture to the air, or you may want to use silicone plugs to close the tear drainage ducts. They are reversible, or punctal cautery (a burning of the tear duct openings), which is a relatively permanent ocular treatment.
We also have found it beneficial to include in your diet three servings per week from the Omega-3 supplements. These essential fatty supplements aid in an overall balanced diet as well as easing the discomfort of ocular rosacea as Omega-3 oils aid the dry eye.
The Goal of Ocular rosacea treatment is aimed at preventing irritation of the ocular surface and controlling inflammation in the eyes. There is no gold standard treatment for ocular rosacea, but awareness, knowledge, and attention to the symptoms is a healthy step toward determining an appropriate course of care for ocular rosacea.
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Additional Reading
What is Rosacea It's a skin condition that causes redness and pimples on your nose, cheeks, chin, and forehead. It affects over 14 million people in the United States alone, and most people with the condition dont even know that they have it.
Symptoms Treatments for Rosacea In depth discussion on the symptoms-treatments for rosacea and why it's important to get treatment early before your rosacea skin condition worsens.
Foods to eat for Rosacea Learn the best foods to eat for rosacea and how to develop a diet that works for you.
Rosacea Cures Learn about natural remedies as well as home remedies for treating rosacea. It's all about prevention with natural and holistic cures.
Natural Cure for Rosacea More people are looking for a natural cure for rosacea for safe and effective relief.
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