- What is blepharitis?
- Two types of blepharitis
- Symptoms of blepharitis
- What causes blepharitis?
- Who is more likely to suffer from blepharitis?
- Treatment of blepharitis
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What is blepharitis?
Blepharitis is a chronic inflammation of the eyelids caused by an overgrowth of normal bacteria that live on the edge of the eyelid at the base of the eyelashes. Blepharitis is often the precursor to serious eyelid diseases, such as meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and dry eye. It can affect anyone regardless of age or gender, but is generally more common when a person is older because tears tend to contain fewer antibodies.
Two types of blepharitis
There are two types of blepharitis: anterior blepharitis and posterior blepharitis. Anteriorly, the eyelid margins are inflamed. In posterior blepharitis, the ducts of the sebaceous glands are inflamed. As a result, there is less or more sebum. You may be bothered by 1 form or both forms at the same time.
Symptoms of blepharitis
Blepharitis is often accompanied by the following complaints:
Itchy eyes
Watery eyes
Blurred vision
Irritated eyes
Burning eyes
In addition, the complaints may include a 'grain of sand' feeling, mild light aversion, reading complaints, discharge, red eyes, heavy feeling in the eyelids, excessive blinking or fluctuating vision. You may also experience crusts and/or flakes on the eyelids and it may also be that the eyelids stick together in the morning. In an advanced stage, there may be bumps on the eyelids and ingrown eye hairs.
What causes blepharitis?
If this bacterial growth increases, a slime layer (biofilm) forms along the eyelashes. Bacterial toxins and a parasite called Demodex are then captured and begin to invade the eyelid, causing swelling. This causes possible damage to the tear glands, which will negatively impact the quality and quantity of tear production. Because tear production decreases, the natural antibodies decrease even further and the bacteria continue to develop, creating a vicious circle.
Who is more likely to suffer from blepharitis?
Blepharitis is often the precursor to serious eyelid diseases, such as meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and dry eye. It can affect anyone regardless of age or gender, but is generally more common as a person is older because tears tend to contain fewer antibodies as one gets older.
Treatment of blepharitis
Blepharitis can be treated using a BlephEx device. The BlephEx device is comparable to an electric toothbrush. You cannot do the treatment yourself, but it is provided by an ophthalmological specialist. The BlephEx treatment is not (yet) reimbursed by health insurers. This is because the treatment is still very new.
Short explanation
Using an electrically driven micro sponge, the eyelids are cleaned safely and thoroughly to prevent the spread of bacteria. The treatment takes 6-8 minutes. The eye specialist will advise you on how to keep your eyes clean at home. Since home cleansing is semi-effective, the BlephEx treatment is repeated every 4-8 months.
What does it do?
Thanks to BlephEx, the eye specialist can clean the eyelids and eyelashes very precisely and safely and break down the resulting biofilm. This will result in an almost immediate improvement in the symptoms. More importantly, by breaking down the biofilm along the edge of the eyelid, the eye specialist can prevent long-term damage to the tear glands and prevent you from suffering from other eye diseases such as MGD or dry eyes.
What result can you expect?
The results are visible immediately after the treatment. The aim of the treatments is to remove the inflammation in the edge of the eyelid and thus reduce the symptoms. The treatment produces an enormous improvement in the vast majority of cases. The inflammation is thoroughly tackled and the adverse effects, such as itching, discharge, burning sensation, irritations, watery eyes, etc. are greatly reduced. This provides more peace to the eye.