Of the many patients that have visited me with their main complaint being about a burning sensation in their eyes or their eyes feel very dry, most of them typically have clogged oil glands. A portion of my patients have been previously misdiagnosed with blepharitis when it was actually Demodex. What is Demodex? It is a mite that resides in the eyelashes’ hair follicles which causes itchiness, scaling of the eyelids, irritation and recurrent styes.

How did I get them?

It’s part of our normal flora – some patients will experience more and some less. It isn’t something we can completely get rid of, but we can manage it. When the population hits a critical mass, this is where we see problems arising in our ocular system.

What can we do?

The best treatment is a course of tea tree oil to manage and limit the population. We use Cliradex and products from We Love Eyes to help clear these mites. Most of these treatments take about 5 weeks. The treatment plan consists of the initial 2 weeks to kill the mites and then latter 3 weeks to kill the rest of the eggs.

If you are suffering from dry eyes, come by for an evaluation. Our doctors are able to help assist your dry eyes.