Ailment: Mites (demodex mites)

Remedy: Antibacterial cleaner

You can buy proprietary eyelid cleaners over the counter. They come in a small can with a press top. Shake the can and press the top to get a small handful of foam. Gently use clean fingers to rub the foam into the edges of the eyelids when you are in the shower. Leave for a minute before rinsing off. These cleaners have anti-bacterial and sometimes anti-fungal properties. Unfortunately they usually contain a long list of chemical ingredients.

Comment posted by Sammy of Nashville, TN, USA on 2 November 2018 at 15:13       5095

YES
I have mites in my eyelashes causing red swollen eyelids (blepharitis). The mites can be painlessly wiped away with a cotton pad wet with eyewash solution. Check the ingredients - you want the kind containing a small amount of boric acid. I use the Kroger generic brand. Your eyes nose and ears can all be connected with tiny tubes who knew? Yes I found some in my nose. My eye-ear-nose-throat doctor approved my use of Kroger brand eye wash in a Neti pot. I diluted it 50-50 with water.

Cliradex eye wipes were recommended to me by an eyelash-eyelid specialist, and they gave me good results. I wipe my lash areas on both eyes, then use the rest of the tiny towelette to wipe the rest of my face. Went to the movies. Returned home and saw these little dried up lines at the edges of my eyelashes. Dead and dried demodex! Only available online not cheap $40 for 24 wipes, so I cut the pads in half and crimp the remaining portion of towelette for use later. I use it twice a day. I also put castor oil on my lashes and in my eyes an hour or two after the Cliradex to ensure they won’t go walking on my face. I’ve only been using Cliradex a week but they recommend 120 days. It contains the active ingredient in tea tree oil but doesn’t burn as much. Don’t get it on your eye, though!

Getting doctors to listen. I started trying to collect samples to show doctors. It’s not easy but you have to try. I started putting them in little plastic salad dressing containers with rubbing alcohol. I bought a pocket microscope with light online for $20 and some blue plastic surgical gloves and I took these with my samples to the doctor. Take care to pick them up without squishing them. You can dip a blue plastic gloved finger into your sample container of rubbing alcohol and pull out a demodex mite on the glove which can be then easily viewed under a microscope right there on the blue glove. First doctor before I brought samples thought I needed psychological meds, but I went to a different doctor and I bring samples and a microscope and they listen to me. This was how I got my referral to an eyelash and eyelid specialist! I didn’t know there was such a thing.