Ocula rosacea

I don’t often write about horrible things, and ocular rosacea is a really, really horrible thing. Someone close to me had eye problems from time to time, a feeling that there was something under the eyelid, a piece of grit, a lost eye-lash, but there was absolutely nothing visible. The eyelid was inflamed and swollen and red, the eye itself was streaming, and it was really, extremely painful. There was no sign of a spot or a sore place, and no other symptoms except copious tears as the poor eye tried to relieve the pain and discomfort. The area round the eye became swollen and the other eye watered in sympathy and a runny nose added to the misery… but it was the pain and discomfort that was worse.

Thinking at first it was an eye infection we visited the pharmacist and got eyewashes, eye drops, all sorts of over-the-counter remedies; the eye was bathed gently and a warm damp compress helped but didn’t cure the symptoms. Eventually they went away, but then returned. A visit to the doctor gave an answer, blepharitis, and prescribed accordingly, saying that good eye-hygiene was essential… as if the patient didn’t already realise that! Apparently there is no actual treatment for it… I wasn’t convinced however that blepharitis was what the problem was…

Another flare-up, this time on holiday, and a trip first to a doctor then a referral to accident and emergency at the nearest hospital, followed by a referral to an ocular specialist at another hospital… not blepharitis but viral conjunctivitis (a pharmacist had already suggested conjunctivitis, and the gooey poisonous cream, Golden Eye Ointment, had already been bought, administer and discarded as useless)

Over the years the problem continued and it was distressing for the poor sufferer and distressing for everyone else to see the suffering. It occurred to me that there was another condition that was already present, successfully treated by antibiotics… rosacea… and I noticed that the antibiotics seemed to help the eye-problem if it occurred at the same time as there was a rosacea flare-up. Away from home again and the eye-problem returned, I Googled the symptom and came up with ocular rosacea, which neither of us had ever heard of, and which had never been suggested by any of the pharmacists, doctors or specialists. I went to a local pharmacy and asked for something for ocular rosacea… the pharmacist had never heard of it, Googled it and came up with the results I’d found. The best treatment was a course of antibiotics, which needed a prescription.

Back home, armed with a print out about ocular rosacea, the poor sufferer went to the doctor and received a three-month course of antibiotics. Success! There are flare-ups from time to time, but taking the antibiotics quickly enough usually avoids a real outbreak… except this time… Maybe there needs to be a different prescription, maybe it’s just a more sever outbreak but the medication is taking longer to kick in.

So if you have:

• Chronically red eyes and lid margins
• Irritated eyelids (blepharitis)
• Styes (chalazion)
• Dry, irritated eyes
• Burning
• Foreign body sensation

which seems to resist all other treatment suggest to your doctor that it might be ocular rosacea, and take a printout from a health web-site with you.

There is no direct cause of it, although for some people stress, spicy food, alcohol, hot drinks… but in the case I’ve described, the incidents seem to be totally random… It’s a horrible thing but quick attention can really help!