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"   Question I have blepharitis, and I&amp;#039;ve been prescribed Lacri-Lube ointment and Betnesol-N eye drops to ease the condition.  My eyes are generally puffy and the lids are always red, which gives me the appearance of always looking tired and is generally ageing.  I&amp;#039;m unable to wear eye make-up because it aggravates my eyes.  Is there anything at all that will clear this condition up completely and reduce the puffiness and redness?    Answer Blepharitis can be a protracted and irritating condition that&amp;#039;s often accompanied by dandruff and flaky skin around the eyebrows and ears.  Little tiny flakes of skin lodge in the lashes to create a notoriously persistent low-grade infection along the margins of the lids.  The symptoms of itching, redness and sometimes soreness and dryness are a real nuisance.  I note from the details you supplied with your question that you&amp;#039;re taking both thyroxine and meloxicam.  I wonder if you may also have a condition that causes dryness of the surface cornea through reduced tear production.  This would increase your discomfort and partly explain why your own natural tears are not defeating the infection.  I&amp;#039;m concerned that you&amp;#039;re using the strong steroid Betnesol-N for more than a few days, unless you&amp;#039;re taking this treatment under the supervision of a specialist eye clinic.  The infection is almost always caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which is normally present on human skin.  If skin particles land on the lashes, or if there&amp;#039;s an eczema-like change in the surface of the skin, the bugs take hold and invade the lash margins.  Treatment to eradicate the infection must be sustained over a long time because it&amp;#039;s hard to get rid of it.  This means that it&amp;#039;s likely to recur and to be worsened by make-up that gums up the lashes or, even worse, irritates the skin.  You&amp;#039;ll need to control scalp flakiness and dandruff by frequent anti-dandruff applications. Remove all debris and crusts from the lashes twice each day.  It can be necessary to bathe the lashes with hot clean water, or to wash them regularly with baby shampoo.  You probably require an antibiotic such as chlortetracycline ointment, or even a long course of tablets since you suggest that the neomycin, which is the N in you Betnesol-N, is not helping.  I advise you to visit your doctor and ask for a further assessment that includes swabs of the eyelids to examine for both Staphylococcus and Chlamydia bacteria.  You probably merit the attention of your local eye hospital, and I would insist upon this before continuing with Betnesol as a long-term treatment.  You may be able to return to your make-up once you have this troublesome condition firmly under control.  Yours sincerely  The NetDoctor Medical Team  Other Qs &amp;amp;amp; As  A six-month wait for my painful eye is too much How long can I use hydrocortisone drops on my daughter? I don&amp;#039;t want cataract surgery I have an in-grown lower eyelid and require surgery Laser eye treatment - is it safe? Lasik treatment Problems with propranolol Treatment for a stye Where can I get toys for blind infants? Where can I find out about laser eye surgery  Last updated 29.01.2012 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ask-the-expert/eyes/a5295/treating-blepharitis/>